Warriors 97, Knicks 94: “Warriors defense is playoff ready”

Knicks battle, but Warriors hold on for the win in defensive slugfest

Coming into tonight, the Golden State Warriors had gone 13-1 in games Jimmy Butler played. Make it 14. Without their captain, Jalen Brunson, the New York Knicks (42-24) battled for a full 48 minutes, but the home team (39-28) held on for a 97-94 win at the Chase Center.

Quoth DeuceJuice: “Warriors defense is playoff ready.” True—but credit the Knicks’ defense as well, particularly Deuce McBride and OG Anunoby. After a 32-31 first quarter, neither team topped 22 points in a single frame.

Karl-Anthony Towns led all scorers with 29 points and 12 rebounds. He took a beating but never backed down, even with five fouls hanging over him. Anunoby added 20 points, nine boards, three steals, and a block. McBride and Mikal Bridges each finished with 19 points.

But the player Knicks fans will be talking about tomorrow? Josh Hart. Despite logging seven rebounds, seven assists, a steal, and a block, he put up a goose egg, going 0-of-7 from the field. In the fourth quarter, he and Tom Thibodeau had a heated exchange during a timeout. There’s a clip somewhere in all those words below. What do you make of it? Just passions boiling over, or a harbinger of changes to come?

All in all, after losing their leader in the first game of this trip, the Knicks wrapped up a grueling five-game road stretch with a 2-3 record. Given the circumstances, that’s hardly a disappointment.

First Half

When these two teams last met, Karl-Anthony Towns was absent due to the death of a friend. On his next podcast, Draymond Green claimed Towns had skipped the game to avoid Jimmy Butler—an accusation that was both tone-deaf and ridiculous. As if to make a statement, Towns opened the game by scoring the Knicks’ first six points, all at the rim, and largely at Green’s expense. By the end of the first quarter, Towns had logged 11 points and five rebounds in just eight minutes. So much for being skeered.

Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby were especially sharp for our heroes, combining for 15 first-quarter points and six boards.

Golden State relied on their usual game plan, with six of their 11 made field goals coming from deep—as expected from a team ranking third in three-point attempts. Five Warriors logged at least five points in the opening frame, and Butler banked a buzzer-beater to give them a 32-31 lead.

The home team opened the second quarter with a 7-2 run, pushing their lead to six. Towns collected his third foul at the eight-minute mark, prompting heckling from Green. Draymond displayed all the traits of a phony tough guy, jawing at Towns without looking him in the eye. Before he retires, someone needs to treat Draymond to a proper hockey fight.

With Towns on the bench, New York kept the score tight, never allowing Golden State to pull ahead by more than six. Midway through the quarter, a lineup of Miles McBride, Bridges, Josh Hart, Precious Achiuwa, and Mitchell Robinson crashed the boards but struggled to convert those rebounds into points. Robinson, panting after running the floor, was called “gassed” by Doris Burke on the broadcast. She wasn’t lying.

New York’s defensive pressure ramped up, forcing six Warriors turnovers in the quarter. Meanwhile, McBride caught fire, reaching 13 points by intermission. A low-scoring second period, won 22-19 by the Warriors, brought the halftime total to 54-50.

By the break, Golden State had shot 8-of-23 from deep, while New York had gone 5-of-11. Otherwise, the two teams were neck and neck across the stat sheet—rebounds, points in the paint, turnovers, steals, blocks, fouls, etc. Would the Knicks sustain their defensive intensity and keep Towns out of foul trouble so he can keep stacking points in the second half?

Second Half

Led by KAT and OG, New York kept up their tough play after the break, but a pair of drilled threes from Stephen Curry pushed the Dubs’ lead to nine.

All of the Knicks’ starters hit double figures in scoring—except for Josh Hart, who remained ice-cold. Through three quarters, he had missed all five of his shots and was still scoreless. Maybe he doesn’t

Meanwhile, McBride continued to play at full throttle, stuffing Curry on defense, wrestling him into a jump ball, and soaring in for a putback dunk. His energy helped the Knicks chip away at the deficit. After another grind-it-out quarter, which New York edged 22-21, Golden State took a 75-72 lead into the final frame.

In the fourth, bricks by Hart, Cameron Payne, Anunoby, and Towns let the Warriors mount a 7-0 run and go up by nine. During the timeout, Thibs and Hart got into a screaming match. We were feeling pretty frustrated with him, too, coach. Any lip-readers out there want to caption Thibs? Note: P.J. Tucker steps in to calm Josh, giving more evidence to my pet theory that the vet was signed to mentor Josh.

Towns was getting hammered on play after play, but his contributions in the net and on the glass cut the differential to just two points going into crunch time. Anunoby and Deuce continued to torment Golden State’s ballhandlers, Hart continued to corral loose balls, and when Bridges swished a fadeaway jumper, New York had a tie.

With a minute remaining, the visitors trailed by two when Towns fouled Green, who made both freebies. 10 seconds later, McBride had his pocket picked by Gary Payton II, which resulted in a Green layup. How ironically fitting that this trash-talking lowlife drove the nails in New York’s coffin. . . . Great effort by our heroes tonight. Let’s go to bed.

Up Next

Home again, home again. For one game at least. The Knicks host the Heat at the Mecca on Monday and then jet off to San Antonio. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.

Box Score