The issue has popped up at times for the Knicks this season. Mikal Bridges sensed it again Friday, too.
When the 3-pointers (they hit just four) and every other type of shot (they connected at just a 38.5 percent clip from the field) didn’t fall during the Knicks’ 126-101 loss to the Thunder, that snowballed into defensive lapses at the other end.
They were torched by MVP hopeful Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 39 points, eight days after Aaron Wiggins scored 19 off the bench when the teams met in Oklahoma City, reserve Isaiah Joe poured in 31 points, sinking 3-pointer after 3-pointer — eight of them altogether — at the Garden.
By the time the Knicks’ fourth loss in the past five games settled into place, by the time all of the starters had been removed and fans started exiting well before the final horn sounded, it became their latest concerning outing as a defensive unit.
The Knicks have allowed 126 or more points six times this season, and three of those have occurred within the past 15 days.
They’re officially a middle-of-the-pack defense — 15th in defensive rating entering Saturday’s slate — after being a top-10 unit at the end of last year.
And when the Knicks are at their worst, the glaring defensive struggles become a byproduct of shots not falling.
“It should be the other way,” Bridges said. “You miss shots, and we gotta get it going on the other side.”
The Knicks slammed into an offensive rut during recent weeks. Their 3-point numbers have tanked, and Friday they ended a game with just four made shots from beyond the arc for the second time since Dec. 27.
Bridges has gone 4-for-27 from the field the past two games — and Gilgeous-Alexander dominated with Bridges defending.
OG Anunoby missed all of his shots during the first half Friday.
Jalen Brunson has converted multiple 3s in a game just once since Dec. 21.
If those issues bubbled before Friday, then they boiled over against the Thunder when the Knicks couldn’t generate stops. Joe had already collected 12 points off the bench by the time Cameron Payne missed a 3 and the Thunder moved the ball back down the court, and Joe cut backdoor — with Isaiah Hartenstein threading a pass — for an and-one.
Then, after Anunoby missed a 3 from the top of the key during the Knicks’ next possession, Joe added another layup.
Defending the Thunder required a “second, third, fourth effort, and everyone has to be tied together on that,” head coach Tom Thibodeau said. Brunson said it’s difficult to stop someone such as Joe when they’re in rhythm and keep getting open attempts.
And with the Knicks making just two 3s and hitting 31.8 percent of their shots from the field across the opening 24 minutes, signs of a stagnant offense — tasked with navigating a matchup against the NBA’s best defense — seeping into the defensive possessions had already emerged.
“Sometimes like that Celtics game the first game of the year, sometimes the team is just unbelievable in terms of shooting the ball and knocking down everything,” Josh Hart said. “And sometimes you can live with that. But we can’t live with going out there and not executing and not having intensity.”
Even after missed shots, the Knicks still need to “hold each other accountable” and communicate on defense, Bridges said.
Empty possessions can’t mess with their performance at the other end.
When that pops up again and again and again, it becomes a “theme,” as Bridges described it.
“I mean, we have a lot of potential,” Brunson said of the Knicks’ defense. “We just gotta continue to keep building to get there.”
Still, in the aftermath of Friday’s mess, Knicks players recognized that this could just be a five-game blip.
“All 82 ain’t gonna go perfect,” Karl-Anthony Towns said.
The Knicks look completely different now than they did during their nine-game winning streak to bookend the new year.
They could look entirely different a month from now, too.
And before the playoffs arrive, this version of the Knicks, where offensive struggles plague their defense, could materialize again, too.
But, Bridges said, the Knicks need to avoid that. They can’t let missed shots drain their energy.
They can’t become a team that climbs toward its potential only when the shots are falling.
They can’t — at its most basic level — be the team from Friday.
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