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 Energy Arena.
In the Knicks’ last game before next week’s trade deadline, Carmelo Anthony finished with 30 points in what conceivably could be his final outing with the franchise.
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 Anthony looking like the lone All-Star on the court. The Knicks built a 17-point lead early in the second quarter after Anthony scored 19 in the opening quarter before he petered out to leave the Knicks at 23-34 entering the break.
The club needed the break, too. As Rose left the locker room, he raised his arms as he headed for his respite in Los Angeles. Rose finished with 25 points and seven assists, but couldn’t keep up with Westbrook.
Oklahoma City defensive specialist Andre Roberson quieted Anthony across the final three periods hours after the Knicks star accepted an All-Star invitation as an injury replacement.
“Carmelo is one of those guys where if he gets going, it’s hard to stop him,’’ said Westbrook, who posted his 27th triple-double of the season. “But I thought [Roberson] never felt discouraged.’’
Kristaps Porzingis, playing with bad stomach cramps, finished with just 11 points. Porzingis said he had to retire to the locker room in the third quarter to throw up.
“I think coming back from the break we have to show up with a fresh mind and know what we need to do in the last third of the season so we can make a playoff run,’’ Porzingis said.
Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said once his team’s offense slowed, its defensive wall on Westbrook crumbled.
“You can’t have that many breakdowns,’’ Hornacek said. “We had a lot of energy at the beginning and it trailed off.’’
With 1:20 left, Westbrook punctuated his night with an interception and a one-handed fast-break, tomahawk dunk.
“I think they just got a bit more aggressive especially in the second quarter,’’ Anthony said. “Offensively we couldn’t get it going. We wanted to stay in front of [Westbrook], close up the paint. It’s hard to keep him in front and slow him down. Russell is like family to me.’’
The Knicks hadn’t won two straight games since Dec. 20 and 22. And after shutting down San Antonio on Monday, they finally looked poised early to do so.
They got off to 13-2 lead on the strength of two Anthony 3-pointers and two blocks by Porzingis, who rejected burly Thunder center Steven 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 Roberson, giving the Knicks a 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, but just 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 pass with 35.2 seconds left to create OKC’s 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 into the half up by two. Westbook had 19 points, 10 assists and four rebounds by intermission.
The Thunder started the second half 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 made it 70-62.
The Knicks rallied, but Oladipo made a long, buzzer-beating 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.
They didn’t.