Stephen Curry snapped out of his mini shooting funk and scored 31 points with eight 3-pointers to keep the Warriors rolling with a 110-99 win 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.
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Jonathan Kuminga had 25 points, eight rebounds and two blocks for the Warriors (31-27). Klay Thompson added 16 points and five rebounds. Draymond Green had seven points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Chris Paul chipped in with 11 points, six assists and three steals.
Golden State, which entered half a game behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the No. 9 spot in the Western Conference, never trailed despite an uneven night offensively but made up for it with one of its better defensive games of the season.
The Knicks (35-25), No. 4 in the East, shot 36.8 percent from the floor and committed 12 turnovers.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors won their second straight without Andrew Wiggins, who remains away from the team due to personal reasons. Moses Moody started in Wiggins’ absence and had eight points with four rebounds.
Here are the takeaways from Thursday’s game at Madison Square Garden:
Fast start sets the tone
The Warriors set the tone early when they opened up the second stop on this road trip with a dominant 14-0 run that could have and probably should have been bigger. That early spurt, Golden State’s longest to begin a game since 1977-78, put the Knicks on their heels and matched the second-longest game-opening streak in the NBA during the 2023-24 season.
Curry led the charge and nailed his first three 3-pointers, while Moody took a pass from Green under the basket, pump-faked then scored and was fouled. The three-point play put Golden State ahead 20-4.
The Knicks, who were held scoreless for the first six minutes of the game, made a run and got within 55-46 at halftime when former Warrior Donte DiVincenzo made two of three free throw attempts after getting fouled by Green with one-tenth of a second left in the second quarter.
That fast start was critical because the Knicks controlled much of the second half and got within 89-85 in the fourth quarter before Kuminga helped the Dubs pull away.
Steph's bounce back
So much for Curry being tired and wearing down.
The two-time MVP, whose shooting touch had been off in the previous two games, found his rhythm early and never let up. That it came at Madison Square Garden is certainly no surprise. Curry’s light has always shone its brightest in the Big Apple where he’s historically had some of his most brilliant games.
This time around it was another vintage performance by the Warriors’ ace shooter.
Curry scored 11 of his points in the first quarter and snagged seven rebounds, tying the most he’s had in any quarter of his career. He notched a double-double by halftime and was 11 of 26 shooting.
That should put to rest any worry or concern over Curry’s stamina. As he pointed out a few days ago, there are going to be ups and downs in any season, and the downs are magnified more when they happen to a player of Curry’s caliber. Looks like he’s back on the upswing now.
Battle of the boards
The game was a matchup of two of the top rebounding teams in the NBA. This time, the Knicks got the upper hand with a 67-62 edge.
New York, second in the NBA for offensive rebounds, got the edge there, too, but couldn’t cash in enough on the additional scoring opportunities.
Part of that was due to Golden State’s defense, which made up for most of the mistakes the team elsewhere. That, alone, is an encouraging sign for this team as the season heads into the final few months.