Warriors over the Knicks
The Golden State Warriors won their seventh-consecutive game, earning a 116-95 road victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday.
Klay Thompson led all scorers with 34 points on 14-of-18 from the field. Draymond Green recorded his ninth triple-double of the season with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, while Shaun Livingston scored in double-digits off the bench. With the victory, the Warriors improve to 44-4 on the season.
Coming off a sluggish conclusion to their victory for the season at 43-4 in Philadelphia, the Warriors’ didn’t get off to much of a better start against the Knicks on Sunday, as both teams suffered from some sloppy play.
Both sides remained scoreless until Stephen Curry broke the deadlock with a layup for the first points of the game with 9:19 remaining in the opening quarter. Harrison Barnes would then convert two consecutive jumpers, one of which came from three-point land, to put the Dubs up 7-0 four minutes into the game.
Over that same time span, the Knicks combined to go 0-of-6 from the field, while making matters worse with four turnovers. But, following that Barnes’ three-pointer, the Knicks found their footing, and began to turn the tables on the Warriors.
Carmelo Anthony would convert a technical free throw on the ensuing possession, beginning a 14-0 Knicks’ run over the next four minutes to retake the lead. Two Robin Lopez baskets and an Anthony jumpshot would account for all of New York’s points for the duration of the quarter before Curry’s three-pointer with 30.6 seconds remaining sent the game into the second quarter with the Warriors trailing 20-18.
Golden State’s 18 points were the fewest they had scored in a first quarter this season.
The Knicks opened the second frame on a 4-0 run while the Warriors missed their first three shots, prompting Steve Kerr to call a timeout. When the teams returned to the court, Golden State began to find their groove.
Shaun Livingston’s dunk on the ensuing possession began a streak in which the Warriors made each of their next nine shots to turn a six-point deficit into a 40-33 lead with 5:08 remaining in the first half. New York managed to block Klay Thompson’s next shot to bring an end to the streak, but the Warriors’ All-Star guard sank a three-pointer on their next possession to begin another streak that would last the duration of the half.
Golden State would make each of their final five shots of the quarter, the last of which from Draymond Green put the Dubs up 55-46 with 5.7 seconds left in the frame. Derrick Williams would then convert a buzzer-beating three-pointer to send the game into halftime with the Warriors holding a 55-48 advantage.
Klay Thompson accounted for 17 points in the frame, while Draymond Green contributed seven assists, the most helpers by a Warrior in a single quarter this season.
After Curry opened the second half scoring with a jumper, Thompson continued his offensive onslaught, scoring each of the Warriors’ next seven points to put Golden State up 64-50 with 8:36 left in the frame, equaling the Dubs’ largest lead of the game up to that point.
Five minutes later, New York had trimmed only one point off of the deficit, before Thompson scored another five points in just over a minute to put the Warriors up 80-64 with 1:29 left in the quarter.
Leandro Barbosa’s jumpshot with 26.4 seconds remaining closed out the scoring in the frame and sent the game into the fourth and final quarter with Golden State leading 82-65.
Steve Kerr turned to the bench for the start of the fourth quarter, and they responded with a 7-2 run, capped by Andre Iguodala’s three-pointer that put Golden State up 89-67 with 10:43 remaining.
However, the Knicks would immediately respond with a 9-0 run of their own, prompting Kerr to bring his trio of All-Stars back into the game off the bench. After Sasha Vujacic brought New York within 92-79 with 7:20 left in the game, Klay Thompson began a 10-0 Warriors’ run with a layup and capped it off with a three-pointer to rebuild their lead to 102-79 with 5:12 remaining in the quarter.
The Knicks would trim the deficit to 19 points over the next two minutes, but it proved to be far too little, too late. Marreese Speights’ three-pointer with 2:11 left to play put the Dubs up 112-87, which would end up being their largest lead of the entire game.
Speights would contribute the final two points of the game for Golden State with two free throws, as the Warriors coasted to the 116-95 victory. With the win, the Warriors improve to 44-4 on the season.
They’ll attempt to finish off an undefeated road trip when they travel to the nation’s capital to take on the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
Read more at: Golden State Warriors Media Services / More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
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