Knicks continue to slide as Stephen Curry breaks three-point record
It was Stephen Curry‘s night in Madison Square Garden, even if he didn’t have his best night. He only hit on five of his 14 attempts from deep, but he only needed two to pass Ray Allen.
The highlight of his record-breaking three will live on for much longer than the rest of the night. The New York Knicks are lucky to hear that. They laid an egg in a winnable game. The emotions of the night gave the Knicks a chance to jump on the Golden State Warriors early.
They were able to take a one-point lead into halftime, but it only felt like a matter of time before the Warriors settled into the night. Although this wasn’t a vintage Warriors third-quarter thrashing, Golden State took the upper hand in the third by holding the Knicks to just 16 points on 5-for-23 shooting.
Julius Randle was responsible for 12 of the points and four of the field goals in that quarter. He was the only reason why the Knicks had any kind of a chance in the fourth quarter.
Despite cutting the lead to four at one point in the final frame, the Knicks were never able to get over the hump. New York fell to the first-place Warriors 105-96.
Curry finished with 22 points, three rebounds, and three assists in the win. Randle led the way for the Knicks with 31 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
However, the Knicks shot 36.1% from the field as a team. If we take away Randle, the rest of the Knicks shot 31% from both the field and three-point range. That’s not going to cut it, even when Curry is somewhat quiet.
This makes seven losses in eight games for the Knickerbockers. The loss drops the Knicks to 12-16 overall after starting off the year at 5-1.
The Knicks are in freefall.
Adversity on Both Sides
There are no excuses in the NBA, but both the Knicks and Warriors came into this game with unexpected adversity. In a development that is becoming far too common around the league, the Knicks are missing key players due to positive COVID tests.
RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin, and Quentin Grimes were all out for this game. Obviously, Barrett and Toppin have been key parts of the rotation all year long, but Grimes was just getting his chance. He dropped 27 points on seven made threes in a loss to the Bucks Sunday.
This wasn’t a walk in the park for the Warriors either. This was the second leg of the dreaded road-road back-to-back. Not only that, but plane issues made their trip from Indiana to New York a nightmare.
Fly in the day of the game. After playing a game the night before. And play a game. Wow
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) December 14, 2021
