There’s really something about the third quarter. The Dubs came on strong after the break and held on to pick up a 112-105 road win over the Knicks on Sunday.
GAME LEADERS
After missed shots and overall sloppy play characterized the Warriors’ first half, the Dubs got it going in the third quarter. Stephen Curry scored 15 of his game-high 31 points in the period and the Dubs, the NBA’s highest scoring team in the third quarter, outscored New York 35-26 in the frame and wound up snapping their longest losing streak of the season – two games.
On a day in which the Knicks in-game entertainment team featured no music or dancers or anything else beyond the game itself through the first half, the game lacked any kind of rhythm at the start. Other than Klay Thompson scoring 14 points in the first quarter, which was as much as the entire Knicks squad through the first 10 minutes of the game, neither team could make a shot in the early going.
The slow start extended into the second quarter, as the Dubs had just two points over the first six minutes of the period. The Knicks capitalized and went on a 15-0 run that turned a 12-point deficit into a 50-49 advantage going into the break.
The Dubs, however, would flip the script in the third quarter. Curry opened the Warriors’ scoring in the quarter with a three-pointer. He would go on to shoot 6-for-8 in the period and finished it with quite the flurry. After spinning through the lane and finishing with a crafty layup, Curry then made a stepback jumper before knocking down a 3-pointer with three seconds left in the period that gave the Dubs an eight-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Dubs would bend in the fourth quarter but ultimately didn’t break. New York’s Kristaps Porzingis knocked down a 3-pointer to bring the Knicks within one with 5:56 left in the game, but Klay Thompson responded with a trey of his own. After scoring 14 in the first quarter, Thompson added 12 more in the fourth and finished with 29 points.
With the win the Dubs improve to 51-11 on the season and 2-2 on this season-long road trip, which concludes on Monday when they visit the Hawks on the back end of a back-to-back.
Extras:
- The Dubs had 11 steals against New York for their 10th straight game with at least 10 steals. The Warriors are the first team with at least 10-straight games with double digit steals since the Philadelphia 76ers from 2/24/99 to 3/12/99.
- The Warriors won their sixth-straight game against New York, the team's longest win streak over the Knicks since a nine-game stretch. from 11/27/63 to 11/8/64
- Stephen Curry made five 3-pointers and passed Chauncey Billups (1,830) for 10th place on the NBA's all-time made 3-pointers list. Curry now has 1,833 made threes in his career.
- Draymond Green recorded his 21st consecutive game with at least one steal, which is a career-long streak (regular-season or playoffs).
- The Warriors are 6-1 this season when both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have at least 25 points.
#SPLASH @StephenCurry30 ties Chauncey Billups for 10th most made 3-pointers in NBA history (1,830). pic.twitter.com/Y2eXJeWCIW
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) March 5, 2017