The 35-32 Golden State Warriors fell last night, at home, to the 41-27 New York Knicks, despite being mostly healthy. It's just the latest data point, in a 2023-24 season full of them, suggesting that Golden State might be on its way to the lottery. New York, meanwhile, survived injuries to two starting forwards (Julius Randle, out with a dislocated shoulder, and OG Anunoby, shelved with a lingering elbow issue) to pull out a 119-112 road win. It improved the club's current road trip record to 3-0. The reigning champion Denver Nuggets are lurking for New York on Thursday.
The Knicks were powered by an unlikely backcourt combo. All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson, who seems well on his way to securing All-NBA honors for the first time ever, scored 34 points on 12-of-25 shooting from the field (3-of-9 from long range) and 7-of-8 shooting from the foul line. He also dished out seven dimes and pulled down five boards, while swiping one steal for good measure. Backup Miles McBride was elevated to a starting shooting guard gig with Anunoby out. He responded with a career-most 29 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor (6-of-9 from three point land), plus 5-of-6 shooting from the charity stripe. McBride distributed two assists, grabbed one rebound and snagged a steal.
Golden State, meanwhile, was plagued by inefficiency from its two Hall of Fame shooters, All-Star point guard Stephen Curry and now-reserve shooting guard Klay Thompson. The Splash Brothers combined for a scant 14-of-36 shooting from the field (but a respectable 9-of-23 from long range). Reserves Chris Paul (14 points on 6-of-9 shooting) and Trayce Jackson-Davis (19 points on 9-of-9 shooting) helped the bench improve its efficiency, however.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr pulled no punches in a candid postgame assessment of his team's performance. As captured by NBC Sports Bay Area, Kerr was once again frustrated with the team's effort. With their loss and the Los Angeles Lakers' 136-105 blowout win over the Atlanta Hawks last night, the Warriors slid to the tenth seed in the Western Conference. LA rose to the ninth seed.
"I just didn't think we were disciplined enough throughout the game to earn the win," Kerr opined. "We were biting on pump-fakes on non-shooters, we were getting back cut over and over again, which compromised our defense. They had 14 offensive boards."
"I don't think it's a lack of effort... We weren't good enough," Kerr noted. "It's that simple. We just did not play well enough. It's disappointing because we've got these three home games here this week and we wanted to get off on the right track. But that's a really good team and they just outplayed us, simple as that."
Next up for Golden State is a Wednesday duel, again at the Chase Center, with the lowly Memphis Grizzlies, currently the West's No. 13 seed at 23-46. The Knicks will get some extended rest ahead of their own follow-up game. Their matchup against the Nuggets isn't until Thursday. It will be the final game in their ongoing four-contest road trip.
Correction 3/19/2024, 3:30 p.m. ET: This article was updated to reflect that Julius Randle's injury has been labeled as a dislocated shoulder.
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Newsweek contributing writer Alex Kirschenbaum is a hoops fanatic who has managed to parlay his passion into a writing career. ... Read more