Moving on from a bar-measuring loss to the Houston Rockets over the weekend, the Golden State Warriors embarked on the start of a home stretch after a five-game road trip. Having won nine out of their last 10 games prior to the loss, the Warriors looked to right the ship once again. Here are five takeaways from Warriors-Knicks:
5. Kevin Durant's ejection
Durant was tossed out of the game for the fourth time this season, leading the NBA in ejections for the season. His early walk to the showers with 2:50 left in regulation overshadowed what should have been a shining moment, dishing out a career-high 14 assists in last night's win and surpassing his previous best by a whopping three assists.
The Warriors forward got into it with official James Williams from the early get-go and his animosity carried throughout the game, as he only made four trips to the line, despite feeling he was fouled in several other occasions.
This ongoing rift between players and officials has a lot to do with the large turnover rate of veteran referees over the past few years — losing experienced personnel that not only demanded respect, but also knew how to handle a player's questioning and address it firmly each time.
Younger officials are now more likely to ignore a player or quickly assess a technical foul, but that's done very little to keep them from demanding a reason for a call or no-call. Tempers have flared for the Warriors throughout this season and Durant certainly hasn't been the exception.
4. Pressing the reset button
Steve Kerr warned the Warriors would need to “press the reset button” after a loss to the Rockets, taking a look at the past few games, where the turnovers have come to haunt them in the form of transition points. The key was staying at 16 turnovers or under, boasting a 27-3 record when doing so — a 90 percent chance to win a game.
Golden State did so, turning the ball over only 12 times (three times in the last two minutes once the starters were pulled out) and limiting the Knicks to only 12 fast break points.
3. Assists galore
The Warriors managed to rack up 40 assists on 46 made field goals — a mind-blowing 87 percent assist conversion percentage against New York. Led by a career-best 14-assist night from Durant, the rest of the starting lineup combined for another 17 — doing so with no players exceeding 34 minutes of floor time.
Golden State is the only team in The Association to have multiple games of 40 or more assists this season, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
2. Curry flips the switch
The Warriors trailed by 10 after the first quarter and by two at the half, but responded in true fashion with a strong third quarter, spearheaded by Curry, who turned a 3-of-10 start into a 9-of-19 night after a 17-point flurry in the third.
Curry made 4-of-6 from beyond the arc in the third, giving the Warriors a major boost of confidence after they struggled to connect from long-range in the first half. He then made two deep 3-pointers as his only attempts in the fourth, finishing with a game-high 32 points, making that his 14th 30-point game of the season.
1. What's next?
The Warriors became the first team to ever field four players in the All-Star Game in consecutive seasons after Klay Thompson and Draymond Green were selected on Tuesday. Durant will be making his ninth appearance, while Curry will make his fifth, surpassing the iconic Wilt Chamberlain as the only Warriors player with five starts in the game. Thompson will net his fourth mention while Green will earn his third.
It's unlikely the four Warriors will play together on the same floor, given the different format this year and the fact that Kerr won't be able to coach it a second straight time, per league rules.
But before enjoying the mid-February festivities, Golden State must get through two tough opponents this week — hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday and the Boston Celtics on Saturday — two games that will test their championship mettle.
Golden State has been rumored to be targeting Knicks' center Kyle O'Quinn, who didn't play in last night's game. Kerr has pretty much bumped JaVale McGee out of the rotation, as he prefers a dual-position big to be able to throw multiple looks at his opponents.
O'Quinn is believed to have outplayed his contract's value and can be an important asset as a rugged defender and a smart offensive rebounder — two areas that no team can have enough of heading into the postseason.
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