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Galloway, 10-day signees help Knicks stun Thunder

Brad Penner / USA Today Sports

Players signed to 10-day contracts are often seen as afterthoughts: easily-forgotten, midseason roster-fillers here for a short stay and then never to be heard from again. 

But, as a handful of New York Knicks 10-day signees reminded us Wednesday night, sometimes they can also put their workmanlike stamp on a game, usually when you least expect it. 

The Knicks rode the performances of their unlikely heroes to a 100-92 upset of Oklahoma City, putting another dent in the Thunder's slowly dwindling playoff hopes. 

Langston Galloway has obviously been a revelation for the Knicks, and now that he's been signed for the remainder of the season, he technically doesn't even qualify as a 10-day guy anymore. But it's worth mentioning he had another big game at MSG, with 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. 

Then there was Lance Thomas and Lou Amundson, the two throw-ins from the three-team trade that shipped J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert out of town earlier this month, and whom the Knicks waived immediately after the trade was completed. 

They were, however, brought back on 10-day deals, and both shone on Wednesday, with Amundson doing a whole bunch of dirty work in grabbing 10 rebounds - four on the offensive glass - and blocking a game-high four shots.

Thomas knocked down 8-of-13 shots, including a big one late to put the game out of reach. 

Of course, Carmelo Anthony also had an awful lot to do with the win, pouring in 31 points and adding 10 boards. The Knicks have now won four straight games in which he plays. They've yet to win a game this season (0-11) when he sits. 

The Thunder got 40 points from Russell Westbrook, but they came on 30 shot attempts, while nobody else on the team attempted more than 11 or scored more than 13 points. 

Meanwhile, it wouldn't have been a Thunder game if, at some point, Dion Waiters didn't try and fail to get his teammates to notice him. 

DION

The Thunder, who were playing without Kevin Durant for the second straight game, fell to 23-23, a full three games behind the Phoenix Suns for the Western Conference's eighth and final playoff seed. They're now 9-16 on the season without him, but 14-7 when he plays. 

The Knicks kept pace with the Philadelphia 76ers - who embarrassed the Detroit Pistons - to avoid sole possession of last place in the East. Both teams improved to 9-37. 

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