Friday, February 28, 2014

Hot Curry Leads Warriors in Rout Over Knicks


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.

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