Exactly 10 days ago, the Golden State Warriors — sans a whole cast of players — shocked the Houston Rockets with an overtime win on the road. I emphatically proclaimed it as the win of the year, stating that no other game for the rest of the season can match it.
Golden State followed it up by losing four consecutive games, but on Sunday they almost made me eat my words. Again on the road, this time against an arguably even better team in the New York Knicks, and now missing even more players, the Warriors
came oh-so-close to pulling off a truly stunning upset, ultimately losing 110-107.
The Warriors were playing without Steph Curry. And without Jimmy Butler III. And without Draymond Green. And without Al Horford. And without Kristaps Porziņģis. And without De’Anthony Melton. And without Moses Moody. And without Seth Curry.
Against a team with NBA Finals aspirations, the Warriors ran out a 10-player rotation that featured one first-round pick, three second-round picks, and six undrafted players. A rotation that used all three two-way contracts, plus a player who began the year on a two-way contract, and also someone just signed to a 10-day contract who was playing in his first NBA game in 23 months.
And it came down to the final possession. And they at one point led by 21.
But they came up just short.
The game started well. The Warriors looked good on offense in the early going, and had lots of energy as they jumped out to an early lead. Quinten Post was pouring in the buckets as the team built up a quick 19-13 lead. Ömer Yurtseven, the aforementioned player on a recently-signed 10-day contract, made his team and season debut before the halfway mark and looked solid. The Dubs weren’t getting much separation until the end of the quarter, when Brandin Podziemski’s aggression started to steer the game, and the Warriors ended the quarter on an 11-0 run that was punctuated on the final possessions when they forced a turnover, then scored on the other end courtesy of a Malevy Leons tip-in. It was a shocking 35-21 advantage after the opening frame.
They continued to pour things on in the second quarter, and within a few minutes held a 46-25 lead. Madison Square Garden was quiet, confused as to why their successful team was getting crushed by a squad that might struggle against some G League teams.
Golden State’s offense, which did a great job all night of penetrating rather than settling for threes, was getting the job done, while the defense was solid, and aided by the Knicks missing plenty of shots. That led to New York defaulting to isolations, as their offense stagnated and the frustration mounted.
Finally, near the end of the half, New York started to shift the momentum. As they tightened their defense, Golden State’s offense started to get sloppy. Not only were the Dubs leaving points on the table, but their turnovers were allowing the Knicks to find a rhythm. It was all punctuated with a very poorly run two-for-one to end the half, where the Warriors missed their chance for two possessions, turned the ball over, and then ceded a three on the other end. Still, they led 54-45 at halftime.
The Knicks picked up where they left off in the second half, quickly scoring the first five points of the third quarter. It was all slipping away from the Warriors, but they refused to back down. From second-chance opportunities to quick hands on defense to a Will Richard poster, the Warriors were finding ways to stay just ahead of the Knicks.
But eventually the damn would break. With just under four minutes left in the frame, Mikal Bridges sank a long corner two to tie the game. With 2:17 remaining, Jalen Brunson banked home a floated to give the Knicks a 77-75 advantage … their first lead since 9-8 in the opening minutes. When the buzzer rang marking the end of the third quarter, New York led 83-80.
To the Warriors credit, they were not at all discouraged. They didn’t stop hustling or flying around the court. Unfortunately for them, the Knicks started to do those things, and the result was that the loose balls and unclaimed rebounds started to equalize, rather than all going in Golden State’s direction. New York, with all their key players healthy, were finally flexing it, and simply executing much better than the Warriors were. And by the halfway mark of the final frame, they had pushed the lead to seven.
That’s the point where the game is supposed to unofficially end. Once you’ve taken your best shot as an underdog, and then blown the lead, you’re supposed to cave as the game gets away from you.
But it didn’t. The Warriors kept making hustle play after hustle play, and highlight after highlight. They blocked shots to get surprising stops, and creatively found their way to the bucket on offense, led by 11 ultra-crafty fourth-quarter points from Gui Santos. And in the final moments of the game, they pulled to within a point.
After getting a stop inside the final minute, Golden State had a two-for-one — if they acted quickly — and a chance to take the lead. They couldn’t quite get a shot off quickly enough, but Podziemski still got a good look at a three, though it didn’t fall. The shot clock was now off, and the Dubs were forced to foul. Landry Shamet made a pair of free throws to push New York’s lead back to three points, but Podziemski answered with a quick layup, pulling the Dubs back to within one. After OG Anunoby made his free throws, the Warriors had one last chance, and inbounded the ball from their own sideline with 6.2 seconds remaining, needing a three to force overtime.
But New York’s defense smothered them, and they were unable to get a shot off. And instead of a shocking win, the Warriors got a fifth straight defeat.
Podziemski led the Warriors with 25 points on 8-for-15 shooting, and added five rebounds, six assists, and two steals. Also clearing the 20-point barrier were Post, who had 22 points, three rebounds, and three assists, and Santos, who had 20 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. That trio, though, combined for 13 turnovers as the Warriors squared off with one of the sport’s strongest defenses.
The Dubs will be back in action tomorrow night at 4:00 p.m. PT, when they visit the Washington Wizards. That should be an easier game — the Wizards are very bad, and the Dubs should be getting at least Green and Melton back — but then again, the Warriors seem to struggle more with the easier games these days.
