NEW YORK — Steph Curry didn’t have to completely steal the show for the Warriors to beat the Knicks on one of his favorite stages.
On the second night of a back-to-back, the Warriors reached back for one of their best defensive stretches of the season.
The Warriors held the Knicks scoreless for four straight minutes late in the fourth quarter, ripping off an 11-0 run.
In that stretch, Curry rainbowed in an absurd 3-pointer in the corner and dished a dime to Kevon Looney. For the dagger, he found himself wide open on a broken play for his fifth 3 of the game.
Curry finished with 28 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, an excellent performance but only ho-hum compared to some of his magnificent nights in this arena. He outplayed Jalen Brunson (25 points, seven assists) and was a +23 in the box score. The Warriors outscored New York 20 to nine in the last 6:33 of the game.
The 114-102 victory keeps the Warriors (34-28) in sole possession of sixth place in the Western Conference and makes them 9-1 with Jimmy Butler in the lineup.
Curry twisted his right ankle late in the first half on Monday night against Charlotte, but laced them up for the second night of a back-to-back. The Warriors come to Madison Square Garden once a year, and he wasn’t going to miss it.
But early on, Curry hit a 3 in the corner and then stepped on a courtside fan’s foot, tweaking his same ankle. He stayed in the game, flashing a quick thumbs-up toward Golden State’s bench.
As the Warriors avoided that catastrophe, they struggled for the second night in a row to get Butler involved. Butler took just one shot in the first quarter, then missed three more to begin the second as Curry sat on the bench. Two of those misfires came from behind the arc, making him 2-for-19 (10.5%) from deep as a Warrior.
The Knicks were missing Karl-Anthony Towns (personal reasons), but that might’ve actually helped their defense.
Curry walked gingerly to the locker room for halftime down 55-47. The Knicks ran their offense through Brunson to much success; even without shooting the ball well from deep, New York stayed organized and took care of the ball, with OG Anunoby (29 points) draining shots off Brunson.
Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, Gui Santos and Buddy Hield did their best to stay in front of Brunson. The herky-jerky guard got to his spots, scoring 17 points on 11 shots in the first half, but only added eight the rest of the way.
Curry was bound for a flurry, and it came right away in the second half. He scored six straight points before sinking the go-ahead 3 with 7:30 left in the third. On that play, he’d dove into the front row, spilling a drink in front of Spike Lee. Trailing the play, he caught and fired a 27-footer. After Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau called timeout, he returned to Lee and wiped up the floor for the award-winning filmmaker.
Butler came alive, too, working with Podziemski on back-cuts and in transition. A layup and two jams put Butler into double-digits and kept Curry’s rally going.
Curry added a logo 3 to make it a 14-point individual quarter, helping the Warriors enter the fourth with a one-point lead even as they struggled in the minutes he sat.
Hield started 1-for-8 from behind the arc before hitting two big ones in a row. The Warriors have to ride with him through tough stretches because of how much they need his spacing, and sometimes sticking with him pays off.
Because of Hield’s suddenly hot hand, Curry subbed back in at 6:33 with a one-point edge. The Knicks then missed seven straight shots, silencing the Mecca.
Curtains.
<