Stephen Curry bounced back from his previous game, which finished in a scoreless first half, and the Golden State Warriors upset the New York Knicks 110-99 on Thursday night. By the half, Curry had 31 points and 11 rebounds.
.
Thanks to 25 points from Jonathan Kuminga, the Warriors, who had won 11 straight games in the 2018–19 season, now had their longest winning run of seven games away from home. The Warriors went out to an early 14-0 lead and never looked back, even though they were never in control for very long. They started out with multiple large leads, but the Knicks, with their meagre resources, kept getting closer to a workable lead. They could not recover, as Golden State won for the eleventh time in twelve games overall.
.
Curry scored just seven points in the first half of a win at Washington on Tuesday, matching his lowest two-quarter scoring total since November 23, 2012. In his career, he had recorded a double-double in the first half just twice. He made a 3-pointer to start the game and ended with 17 points and 10 rebounds at the break. Eight 3-pointers were made by Klay Thompson, who finished with 16 points. Chris Paul concluded his second game with 11 points and six assists after missing 21 games as a result of a fractured left hand.
Jalen Brunson scored 27 points for the Knicks, who were 14-2 in January before going 4-8 in February. They don’t know when their starting forwards, Julius Randle and OG Anunoby, will be back, but they lost both late in the month. Josh Hart finished with 14 points, 18 rebounds, and seven assists, while Donte DiVincenzo added 16 more points for the Knicks, who had trailed by 17 points early after missing their first nine shots. Curry’s first goal of the game came in just 17 seconds, and the Warriors led 14-0 after four minutes. Following a basket by DiVincenzo to halt New York’s 0-9 start, Thompson added a three-pointer to make the score 17-2. The Knicks closed the gap to 50-44 at the half, but Golden State still led 55-46 at the break after Curry’s second basket gave the Warriors a 22-5 advantage.
Curry’s 3-pointer midway through the third quarter gave the Warriors a 17-point advantage once more. But the Knicks rallied, and with 2:39 remaining in the game, Brunson’s 3-pointer trimmed the score to 73-67. Golden State was still up seven points with almost three and a half minutes remaining, but two free throws by Curry from beyond the arc extended the margin to 10.
Anunoby was cleared to resume solo basketball exercises on Thursday, according to coach Tom Thibodeau. However, because he is still healing from elbow surgery, he is not yet permitted to play in any contact scenarios. This could indicate that Anunoby’s return is drawing nearer.