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Warriors’ Curry favors Garden crowd with triple-double
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
NEW YORK — Point guard Stephen Curry posted his fourth career triple-double, leading the Golden State Warriors to a 126-103 win over the New York Knicks on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
Curry finished with 27 points and had 11 points and 11 assists in 30 minutes. He did not play in the fourth quarter when the Warriors led by as many as 20 points.
Curry joined Miami’s LeBron James as the only players with at least 50 points and a triple-double at Madison Square Garden since its renovation in 1968. Curry scored 54 points at the Garden last season.
“It’s one of those arenas with history and you look forward to play here,” Curry said.
The fourth-year pro from Davidson rebounded from his worst performance of the season. Curry scored five points in a 103-83 loss to Chicago on Wednesday.
“We didn’t play our best in Chicago,” Curry said. “It was a big opportunity to come out and correct that and we did that from the start. It was a good 48-minute performance.”
Curry sank five of the Warriors’ 13 3-pointers. He leads the league in 3-pointers this season with 193 after setting an NBA season record with 272 3-pointers last season. The Warriors rank seventh in the league in 3-point field goal percentage.
“He (Curry) enjoys the bright lights,” Warriors coach and former Knicks guard Mark Jackson said. “Especially coming off a poor performance against Chicago, he was anxious about tonight.”
Shooting guard Klay Thompson popped in 25 points for Golden State (36-23). Curry and Thompson are averaging 41.6 points per game, making them the highest scoring backcourt in the league this season.
The Warriors scored their most points of the season.
The Knicks (21-38) were led by 23 points from forward Carmelo Anthony. New York was 2-11 in February and have lost by 20 points or more eight times this season. It surrendered its most points in regulation this season.
“Somewhere along the line, we have to draw the line and figure out if we are committed to making the playoffs,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. “We can’t beg for help. We have to win games.
“We got beat not in the half-court but more in transition. That is effort and running. Matching and making sure we pick up bodies. That was the worst of the year, I thought.”
The Warriors scored 15 fast-break points.
Thompson had 11 points in the third quarter when the Warriors built a 99-80 cushion and led by as many as 27 points.
Golden State used a 10-2 run during a 1:21 span late in the second quarter on the way to a 73-52 halftime cushion. It was the most points the Warriors scored in a half this season. Curry had 20 points in the half.
The Warriors shot 50 percent from the 3-point arc in the half and assisted on 16 of their 27 baskets.
The Knicks did a poor job of protecting the paint and defending the perimeter. The Warriors dominated in both areas in the first quarter, resulting in a 38-27 lead. Golden State scored 14 points in the low post while shooting 5 of 9 from 3-point range.
Curry deposited 12 points in the first quarter. J. R. Smith took 10 of the Knicks 25 shots from the floor, making four.
“He (Curry) is an incredible basketball player,” Jackson said. “He is unselfish and he showed his versatility. Tonight, he did an outstanding job of running the show, picking and choosing his spots and making his teammates better. Something he has been doing all year long.”
NOTES: Knicks F Amar’e Stoudemire was sidelined with a sore left knee. … Knicks F Carmelo Anthony leads the league in minutes per game (39.1). Golden State G Stephen Curry is sixth (37.4). … The Knicks signed G Shannon Brown and F Earl Clark to 10-day contracts Thursday. … Golden State coach Mark Jackson is second on the Knicks’ career assist list with 4,005. … Warriors C Andrew Bogut’s .632 field goal percentage is the second highest in franchise history for a season. … Anthony averaged 31.5 points and 8.0 rebounds for the Knicks in February. … Knicks rookie G Tim Hardaway Jr. had 22 points on Friday night, marking the fourth time this season that he has scored 20 or more points.
