Golden Eight! Knicks Conquer Warriors Through Familiar Means
The New York Knicks were granted a literally golden opportunity on Tuesday night, when the Golden State Warriors' annual visit was given the national TV treatment. Though the defending champions had been decimated by injuries (headlined by the medical absence of Steph Curry), the Knicks had a chance to show the basketball world what they've been working on as they've embarked upon the Association's longest active winning streak.
One look at the scoreboard is all it takes to see they took advantage and then some.
Behind a barrage of 17 three-pointers, the Knicks (18-13) gave the Warriors a taste of their own medicine en route to their eighth consecutive victory. Five came from the arms of Immanuel Quickley, whose 22 points off the bench led the way in a 132-94 triumph.
New York's active eight-game winning streak is tied for the second-longest overall string of victories in the Association this season, one away from the top mark shared by Milwaukee and Boston. The Knicks also ended a lengthy losing streak: Tuesday's win over the Warriors (15-17) was their first in Golden State's last 10 visits to Manhattan.
In addition to reserves Quickley and Miles McBride, four of the Knicks' starters reached double figures. The outlier, Mitchell Robinson, was one point short of a double-double after he hauled in 11 rebounds. Jalen Brunson had 21 points despite a cold start from the field while Julius Randle scored 15 with 12 boards.
The Knicks made it clear that those gathered at MSG were in for a treat after scoring the first eight points of the game, matching it by the end of the opening period. Golden State narrowed the gap to as little as two in the early stages of the second thanks to a pair of Curry-impersonating triples from Anthony Lamb. But the Knicks put up their own outside showcase, headlined by Brunson's return to form: the $104 million man hit all five of his attempts from the field after starting 1-of-5.
In a case of vengeful irony, the Knicks' outside prowess came exactly a year and six days after Curry became the all-time leader in successful three-pointers. Quickley took advantage by setting his own season-high in threes with five on six attempts. Quentin Grimes (4-of-8 from deep) had 19 and the Knicks improved to 10-5 since he became a fixture in the starting five. Grimes played only two minutes when the Knicks and Warriors met in San Francisco back on Nov. 18 and has since taken over the role of the Knicks' primary shooting guard.
Even the last men off the bench, Ryan Arcidiacono and Svi Mykailiuk, got in on the fun with one each when head coach Tom Thibodeau sought to run the clock out. The latter scored not only the Knicks' final points of the night and allowed them to win by their largest lead of the night at 38. That margin also creates the Knicks' most one-sided win this season, breaking the 30-point shellacking they laid on Detroit on Nov. 29.
With the loss, Golden State fell to 3-15 on the road this season, the worst mark in the NBA. Jordan Poole led all Tuesday scorers with 26 in defeat.
The Knicks will get a chance to extend their winning streak to nine against a divisional rival on Wednesday when the Toronto Raptors visit for the first time this season (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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