Rose caught the ball and went through the motions of a shot, successfully getting Alexander to jump on the switch. He put the ball on the floor and drove into the paint, then blew past Miro, who had come over to help, with a signature change of direction without slowing down. He charged to the basket and leaped into a glide, contorting in midair to avoid Davis's attempted block before finishing with a reverse layup.
A highly difficult two-point shot went in!
After landing, Rose rolled forward once with the momentum of his fall.
Without waiting for a teammate to help him up, Rose quickly rose from the floor, his expression resolute. He turned and ran back downcourt, even finding time to complain to the referee as he went, arguing that Davis might have fouled him on the play.
But since the whistle hadn't blown at the time, complaining afterward clearly wouldn't do much in the short term.
So he had no choice but to get back on defense for the next possession.
The next possession belonged to the Thunder.
Westbrook used Alexander for a pick-and-roll, then passed the ball after coming off the screen.
SGA got a chance to isolate Rose.
He attacked directly from the perimeter, using two quick, consecutive hesitation moves before accelerating past Rose with his long stride. Just inside the free-throw line, he gathered the ball and pump-faked, getting Toppin to jump on the help defense. Then he leaped into him, drawing a defensive foul.
He stepped to the free-throw line and calmly sank both shots, giving Oklahoma two more points.
Both teams gradually found their rhythm in the Third Quarter.
The Thunder played to their strengths, pushing the fast break, targeting mismatches, and drawing fouls.
The Knicks' role players, meanwhile, had started to find