SAN FRANCISCO – – RJ Barrett had his career record with 28 points and the New York Knicks equaled their longest winning streak of the season in three games by beating the Golden State Warriors 119-104 on Thursday night.
“We enter each game feeling that we must win the game or give us a chance to win the game,” said Knicks striker Julius Randle. “We are a good team and we are playing a good team basketball game.”
Stephen Curry scored 30 points with five points out of 3, but hit only 9 out of 19, as Golden State did not have the same energy that it had in the uneven victory against Spurs the night before. It certainly didn’t help that Draymond Green was sent off at the end of the first half due to a disputed technique, when he appeared to be shouting at his teammate James Wiseman.
“At the break, Ben Taylor came over and told me it was a mistake, that John Butler didn’t realize that Draymond was yelling at his teammate. He thought he was yelling at him, “said Warriors coach Steve Kerr about his conversation with the referees.” Obviously, Draymond is one of our best and most impactful players, so it hurt us, but we were playing really bad up to that point. So I’m not going to talk about refereeing, I’m going to talk about our bad game. “
Randle added 16 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists to help New York build the much needed momentum during this successful streak to reach 0.500 (8-8) after a five-game losing streak.
Randle had triple-double chances, but fell short.
“You always want to try to get one, if you can. I am very happy for the victory ”, he said. “I will answer any day.”
Alec Burks returned from a 12-game absence with a sprained left ankle, ending with 11 points and six rebounds for the Knicks. Burks spent 48 games with the Golden State last season before switching to the 76ers. When he entered the 4:49 mark in the first quarter, Warriors announcer Matt Pitman said, “Welcome back to the bay, Alec Burks!”
Andrew Wiggins had 17 points and nine rebounds, and newcomer Wiseman contributed 15 points and eight boards to the Warriors, who hit just 38.8% of the shots and hit 9 of 38 on 3 points.
“We are not the team we were yesterday. We didn’t come with the same focus, so in the next game we have to bring it, “said Wiggins.
New York threw 7 of 11 off the ground to start the game, making four of their initial five 3s to build a quick 20-12 lead.
The game featured a total of 55 personal fouls.
“Draymond, we had a chance when he was sent off,” said Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.
GREEN FACTOR
Golden State has dropped to 6-5 with its current starting lineup since Green returned from a foot injury. But given that Green was launched at 1:04 towards the end of the first half after his second technical foul, it didn’t look like a game he played – although he had three points and eight assists.
Kerr doesn’t even think Green is “in top form yet.”
“We were a mess without him. I think Draymond is realizing how important he is to this team, ”said Kerr.
TIP-INS
Knicks: Frank Ntilikina, limited to four games so far and missing the 12th straight with a sprain in his right knee, is still listed on a daily basis by Thibodeau, who said: “doing a little more each day, so we’ll see how it goes . ”… New York suffered a skid of 10 games in the series and a streak of five losses at the Warriors’ home with a 124-122 win on their last visit to the Bay Area on December 11, 2019. … G Austin Rivers sat with a sore right Achilles tendon.
Warriors: Eric Paschall scored 12 and reached 1,000 points in his 74th career game, the least number of games by a Golden State second-round pick in the modern draft era since 1966, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Gilbert Arenas did this in 79 games. … The Warriors lost at home to the Knicks for the fourth time in the last 19 games and for the fifth time in 22 clashes in total.
NEXT
Knicks: At Sacramento Kings on Friday to continue a four-game trip to the West.
Warriors: In Utah, on Saturday night, having lost the last four to Jazz, three in Utah and eight out of 10 overall.
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