Warriors Vs. Knicks 2/23/2021

The Knicks came into this game after winning 4 of their last 5 games. The Warriors came into this game after 2 rough losses to 2 teams under.500. The Warriors also had 2 days of rest before this game. The Warriors got back Kevon Looney and James Wiseman in this game which was definitely a nice addition. The Warriors were still missing Marquese Chriss though. The Knicks were missing Mitchell Robinson though so that evened it out. Stephen Curry was also back for the Warriors after missing their last game due to him feeling sick. This was the first game where fans were back in the Madison Square Garden. For the Knicks to win they needed to stop Steph, force a bunch of turnovers, and find a way to score. For the Warriors to win they needed a nice game out of Steph, defend 1st time all star Julius Randle, and reintegrate the centers into the lineup well. Would Wiseman and Looney help the Warriors to the win in their first game back or would the Knicks please their fans with a home win? To the game!

The Warriors won the tip which led to a Stephen Curry 3. At 11:06 Kelly Oubre Jr. made a 3 to give the Warriors a 6 point lead. Then at 10:43 Julius Randle made a jumper to give the Knicks their first points of the game. At 8:33 Nerlins Noel made a dunk to cut the Warrior lead to 2 points. The Warriors quickly brought the lead back up to 5. Then at 3:14 Julius Randle made a layup to cut the deficit to 1 point. At 1:48 James Wiseman slammed in a dunk to give the Warriors a 6 point lead. Derrick Rose quickly followed that up with a 3. For the final points of the quarter Stephen Curry made a nice 3 to give the Warriors a 5 point lead. At the end of the first quarter the Warriors were leading 36-31. Both teams were shot very well in the first quarter. The Warriors shot 50% from the field and 54.5% from deep. The Knicks shot 50% from the field and 50% from 3. At the end of the first quarter the leading scorers were Stephen Curry for the Warriors with 8 points and Elfrid Payton for the Knicks with 10 points. In the first quarter the Warriors had 3 more assists, 3 fewer rebounds, 1 more steal, 3 fewer turnovers, and 4 fewer fouls than the Knicks. The Warriors and Knicks also had an equal amount of blocks as each other. In the second quarter the Warriors hoped to broaden their lead and the Knicks hoped to take a lead at halftime.

To start the 2nd quarter Taj Gibson made a layup to cut it to a 4 point game. At 10:31 Immanuel Quickley made a 3 to give the Knicks a 2 point lead. Wiggins then tied it up with a jumper. Then Obi Toppin got a dunk to retake the lead for the Knicks. The Warriors and Knicks kept going back and forth taking the lead and then Derrick Rose made a floater at 3:28 to give the Knicks a 5 point lead. Then at 1:48 James Wiseman made a layup to tie the game at 55 for the Warriors. Julius Randle quickly took back the lead for the Knicks with a couple of free throws. To end the half Draymond Green missed a floater. At halftime the Knicks were leading 59-55. The leading scorers were Elfrid Payton and Derrick Rose for the Knicks each with 12 points and Stephen Curry for the Warriors with 11 points. Draymond Green was also playing well with 7 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and a steal. At halftime both teams were playing pretty evenly. The Warriors had 2 more assists, 9 fewer rebounds, 1 fewer turnover, and 5 fewer fouls than the Knicks at halftime. The Warriors and Knicks also had the same amount of steals and blocks as each other. The Warriors shooting splits went down a bit in the 2nd quarter leaving them at 44.7% from the field and 40% from downtown at halftime. The Knicks shooting splits also went down and ended up at 46.2% from the field and 35.7% from 3 at halftime. In the 3rd quarter both teams hoped to take over and take a nice lead. To the third!

To start the 3rd quarter Wiggins got a 3 point play to make it a 1 point game. At 10:40 Steph made a 3 to give the Warriors a 2 point lead. At 9:51 Steph made 2 technical free throws after Tom Thibodeau and Julius Randle got technical fouls. Then at 9:18 Payton made a layup to give the Knicks their first points of the quarter. The next play Oubre Jr. made a dunk to give the Warriors a 6 point lead. At 6:48 Oubre Jr. made a fastbreak dunk to give the Warriors a 10 point lead. Then at 3:50 Alec Burks made a 3 to cut the deficit to 8 points. The next play Wiseman made a layup to retake a 10 point lead for the Warriors. At 2:58 Julius Randle made a 3 to cut the deficit to 9 points. Then at 1:43 Steph made a 3 to retake a 10 point lead for the Warriors. After defensive stops from each team Randle made a 3 to make it a 7 point game. To end the quarter Wiseman made a layup. At the end of the third quarter the Warriors were leading 94-85. Stephen Curry and Julius Randle were the leading scorers with 26 points and 23 points respectively after the third quarter. At the end of the 3rd quarter the Warriors were playing well and had 6 more assists, 8 fewer rebounds, 3 more steals, 1 fewer block, 3 fewer turnovers, and 5 fewer fouls than the Knicks. The Warriors were also shooting well with 50.7% from the field and 44.4%f from deep. In the 3rd quarter the Warriors went on a 23-6 run which was amazing for the Warriors because it helped them take the lead and the momentum. In the 4th quarter the Warriors hoped to be able to close out the game and get the win and the Knicks hoped to play very well and get the win.

To start the 4th quarter Derrick Rose made 2 free throws to cut the deficit to 7 points. For the Warriors first points of the quarter Eric Paschall made 1 of 2 free throws after a clear path foul from Derrick Rose. At the 7 minute mark Obi Toppin made a 3 to cut the deficit to 3 points. The Warriors quickly retook a 5 point lead with a Paschall dunk. Then at 4:21 Payton made a free throw to complete a 3 point play and cut it to a 2 point game. At 3:50 Randle tied the game with a layup. Steph quickly followed that up with a 3. At 1:22 Curry got a 3 point play to give the Warriors a 5 point lead. Taj Gibson followed that up with a couple of free throws. Then at the one minute mark Oubre Jr. made a couple of free throws of his own to give the Warriors a 5 point lead. With 41.8 seconds left in the game Payton made 1 of 2 free throws to make it a 4 point game. The next play Oubre Jr. made a dunk to give the Warriors a 6 point lead. Then with 17.5 seconds left in the game Stephen Curry made 3 free throws after being fouled and after a Julius Randle technical foul. That was Randle’s second technical foul of the game which got him ejected. Then Reggie Bullock made a 3 which led to the Knicks fouling Curry who made both free throws to give the Warriors the win. The Warriors won 114-106.

Leo’s Courtside Commentary: Stephen Curry played very well in this game with 37 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals. Draymond Green also played well with 7 points, 9 rebounds, 12 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks. As you know this was James Wiseman’s first game back from his wrist injury and he had 14 points, 2 rebounds, and an assist. This was also Kevon Looney’s first game back from his injury and he had 2 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and a block. Julius Randle, Elfrid Payton, and Derrick Rose led the the Knicks with a combined 61 points, 17 rebounds, 19 assists, a steal, and a block. The Warriors ended up with 8 more assists, 15 fewer rebounds, 5 more steals, 3 more blocks, 3 fewer turnovers, and 5 fewer fouls than the Knicks. Though the Warriors had 15 fewer rebounds than the Knicks it didn’t really seem to be that much of an issue considering that they won. The Warriors also shot decently with 44.9% from the field, 34.2% from downtown, and 87.5% from the free throw line. The Knicks on the contrary didn’t shoot as well with 39.2% from the field, 37.9% from 3, and 86.4% from the free throw line. The Warriors starters seemed to carry the team a bit because all of the starters had a positive +/- and all of the players off the bench had a negative +/-. For the Knicks though it was the exact opposite all of their starters had a negative +/- and all of their bench players had a positive +/-. This game was pretty even until the 3rd quarter which the Warriors won by 13 points and went on a 23-6 run in the process. Overall, this was a nice win for the Warriors with the help of their returning centers in Wiseman and Looney.