On Thursday night, the Golden State Warriors knew they had an opportunity to gain momentum when they stepped into Madison Square Garden.
With six road victories in a row, they were among the top NBA teams in February. The Washington Wizards defeated the Dubs to start a four-game road trip, but the team that followed was not only struggling but also without Julius Randle and OG Anunoby.
Golden State got right to work without any delays. Despite being in the midst of one of his worst shooting slumps ever, Steph Curry made a three-pointer on the first possession.
After a minute, Moses Moody, filling in for Andrew Wiggins, was fouled and missed the free throw. On the following possession, Curry added another three points, and 28 seconds later, Jonathan Kuminga lay in the pass unopposed.
With a 9-0 advantage, New York required a timeout.
As soon as the timeout ends? After Kuminga stopped Isaiah Hartenstein’s shot, Curry made a third three-pointer. Kuminga quickly added another layup.
The score was 14-0. And it wasn’t until the 6:34 mark that former Warrior Donte DiVincenzo broke the ice for the Knicks with a layup.
The teams played practically perfectly even after that. Which the Warriors did not require. Before New York could respond, they increased their lead to 22–5, with an 11-2 run.
But even with the Knicks beginning to shoot after the Dubs’ oppressive first-quarter defense, the score at the end of the first quarter was still 31-19 Golden State.
With Curry’s impressive seven rebounds and 11 points, the Warriors were well in control.
