The Knicks were unable to overcome a sluggish start as they were defeated by the Golden State Warriors, 110-99, on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
Here are the takeaways…
– The Knicks got both Jalen Brunson and Isaiah Hartenstein back into the starting lineup after they missed Tuesday’s game against the Pelicans due to injuries, but they both struggled to make much of an impact early on. Hartenstein appeared to still be on a minutes restriction as he played just 11 minutes, and put up zero points, during the first half. The star point guard put up just nine points heading into the halftime break.
– With Brunson struggling to get going, so did the rest of New York’s offense. The Knicks missed their first nine shots from the field, and Golden State came out flying led by Steph Curry, to jump out to an early 14-0 lead. New York fought back in the first half led by 11 points each from Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, but they still trailed by nine.
– As they’ve done throughout the course of this season, New York continued to be resilient throughout the second half, but for each punch they threw Golden State had a counterpunch right back. Brunson dropped 13 points in the third quarter and a 13-2 Knicks run helped cut the deficit down to single digits.
– The Warriors have been one of the worst fourth-quarter teams in basketball this season and that trend continued in this one. Back-to-back baskets from Miles ‘Deuce’ McBride sparked a 9-0 run, which helped cut the deficit all the way down to four, the closest it had been since the first quarter. The Knicks refused to go away, but as was the case all game, Golden State answered right back with one last push to pull out their seventh straight road win.
– Despite the slow start, Brunson had 27 points on 11-of-25 shooting. Hart was a monster, playing all but one minute in the contest while putting together a 14 point-17 rebound double-double, to go along with seven assists. Jericho Sims saw extra minutes off the bench with Hartenstein restricted and he finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
– Curry came into the night on a bit of a shooting slump, but he quickly forgot about that under the bright lights of MSG, as he put together his first points-rebounds double-double (17-11) in nearly nine years in the first half. The superstar point guard went on to finish with 31 points on a stellar 11-of-26 shooting from the field (8-of-18 on threes) and 11 rebounds.
– The shorthanded Knicks finished the month of February with a record of 4-8, but they still sit a game up on the Miami Heat for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Highlights
What’s next
The Knicks have a few days to rest up before facing Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night at 7 p.m. for a quick one-game road trip.
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