The team with the best record in the league took on the team with the worst record in the league, and the result was as expected.
The Warriors, well-rested after five players missed Friday’s contest in Denver, obliterated the Knicks on Stephen Curry‘s 27th birthday to the tune of 125-94.
Curry finished the night with 25 points and a game-high 11 assists, and his six three-pointers marking the 56th straight game he has made a three-pointer.
Despite the prowess of Golden State, Knicks head coach Derek Fisher was confident heading into the game, saying there’s no reason New York’s defense couldn’t disrupt the Warriors:
“Last I checked, all their guys are human beings and can be impacted and affected by good defense just as well as anybody else.”
After leading 27-26 at the end of the first quarter, those sentiments seemed to be forgotten by a Knicks squad who played little to no defense through the rest of the game, allowing the Warriors to lead by as many as 40.
A second-quarter surge from the bench, led by Justin Holliday who finished with 13 points, was capped off with Curry hitting his fifth three-pointer of the night from 28 feet out as the halftime buzzer expired with a 21-point Warriors lead.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said the Warriors started to look like themselves again in the second quarter, and credited the bench for giving the game a spark when it needed one:
“That’s as good as it gets. That was the biggest stretch of the game when the bench came in. We didn’t get off to a great start but our bench unit was fantastic.”
Klay Thompson finished the night with a game-high 27 points in just over 25 minutes, scoring 14 of them in the third frame. Thompson told SFBay that though his team mate Curry is human, it doesn’t mean he isn’t one of the best:
“He’s definitely human, he’s just one of the best in the world at what he does. We’re fortunate enough to see it on a nightly basis and we do not take it for granted.”
The Knicks (13-51) seemed to just go through the motions for the rest of the contest, and their lack of effort gave way for the Splash Brothers to combine for 52 points.
As the Warriors pushed the lead to 40 points in the third quarter with a 24-5 run, the crowd chanted MVP and sang Happy Birthday to Curry as he shot free throws.
“It’s just special that they are having fun obviously, and with the game went they used the time to serenade me, it’s pretty special.”
Golden State’s starters — save Harrison Barnes — were taken out of the game with just under a minute remaining in the third quarter and never returned.
The Warriors, now 52-13, blasted past their season win-total (51) from last season with the victory. Next up are the visiting Lakers (17-47) Monday followed by East-leading Atlanta Hawks (51-14) Wednesday.
After trading the lead with New York four times in the first quarter, Golden State scored 47 points in the second frame on 18-of-23 shooting. It was the Warriors’ highest scoring quarter this season rand the most the team has scored in a quarter since scoring 48 in the opening frame on Nov. 2, 1991 vs. Sacramento. … The Warriors earned their 14th victory by a margin of at least 20 points, tying a franchise record for such games in a single season (San Francisco Warriors in 1963-64). … Justin Holiday led the second unit with 13 points, shooting 3-of-6 from three. It marked Holiday’s second consecutive game with at least three three-pointers, a career first.
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Last modified March 16, 2015 10:51 pm
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