Warriors Lose to Knicks Down The Stretch Despite Curry’s Career Night
By Tej Kamaraju
Feb. 27, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30) goes up for a shot as New York Knicks power forward Kenyon Martin (3) defends during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
54 points for Stephen Curry and the Warriors still cannot get a win. That was the story of this night, as the Warriors made too many mistakes down the stretch, and couldn’t overcome the number of turnovers. Curry was the Warriors’ only life-line on the night, a night where he needed to score because of the absence of David Lee.
They played a tough game without their All-Star, but just came up short in the final seconds. Defense, again, was terrible. The Knicks escaped the Warriors 109-105.
Tonight, Draymond Green made his first career start, and he played very well down the stretch.
In the first quarter, the Warriors started just 2/10, but were getting good shots. Of course, the Knicks weren’t having a cold shooting night: midway though the first, they lead 11-7, and soon it was 23-11. The Warriors, however, made a 7-0 to get back into the game, and were eventually down just 27-18, despite Tyson Chandler’s 12 rebounds.
In the second quarter, Stephen Curry really helped the Warriors get back into the game. He scored 23 out of 37 Warrior points in the quarter. No others, except Carl Landry were helping him. Klay Thompson couldn’t buy a shot, and that proved to be detrimental to the Warriors in the end. Because of Curry, however, the Warriors finally took the 40-37 lead midway through the quarter. The Knicks would finish the second strong.
In the third, Curry continued his outstanding shooting, and was the only one making shots for the Warriors. Three after three after three after three, Curry refused to miss. Despite not getting the ball in his hands, he would find a way to score. Despite all this production, the Warriors’ defense still had problems containing the Knicks, more specifically JR Smith and Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks lead 84-81 at the end of the third.
Entering an important fourth quarter, Curry of course did the same thing, till he had 11 made three pointers in the game. 54 is the most scored by any player this season.
Defense, however, couldn’t be solved, as the Warriors were whistled for every single touch foul, which weren’t really fouls. Stephen Curry’s 49th point gave the Warriors a 100-99 lead with 4:40 left, but from then on, it was all Knicks. The Warriors desperately tried to shoot their way back into it, including two desperation threes from Klay Thompson, but nothing seemed to fall for any other Warrior.
The loss was finalized when Raymond Felton stole the ball. Despite missing two free throws, the Knicks got an offensive rebound and gave them an extra possession.
Curry’s career night was really overshadowed by a Knick win.