The Golden State Warriors blasted the doors off of the struggling New York Knicks in Oracle Arena, 122-95. The game was effectively over in the third quarter, as the Warriors defense strangled out the Knicks and the Dubs went on a scoring spree.
Klay Thompson led all scorers with 43 points, shooting 18-of-29 from the field, 7-of-16 from beyond the arc. He didn’t have a single free throw attempt and still got 43 folks; it was like the inverse of a James Harden scoring outburst.
Kevin Durant added 24 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 blocks. Stephen Curry struggled from the field (5-of-19) but scored 14 points with 14 assists. Draymond Green added 11 rebounds, 10 assists, and 2 blocks of his own.
The Knicks have been one of the thirstiest suitors for Durant’s services next season; this couldn’t have been what they wanted him to see.
First Half
The Splash Bros and Durant did the usual heavy lifting early for the champs, combining for 42 points at the half. Durant oddly had four turnovers early and missed all four of his attempts from downtown.
Kevin Durant's 1st half: 3-for-9 FG, 0-for-4 on 3s, 4 turnovers. Obvious explanation is he struggled on purpose so that way the Knicks front office won't want to sign him in free agency anymore. Duh
— Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) January 9, 2019
Not that it mattered as the team had 17 assists on 24 made field goals at the half. The outmanned Knicks couldn’t provide much resistance defensively. Curry was a +21 plus/minus early and added 7 assists after two quarters, pushing the the pace with impish abandon.
Once they speed of the game ramped up, the cagy veteran Andre Iguodala got into the action with a flashback jam from his slam dunk contest days.
The bench lost it on this Andre pic.twitter.com/4rt7dDSxtt
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) January 9, 2019
Warriors 61, Knicks 49
Second Half
Durant and Thompson both had 13 points apiece in the third quarter on a combined 10-of-14 shooting from the field. Thompson wouldn’t stop there though, adding another 13 points in the final quarter with his trademark superior marksmanship. So much for that “slump”, eh?
Automatic.#SPLASH No. 6 & 7 of the night for Klay
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 9, 2019
https://t.co/sab97qqtZm pic.twitter.com/RJyTIv7HGY
This was the type of game that many members in Dub Nation have been aggressively craving. A good ol’ fashioned blow out at Oracle.
My biggest takeaway from tonight: Why exactly would Kevin Durant sign with with the Knicks?
— Connor Letourneau (@Con_Chron) January 9, 2019
KD joins elite company as one of the only nine players to have reached 20,000 points, 5,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists & 900 blocks in his career. pic.twitter.com/uu8yoPtput
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) January 9, 2019