OKLAHOMA CITY — Russell Westbrook sent the Knicks careening into the All-Star break under the spell of his greatness.
As the Knicks blew a 17-point second-quarter lead, Westbrook posted one of his most impressive triple-doubles — 38 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists — as the Thunder rallied for a 116-105 win at Chesapeake Arena.
Derrick Rose, when asked in the morning shootaround the key to beating Oklahoma City, said with a laugh: “You gonna ask that – c’mon,’’ Rose said. “Stop West. If you stop West, you stop the team.”
The Knicks stopped Westbrook for one quarter — with Carmelo Anthony looking like the lone All-Star on the court. The Knicks built a 17-point lead early in the second quarter, with Anthony scoring 19 in the opening quarter before he petered out to leave the Knicks at 23-34 entering the break.
In the Knicks’ last game until the trade deadline, Anthony finished with 30 points in what conceivably could be his last game as a Knick. It was Westbrook’s 27th triple-double.
With 1:20 left, Westbrook punctuated his night with an interception and a one-handed fast-break, tomahawk dunk. Rose finished with 25 points and seven assists but couldn’t keep up with Westbrook.
The Knicks hadn’t won two straight games since Dec. 20 and 22. And after shutting down San Antonio on Monday, they looked poised to do so.
They got off to 13-2 lead off the strength of two Anthony 3-pointers and two blocks by Kristaps Porzingis, who rejected burly Thunder center Steve Adams at the rim.
An hour after the NBA announced him as an All-Star injury replacement for Kevin Love, Anthony made his first six shots and then notched a four-point play. He drilled an off-balance 3-pointer while getting hacked by Andre Roberson, giving the Knicks 34-18 lead late in the first period.
Shooting an obscene 72.7 percent the Knicks surged to a 39-27 lead after the first quarter. Anthony was 7-of-8 in the opening quarter — 4-of-12 in the final three quarters.
The bottom dropped out as the Thunder outscored the Knicks 24-6 in the final 6:45 of the first half to take a 62-60 lead into halftime.
After his brilliant first quarter, Anthony missed five straight shots in the second, turned the ball over to create a Westbrook to-Victor Oladipo fast-break layup. Westbrook’s 3-pointer made it a 58-57 with 43 seconds left in the half. Anthony scored just one point in the second quarter.
Roberson then sank a wide-open 3-pointer off Westbrook backpass with 35.2 seconds left to create their first lead at 60-58 lead. It was Westbrook’s 10th assist.
After the Knicks tied it, Westbrook finished the half on a explosive driving layup, blowing past Courtney Lee, sending the Thunder up by two at the half. Westbook had 19 points, 10 assists and four rebounds by intermission.
The Thunder started on an 8-2 run in the opening 1:48 of the third quarter to keep up the onslaught, doing damage on the fast break off Knicks’ sloppiness (15 turnovers total). The Knicks called a timeout after Westbrook’s follow-up dunk off the break, making it 70-62.
The Knicks rallied but Oladlipo made a buzzer-beating long 3-pointer over Lee that gave the Thunder an 88-80 bulge after three quarters.
“We’ll get it back,’’ Anthony shouted on the bench during the stoppage.
In the fourth, the Knicks couldn’t get a run going. After getting an offensive rebound, Justin Holiday rushed a 3-pointer right away instead of moving the ball. After three quarters, the Knicks had 13 assists and 14 turnovers.
Rose had one terrific rebound and coast-to-coast layup but then missed a series of wild layups while Westbrook caught fire from the 3-point line. The Thunder’s lead went up to 15 points, 111-96 with four minutes left when Westbook found new teammate Jerami Grant for a 3-pointer from the right wing.
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