The Golden State Warriors got back on the right track Friday night at Chase Center, beating the New York Knicks 111-101 in a wire-to-wire win. Here are three things to know from the Warriors' much-needed, feel-good win over New York.
3 Warriors takeaways from blowout win over Knicks
Good Golden State three-point defense, or ice-cold New York shooting?
The Warriors' three-point defense was due for some regression to the mean after the Phoenix Suns scorched nets en route to 21 triples in the desert. It came fast and furious back in the Bay, the Knicks clanking their first 10 tries from deep before R.J. Barrett finally hit a transition three at the nine-minute mark of the second quarter.
New York entered Friday's action middle of the pack in three-point frequency, but as one of the worst long-range shooting teams in the league. Golden State preyed on that dynamic from the opening tip, packing the paint to dare the Knicks' array of middling three-point shooters to launch.
Julius Randle obliged by missing a pair of triples in the first 90 seconds, with New York's early shooting struggles reaching a nadir when an open corner look from Obi Toppin hit the top of the backboard. It was too late once the Knicks began finding their stroke before intermission, especially considering Golden State was hot from the opening tip.
The Warriors can't count on ice cold three-point shooting to help them build massive first-half leads every night. Still, just knowing your opposing personnel and playing on a string defensively—Draymond Green was everywhere on Friday, switching onto guards, digging toward the ball and changing shots at the rim—is a step in the right direction for a unit that's often looked as disconnected as Golden State's in the season's early going.
Now if only the Warriors, dead last in fouls per game, can stop sending foes to the free throw line. The Knicks kept this game from getting completely out of hand by going 32-of-34 from the stripe, where they outscored Golden State by 21 points.
Klay Thompson is starting to settle in
No one took more flak in wake of Golden State's dispiriting loss to Phoenix than Thompson. Whether that's fair is beside the point, particularly given his more measured offensive approach against the Knicks.
Heeding constructive criticism from Steve Kerr and Stephen Curry, Thompson made a concerted effort to take better shots on Friday, more letting the game come to him than trying to shoot his way out of a slump. The game-long results weren't exactly what Thompson wanted. After starting 4-of-6 from the field, including three triples, he missed his next six shots en route to 20 points on 50% from the floor—his first time hitting half his shots this season.
But process always outweighs results, at least until the playoffs, and Thompson showed time and again in Golden State's win over New York that he's done taking shortcuts to overcome his early-season shooting woes.
Take this first quarter possession. How many times this season have we seen Thompson catch off a wide screen and let fly from beyond the arc, momentum still carrying his body toward the pass? He could've launched here, but saw Kevon Looney rolling free to the rim as Isaiah Hartenstein left the paint for a potential shot contest.
Simple.
Making that extra pass all the more encouraging? It came directly after Thompson had drained consecutive long balls from basically that same spot on the floor, bringing Chase Center to its feet and forcing an early New York timeout.
Look how easy the mere threat of Thompson's jumper can make the game for the Warriors.
Plays like that point to Thompson's enduring offensive value whether he's splashing jumpers or not. He creased the paint more often on Friday than any other game this season, too, beating aggressive close-outs to draw extra defenders and find teammates with simple passes to keep the offense churning.
The dam will eventually break for Thompson. Until that time comes, both he and the Warriors will be much better off now that Thompson isn't shooting with reckless abandon in hopes of doing it all by himself.
Stephen Curry, playmaking magician
The reigning Finals was a monster in Golden State's loss to Phoenix, racking up 50 points on 28 shots to give his otherwise lifeless team a puncher's chance to earn its first road win of the season.
Curry took a much different approach from the friendly confines of Chase Center, going out of his way to help his teammates find rhythm offensively. The result was five assists in the game's opening three minutes, two of which went for layups and the other pair Thompson triples.
Curry's effort to move the ball clearly rubbed off on the Warriors at large, too. They assisted on 14 of their first 15 baskets, pushing the ball to create easy looks in transition and consistently passing up good shots for great ones.
Impressive as Golden State's ball and man movement was all night long, though, Curry's singular impact still loomed largest to his team's success offensively—and it wasn't always with the pass.
Here's the play Dub Nation will remember most from Friday's game. It'll be played on Curry's personal highlight reel for years and years to come.
how? how. https://t.co/oIfGNkyY27 pic.twitter.com/hCuhHE7Ixo
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) November 19, 2022
But a better encapsulation of his all-encompassing offensive dominance came in the third quarter, when he drew two defenders before up-faking and finding Green with a slick bounce pass for a dunk, then went between his legs— with the same hand!—before pulling from deep on the next possession.
Curry doesn't need the ball to leave defenses helpless, either. Check out how much ground he covers in the clip below prior to kicking out to Green for an ever-rare made three-pointer.
No one in the Bay is taking Curry's extended prime for granted. But the real magic of his game in 2022 isn't just what he does as a scorer, but the peerless effect Curry makes as an overall playmaker, with and without the ball in his hands.
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