AP Photo/Frank Franklin II

By: Ben Leonard
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Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr nearly signed with the New York Knicks during the offseason. The decision to spurn the Knicks certainly has proven to be a shrewd one, as Kerr’s Warriors took a 106-92 win in his coaching debut at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

A day after falling in a tightly contested battle to the NBA-best Hawks, the level of competition dropped significantly for Kerr’s squad. The lowly Knicks fell to an atrocious 10-41, while the Warriors moved to 40-9. Nearing the All-Star Break, the two squads already have a thirty win differential, with both heading in completely different trajectories. Draymond Green lead the way for Golden State, dropping 20 points for the squad with title aspirations against the team with its sights set on the #1 pick.

Green trailed only Stephen Curry’s game-high 22 point effort in the game, and pulled down 13 rebounds. His physical presence helped the Warriors in their effort against a ‘Melo-less Knicks team, and even blocked two shots. Without Anthony, the Knicks were even more listless than usual, making just 40.2% of their field goal attempts.

Kerr’s Warriors set the tone early, jumping out to a 32-19 lead at the end of the first quarter. Golden State went on to romp New York, holding a sizeable 89-63 advantage with just over three minutes left in the game. However, the Warriors seemingly became complacent after taking a nearly insurmountable lead, up just 95-90 with just over four minutes left to play. An ensuing 6-0 run sealed the victory for Golden State, capped by Curry’s trey with just under three minutes remaining.

Curry dropped 54 points in the Garden just two years ago, but had a relatively modest game by his standards. Although he did have a game-high total for points, he turned the ball over three times and made just 1 of 3 free throw attempts. Clearly, this is not reason for concern, but it is still worth noting.

Point guard Langston Galloway lead the way for New York with 15 points in a losing effort, grabbing four boards and dishing out three assists. Former superstar Amar’e Stoudemire also chipped in off the bench with 13 points of his own.

Golden State will continue its East Coast road trip, traveling to Philadelphia to play the ’76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on Monday night.

Stats and info courtesy of ESPN