We've got a matchup of two of the top teams in the league in an interconference contest on Friday's NBA schedule as the New York Knicks will host the Oklahoma City Thunder in a pairing of two of the top-five teams in the NBA by winning percentage.

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Oklahoma City boasts the top defense in the NBA, holding opposing teams to just 103.5 points per game with a league-best 103.4 defensive net rating. They’re doing it on the back of a stable of dominant perimeter defenders, which include Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace.

Karl-Anthony Towns drives to the rim, gets hit across the arm, over the head, or in the back. His teammates and coaches brace for the whistle — after all, by the letter of the NBA rulebook, these are fouls.

While the Knicks may be judged by measuring sticks, wondering if they are as good as they looked in the recent nine-game winning streak or what went wrong on the three-game losing streak that they carried into Madison Square Garden Wednesday night.