The Knicks continued to build their reputation as road warriors on Thursday night against the Golden State.
With their last defensively responsible win, a 119-104 victory over Stephen Curry and the Warriors, the Knicks equaled their overall record of 8-8 and improved to 5-4 on the road this season, entering Friday night’s visit to Sacramento at the Golden 1 Center.
“We are just trying to work hard and work hard every day. This is really what we are trying to do. We are very focused, we have done our best and we will continue to do so throughout the season, ”said RJ Barrett after adding 28 points, the best of his career, against Golden State. “It is difficult to win on the road and I think we are focused and preparing ourselves mentally. It has been good and I hope to stay that way for the rest of the trip. ”
Western’s four games continue on Sunday night in Portland and end on Tuesday in Utah. The Knicks’ 5-4 start outside Madison Square Garden this season is especially encouraging after they have compiled a record 54-143 in the past five seasons, including 10-23 last year and even worse (8-33) in 2018 -19.
Perhaps the best explanation – and certainly an aspect of any NBA team that should be translated wherever the games are played – is the team’s commitment to defense under coach Tom Thibodeau in the first year. The Knicks entered Friday’s game first in the NBA with the lowest number of points allowed (102.8 per game), while keeping opponents with the lowest percentage of field goal (43.0%) and 3 percentage points (30.7%).
Thibodeau complained that the Knicks deviated from these defensive principles during the five-game losing streak that preceded their three consecutive wins until Thursday.
“There are a number of things that you look at. We started to build a base to come back and put our defense in place, ”said Thibodeau after Thursday’s game. “We always talk about taking care of the ball, painting, reacting, covering the line, finishing the defense with a challenge to kick and rebound. It requires several efforts and all linked together.
“We are still in progress,” he continued. “There are many things that we could do better and that we will do over time. We need to continue to practice and learn and the challenge is when you’re on the road like that, when you’re playing a lot of games and your practice time is limited, when we practice, we have to maximize that time and make sure we’re making corrections and improvements. If we are doing the right things every day, I know that we will do our best in the end. ”
The improvement of the entire Knicks team on its own side was shown against the Warriors, who shot just 38.4 percent from the ground and 23.7 percent (9 to 38) from a 3-point range, including a 5 for 14 night long distance by Curry.
Thibodeau praised titular owner Elfrid Payton for his efforts against the twice MVP, who committed four turnovers. Nerlens Noel (four), Mitchell Robinson and rookie Obi Toppin (two each) made eight of the Knicks’ nine blocks.
“You never know what kind of team you are until you go out there and play,” said Julius Randle. “We had a good start to camp, great start to camp. The guys got better every day. We improve as a team every day. I think we have a technical committee and coaches that we believe in. We went out and tried to have a good game plan and try to execute it. So, I think we have a good confidence in the team, for sure. “