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Stephen Curry snapped out of his mini-shooting scare and scored 31 points with eight 3-pointers to keep the Warriors going with a 110-99 victory over the New York Knicks on Thursday.
Curry had a double-double in the first half and finished with a season-high 11 rebounds, helping the Warriors to their 12th win in 15 games.
Jonathan Kuminga scored 25 points, eight rebounds and two blocks for the Warriors (31-27). Klay Thompson added 16 points and five rebounds. Draymond Green scored seven points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Chris Paul contributed 11 points, six assists and three steals.
Golden State, which entered a half-game behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference, never trailed despite an uneven night offensively, but made up for it with one of its best defensive games of the season.
The Knicks (35-25), No. 4 in the East, shot 36.8 percent from the field and committed 12 turnovers.
The Warriors won their second straight game without Andrew Wiggins, who remains away from the team for personal reasons. Moses Moody started in Wiggins’ absence and scored eight points with four rebounds.
Here are the takeaways from Thursday’s game at Madison Square Garden:
Quick start sets the tone
The Warriors set the tone early as they opened the second stop of this tour with a dominant 14-0 run that could and probably should have been bigger. That opening streak, Golden State’s longest to start a game since 1977-78, put the Knicks on their heels and tied the second-longest streak starting games in the NBA during the 2023-24 season.
Curry led the charge and hit his first three 3-pointers, while Moody took a pass from Green under the basket, dunked and then scored and was fouled. The three-point play put Golden State ahead 20-4.
The Knicks, who were held scoreless through the first six minutes of the game, made a run and led 55-46 at halftime when former Warrior Donte DiVincenzo made two of three free throw attempts after being fouled by Green with one tenth of a Second remaining in the second quarter.
That fast start was critical as the Knicks controlled much of the second half and pulled within 89-85 in the fourth quarter before Kuminga helped the Dubs pull away.
Steph’s recovery
So much for Curry being tired and exhausted.
The two-time MVP, whose shot had missed in the previous two games, found his rhythm early and never let up. That it happened at Madison Square Garden is certainly no surprise. Curry’s light has always shone brightest in the Big Apple, where he has historically had some of his brightest games.
This time it was another classic performance from the Warriors’ ace shooter.
Curry scored 11 of his points in the first quarter and grabbed seven rebounds, tying the most he has had in any quarter of his career. He had a double-double at halftime and made 11 of 26 shots.
That should allay any worries or concerns about Curry’s stamina. As he pointed out a few days ago, in any season there will be ups and downs, and the downs are more magnified when they happen to a player of Curry’s caliber. It seems like he’s back on the rise now.
Board Battle
The game was a showdown between two of the best rebounding teams in the NBA. This time, the Knicks took the lead with a 67-62 lead.
New York, second in the NBA in offensive rebounds, also had the advantage there, but couldn’t capitalize on the additional scoring opportunities.
Part of that was due to Golden State’s defense, which made up for most of the team’s mistakes elsewhere. That, alone, is an encouraging sign for this team as the season heads into its final months.
