It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish is a popular refrain in the sports world, but it isn’t always true. In order for the adage to be correct, how you finish must be strong enough to negate and overpower how you started. And thankfully, that was exactly the case for the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, as they overcame a miserable opening act to cruise past the New York Knicks 126-113.
It was a tale of two halves for the Warriors, except the second “half” started late in the first quarter.
They came out of the gates slow and sloppy, with Steph Curry committing two turnovers in the opening minutes. Following a 3-3 tie, the Knicks — who were playing without All-Star Jalen Brunson — scored 10 unanswered points to take control early.
But it wasn’t just a flash in the pan for New York. They were crushing the Warriors in every phase of the game, which continued for a good while. They were faster, more energized, and more physical. They were handling the Dubs in the paint, and lighting it up from beyond the arc. The only good news for the Warriors was that Moses Moody was on a heater, and started 3-for-3 from deep to score nine of the team’s first 11 points. But 11 points is nothing to brag about when your opponent has 26 which was the situation still.
Things changed late in the quarter, though. With the Dubs already getting blown out, there was concern when Curry headed to the bench for his usual rest that Golden State would lose contact with New York. Instead, the Warriors got Karl-Anthony Towns into foul trouble — a theme for the rest of the game — and then set about going to work. It was all about the veteran second unit, featuring the savvy bench play of Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton, and a superstar performance from the designated starter-leading-the-second-unit, Jimmy Butler III.
Butler completely took over late in the frame, running off a 7-0 run all by himself. That veteran trio powered the Warriors to a 16-4 run to finish the quarter and, despite trailing by 17 points at one moment, the Warriors were down just 35-30 after the opening frame.
In order for Golden State to fully get back in the game, though, they would have to turn on the defense that has carried them over the last month. And that’s exactly what they did to start the second quarter. The defensive clamps started to come out, and as they did, the Knicks fell into stagnant isolation possessions, rather than the free-flowing, hyper-athletic poetry they had showcased in the first. Suddenly, the energy had completely flipped: the Warriors were now the team outhustling and playing on the court, instead of being outhustled by a joyous Knickerbockers squad; and the Chase Center, so quiet in the first quarter, was buzzing in the second.
At the 5:55 mark in the quarter, Melton drained a three that gave Golden State their first lead of the night. They would rarely look back.
But the Dubs wouldn’t run away with it there. Instead, the score hung in purgatory as the teams exchanged brilliant possessions and highlight buckets. It was a true joy watching the action late in the second quarter, as the basketball was simply fun. For the Warriors, their wizardry came from an unexpected place, as Brandin Podziemski scored a series of outrageous buckets to keep the team in front. The defensive intensity to end the second was a night-and-day difference from how it had been to start the first and, thanks to it, the Warriors led 62-59 at halftime, despite Curry shooting 0-for-4 on threes.
Needless to say, Curry wouldn’t stay silent with his jumper for long, and by the time he turned on his three-point button, he was ready to help carry the Dubs to victory. The Knicks had a brief run to start the second half, uqickly tying the game, but then the Warriors scored seven unanswered point, and the run turned to 13-2 as the lead reached double digits for the first time in the night, prompting Mike Brown to call timeout just a few minutes in, with the Warriors leading 78-67.
The Knicks were still giving their all, but without Brunson — and with the Warriors cranking up the defensive intensity — their all simply was not enough. The Warriors held the lead steady for the rest of the third quarter, and while it waned a few times, Butler was always there to take complete control of the action. He did that again to end the third, making the game his and his only, as Golden State took a 99-87 lead into the final 12 minutes.
It wouldn’t be a smooth fourth quarter, though not for the usual reasons. The Warriors did not have a meltdown, or any tension with the lead. Instead, the game turned to molasses behind a bevy of stoppages and reviews, some to determine whether common fouls should be flagrant fouls (yes for Draymond Green; no for Towns), and some for challenged calls. It seemed we couldn’t get through a full possession without an extended stoppage. And when we emerged on the other side of it, the rhythm had been fully sapped from the game, and it felt like a dangerous moment for the Dubs.
But instead, Towns picked up his fourth and fifth fouls within a few seconds of each other, and headed to the bench with 10:45 remaining. That was just what the Warriors needed, as they assumed total control of the game, as Curry went into full arrogant mode, playing with his food before draining back-breaker after back-breaker.
The Knicks offense had essentially devolved into OG Anunoby going one-on-five, and while Anunoby was playing that impossible role spectacularly well, it wasn’t enough for an offense that was now firing on all cylinders, and admirable defensive and rebounding efforts. There was no scare, and the Dubs coasted to a 126-113 victory.
Butler led all scorers with 32 points, as he continues to look more and more like the player the Warriors acquired 11 months ago. He shot 14-for-22 from the field, got whatever he wanted against New York, put the team on his back repeatedly, grabbed eight rebounds, dished four assists, nabbed two steals, and didn’t turn the ball over once. Curry, mirroring the team (or perhaps vice versa), overcame a slow start to have a fantastic game, scoring 27 points on 10-for-17 shooting, with seven assists. And Moody kept the hot shooting going, finishing with one of his best scoring outputs of the year: 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting, including 7-for-9 from three-point range.
But it was, once again, the bench that really shined. Podziemski had one of his best games of the year, shooting a nearly-perfect 8-for-9 from the field for 19 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals, and finishing with a game-high +22. Horford and Melton had modest scoring nights (five points on subpar shooting for each), but had sensational all-around games: Horford had five rebounds, five assists, one steal, two blocks, and was +9, while Melton had two rebounds, two assists, one steal, two blocks, and was +17, and each played excellent defense. Golden State’s bench outscored New York’s by a 35-20 margin.
