What a dream December for fans of the Knicks ! The residents of Madison Square Garden indeed offered a new high quality performance to their fans last night, demolishing the defending champions (132-94), still deprived of Stephen Curry and Andrew Wigginsto sign an eighth success in a row, the longest running streak in the NBA.
The formula was very simple, for the team that can legitimately be considered the best in the entire league at the moment: a supersonic offense (132 points on 52% on shots including 43% from 3-pointers), and a defense always suffocating (even if too permissive in the first period), like these 19 ball losses of the Warriorsconstantly struggling to shoot good shots during the game, especially from behind the arc (12/35), against this absolutely unsinkable New York defense for eight games now.
Leading “only” 13 points at the break, the Knicks carried the fatal acceleration in the third quarter, with a gap that reached +30 at the start of the last act…
It’s the fourth loss in five games on the road for the Warriors, whose six-game road trip in the Eastern Conference ends tonight at the Knicks’ neighbors in Brooklyn.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The Knicks’ major five continues to sparkle. It would be unfair for the other four to highlight one incumbent in particular, as the effort was so comprehensive and collective. The five holders of the Knicks have indeed shot a very large volume of play, once again, in this destruction in good standing of the defending champions. It was in their momentum that the Knicks dominated the first quarter, before experiencing a quiet second quarter and then finally widening the gap in the third act. Individually, the best performance is certainly that of Julius Randle, author of 15 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. That of Jalen Brunson is not far behind, the Knicks point guard affirming a little more his status as a potential All-Star this season, with 21 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists. Although clumsy (8/19), RJ Barrett still had a full game, with 18 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, when Mitchell Robinson made Mitchell Robinson in the paint, with his 11 rebounds (with 9 points). At last, last but not leastthe darling of the Knicks “fanbase” also shone brightly: Quentin Grimes finishes with the best +/- of his team at +33, with 19 points at 4/8 behind the arc, and a defense on the man as usual very good, against Jordan Poole, Moses Moody and Klay Thompson .
– The defending champions’ turn to break their teeth on the New York defense. Heading into the game, the Knicks, over the span of their seven-game winning streak, were league leaders in the following categories: defensive rating, opposing teams’ 3-point percentage, and number of shots 3-pts scored by opposing defenses. They were also second in goal percentage and point differential. And the meeting against the Warriors was only one more application, the eighth in a row, of this formula which has worked wonderfully in the “Big Apple” for almost two weeks. Indeed, the defending champions, in addition to undergoing the uninterrupted assaults of the Knicks’ attack, suffered their intractable defense, failing to exceed 100 points (at 34% behind the arc only). The killer stat for Steve Kerr and his men, and which is to the credit of the residents of an “MSG” which has become an impregnable fortress for several days: a feverish ratio of 19 bullet losses for 23 assists.
TOPS & FLOPS
✅ The Knicks bench. With a total of 50 points, the substitutes completed the starters perfectly. The most prominent replacement is Immanuel Quickley, who enjoyed himself as a ball carrier, and signed an XXL match in 22 minutes: 22 points (5/6 at 3-pointers), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and one block. Very good entries also from the pair of pivots jericho sims – Isaiah Hartenstein, aligned together in this rotation with nine players, and who compiled 12 rebounds with two (with in addition 8 points for the first, and 3 assists for the second). Finally, the young Miles McBride scored 10 points, especially in the “garbage-time”, and thus especially shone by his usual very good defense on the man.
⛔️ The Warriors. It is indeed difficult to find satisfaction in this painful evening for the defending champions, with the possible exception of Jonathan Kuminga (13 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists) and especially Jordan Poole (26 points). Less successful than against the 76ers (43 points) because often hampered by two-man strikes and effective “closeouts” of the Knicks’ defense, the former Michigan player prevented the addition from being even more salty. Because the Warriors have actually taken very, very expensive, on the floor of Madison Square Garden. It was certainly the fifth match of a “road-trip” of six dates, but the energy and the will clearly did not seem to be there, unlike the men of Tom Thibodeau eager to chain, and we felt the Warriors already turned to the “Christmas Game”, which marks their return to home after this period on the road.
THE FOLLOWING
– Knicks (18-13): “back-to-back” at the Garden, against the Raptors.
– Warriors (15-17): “back-to-back” on the other side of the East River, on the floor of the Nets.
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