NEW YORK --
The way Stephen Curry likes to play at Madison Square Garden, the New York
Knicks are thankful the All-Star only visits there once per year.
Exactly one
year and one night ago, Curry, one of the NBA’s best outside shooters, drained
11 of 13 shots from behind the arc while scoring a career-high 54 points -- but
his Golden State Warriors lost to the Knicks, 109-105.
This time,
there was no doubt, as Curry, leading the league in assists, put himself in some
extremely rare Garden company. Needing just three quarters to post his third
triple-double of the season, Curry led Golden State (36-23) to a 126-103 rout
of New York (21-38) at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.
Although he
scored merely half of the points he did the last time he played at MSG, Curry,
with game highs of 27 points and 11 assists, and a team-best 11 rebounds, joined
LeBron James as the only opposing players to post a 50-point game and a triple-double
on the Knicks’ home floor.
Carmelo
Anthony is one of three Knicks (along with Bernard King and Patrick Ewing) to
accomplish the same feat. While he led New York with 23 points and 16 rebounds,
last year’s scoring champion uncharacteristically missed 19 of 26 shots,
including five of six from 3-point range.
“I knew when
I had seven [rebounds], somebody mentioned it on the bench,” Curry said of
being aware that he was closing in on his fourth career triple-double late in
the third period. “Once I got the last one, I heard a couple rumbles in the
crowd and I put two and two together… it’s pretty special. I hadn’t had a
[triple-double] since my rookie year before this year started. I have three [this
year] and hopefully some more left in the tank.”
Commenting on
impressing the New York crowd again, a humble Curry remained team-focused. “It’s
one of those arenas that you understand the history,” he said. “To get a win
this year [unlike last year] is bigger than any [personal] stats [for me].”
Reserve
guard Tim Hardaway, Jr. added 22 points, and usual guard J.R. Smith (starting
at forward) scored 17, but the Warriors countered with plenty offense
themselves. Curry’s backcourt mate Klay Thompson scored 25 points, 35-year-old
reserve forward Jermaine O’Neal had 15, reserve forward Maurice Speights scored
12 and ex-Knick, forward David Lee, added 10.
Hurting the
Knicks from both the interior and perimeter, Golden State held a 44-32 edge in
the paint while Curry (in 11 attempts) and Thompson (in 10 tries) each made
five 3s.
Coached by
another former Knick player, head coach Mark Jackson, the Warriors won for the fifth
time in six games (all since the All-Star break) while rebounding from a
blowout loss in Chicago two nights earlier. During that game, Golden State allowed
the same 103 points as it did in New York -- but scored 43 fewer -- as Curry
was held to a season-low-tying five points on just 2-of-10 shooting.
“We know we
didn’t play our best in Chicago,” Curry said. “This was an opportunity to
correct that and we did that from the start.”
Meanwhile,
the Knicks, who completed their second 2-11 month of the season (the other was
November) after going a far more respectable 16-15 over December and January,
fell to a season-high 17 games under .500. They also allowed a regulation season-high
in points, giving up just three points less than the 129 they allowed during a
double overtime loss in Orlando a week prior.
Coming off
of a 26-point defeat in Miami one night earlier, New York was outscored by 49
points over about a 26-hour period. The Knicks also fell six games behind
Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Setting the
tone at the outset, Curry made three shots and assisted on an alley-oop dunk as
the Warriors scored 10 straight points to lead, 15-6. Golden State extended
that advantage to as much as 34-23 in the opening quarter before holding a
38-27 edge as the period ended.
A layup by O’Neal
(who followed 37-year-old Vince Carter’s season-high 23 points at MSG on Monday
night) pushed the lead to 43-27 less than two minutes into the second quarter. Although
the Knicks responded with a 12-5 run to get within 48-39, a 3-pointer by Curry
started a 22-10 spurt to close the half, and the Warriors led, 73-52, at
halftime.
Giving up
the most points it had in a half all season, while allowing Golden State to
reach its season-high point total for a half, New York was booed off the court
as an exasperated group of Knicks headed to the locker room.
That
frustration boiled over for center Tyson Chandler six points, 12 rebounds), who
got into a shoving match with Speights and was then ejected after picking up a
pair of technical fouls within slightly more than a two-minutes span.
“It did for
me, but I hope it doesn’t for the team,” Chandler said on being affected by his
team’s disappointing season. “It was just me getting frustrated with everything
that’s been going on. It had nothing to do with [Speights] and more to do about
the season.”
Before that,
the Warriors went up, 81-54. The Knicks scored the next 10 points, but four
straight points by Curry capped a 14-4 run that grew the margin to 95-68.
New York
ended the third quarter on a 12-4 spurt to get within 99-80 going into the
fourth period, and a Hardaway jumper cut the lead further, to 105-89, with 8:27
left. But that was as close as the Knicks would get as Golden State coasted the
rest of the way.
"It’s fine to
think that you want to have that belief,” Smith said of the Knicks speaking as
contenders all season while rarely being able to back that up. “If you can’t
put it out there on the court, then it don’t mean nothing." It’s not a
mental thing, it’s a heart thing. If you’re going to let people score 40, 50
points in the paint over and over again, you’re not going to win… we’ve got to
stick up for ourselves. We’re letting [opposing teams] do what they want to do.”
Unlike Smith,
Anthony believes the Knicks’ struggles have more to do with execution than
effort.
“I don’t
think it’s heart,” Anthony said. “For me, it’s just the consistency, and that’s
been all year long. As far as questioning the guys’ heart, I wouldn’t go that
far. As a team, we’re not consistent in a lot of aspects.”
At least
Curry has faith that New York can solve its issues before it’s too late, even
with only 23 regular season games to go.
“It is very
surprising,” Curry said of the Knicks’ record. “The amount of talent they have…
I know a lot of things have not gone their way… but I’m sure they’ll figure it
out… before it gets too far gone.”
But as long
as how to do that remains a mystery for New York, head coach Mike Woodson will
stay on the on the coaching hot seat.
Still, he
too, continues to be positive. “I told everyone in the locker room that we still
have a shot at it,” he said. “Somewhere along the line, we have to draw the
line and figure out if we are committed to make the playoffs.”
Hoping to
turn the page on another bad month, the Knicks will begin March with a
three-game, Midwestern road swing that will start in Chicago on Sunday
afternoon.