NEW YORK — Josh Giddey and Tre Mann, Oklahoma City’s two first-round picks from the 2021 NBA draft were looking forward to playing at Madison Square Garden. They certainly won’t forget the career nights they enjoyed.
Giddey had a triple-double with a career-high 28 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds. Mann scored a career-high 30 points, and Oklahoma City rallied from an 11-point deficit in the second half, beating the New York Knicks 127-123 in overtime on Monday night.
Giddey, a 19-year-old from Australia, shot 11 for 22 from the field and hit three 3-pointers for the Thunder, who snapped a five-game losing streak.
“This was the place I was most excited when I got drafted to come in to play,” said Giddey, who was the sixth overall pick in July’s draft. “You hear so many things, so many stories about the Garden, and I had circled it on my calendar for a long time.”
Giddey became the youngest player in NBA history with back-to-back triple-doubles. He had 11 points, 10 assists and 12 rebounds in a losing effort at Chicago on Saturday.
“It was everything I expected,” Giddey said of his first game at MSG. “The fans are awesome. They’re into the game; a packed house. It’s everything I’ve seen on TV, being told about.”
Giddey also became the first teenager in NBA history with a triple-double at MSG. He is the third player all-time with a triple-double in his MSG debut, joining Chuck Person and Magic Johnson.
“The style he is playing with is contagious,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “I think he has a domino effect on the team with how he plays when he is in that state of mind. I thought he was in against Chicago and I thought he was in it again tonight.”
For New York, Julius Randle had a triple-double of 30 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for Knicks, who have lost nine of their last 11 games.
It marked the second game ever at the current Madison Square Garden with multiple triple-doubles. Larry Bird and Micheal Ray Richardson did it on March 24, 1981.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
