The Golden State Warriors’ lengthy home stand continued on Thursday when they hosted the hobbled New York Knicks. Steph Curry and Co., 3-1 during the home stretch, hoped to take advantage of Jalen Brunson’s (ankle) absence to fend off the visiting team.
Without Brunson, the visitors still got off to a sizzling start. They outscored the hosts 26-11 in the first six minutes of the opening quarter. New York fended off Golden State’s late surge to lead 35-30 after 12 minutes.
Jimmy Butler had seven points, one assist and one steal in the last 1:53 to keep his team within striking distance.
The Dubs flipped the script in the first five minutes of the second quarter, outscoring their opponents 17-9. Behind its hot shooting, Golden State turned a five-point first-quarter deficit into a 62-59 halftime advantage.
The Warriors created more breathing room in the third quarter behind efficient outside shooting. They went 7-for-14 from behind the arc in the period to put some distance between themselves and the Knicks. Moses Moody had three while Steph Curry had two triples in the quarter to push the Dubs to a 99-87 lead.
Curry and Co. answered every time the visitors tried to inch closer. New York cut the deficit to 106-115 following an OG Anunoby dunk with 4:33 before Golden State kept its double-digit lead the rest of the way to win 126-113.
Knicks vs. Warriors player stats
| Knicks | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG | 3PT FG | FT | +/- |
| OG Anunoby | 25 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 10-20 | 1-4 | 4-5 | -6 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns | 17 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6-14 | 2-4 | 3-4 | +4 |
| Josh Hart | 5 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1-7 | 0-2 | 3-4 | -10 |
| Mikal Bridges | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9-11 | 3-4 | 0-0 | -2 |
| Miles McBride | 25 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9-16 | 6-12 | 1-1 | -1 |
| Guerschon Yabusele | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | -9 |
| Pacome Dadiet | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Mohamed Diawara | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Ariel Hukporti | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-2 | -3 |
| Jordan Clarkson | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4-11 | 0-3 | 3-3 | -18 |
| Landry Shamet | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2-7 | 2-7 | 0-0 | -8 |
| Kevin McCullar Jr. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Tyler Kolek | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | -12 |
| – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Warriors | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG | 3-PT FG | FT | +/- |
| Jimmy Butler III | 32 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14-22 | 1-3 | 3-5 | +15 |
| Draymond Green | 6 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1-4 | 1-4 | 3-3 | +6 |
| Quinten Post | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2-9 | 1-6 | 0-0 | -4 |
| Stephen Curry | 27 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10-17 | 4-9 | 3-3 | +3 |
| Moses Moody | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7-10 | 7-9 | 0-0 | +3 |
| Gui Santos | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | -2 |
| Al Horford | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2-5 | 1-2 | 0-0 | +9 |
| Gary Payton II | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | -2 |
| De’Anthony Melton | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2-8 | 1-5 | 0-0 | +17 |
| Pat Spencer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 |
| Brandin Podziemski | 19 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8-9 | 2-3 | 1-2 | +22 |
| Will Richard | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | -2 |
| Trayce-Jackson Davis | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Jonathan Kuminga | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Buddy Hield | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
New York and Golden State will meet again in mid-March for their final regular-season tussle.
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