Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors had a tussle on their hands for the first 24 minutes of the game against the New York Knicks Monday night at Madison Square Garden in the Big Apple.

The Knicks showed the Warriors a lot of gumption as they went toe-to-toe in the first half and led by one-point 64-63. The game resembled the one the Warriors played last week against the L.A. Clippers. The Warrior offense was clicking, but the Knicks kept pace as the vaunted Warrior defense could not shut down the Knicks’ attack.

The Warriors took control of the game in the third quarter when they outscored the Knicks by 21 and then cruised to a 125-111 victory.

The Knicks’ Emmanuel Emudiay, who was obtained in a trade with the Nuggets, scored 14 of his 20 points in the first quarter. The Warriors led 21-16, but the Knicks went on a 7-0 run to take the lead 23-21. The teams seemed to score at will, and the Knicks finished the first quarter leading 39-37.

The Warriors played better defense in the second period, but so did the Knicks. The Warriors won the period 26-25 and finished the first half trailing by one.

The Warriors, as they have done so many times this season, got their offense in sync and their defense stopped the Knicks cold. Steph Curry led the attack as he scored 14 points in the period to lead the onslaught. They finished the quarter with a 21-point lead, and the Knicks could not catch them. The Warriors won by a score of 125-111.

Game Notes and Stats: Jordan Bell played 13 minutes in his first action since injuring his ankle in January.

With the win, the Warriors improved to 47-14; while the Knicks drop to 24-38.

After the game, Curry was asked why the Warriors excel in the third quarter. Curry responded: “I still don’t have an answer as to why the third quarter is what it is, like anything specific, beyond just the fact that we can wear teams down over the course of 48 minutes.”

“And it might take 24, 26 minutes to really create that separation and gain that momentum, and we come out of the halftime with some juice, some energy, and it’s winning time. So that’s my best explanation for it, and hopefully, it continues.”

Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 26 points. Klay made four 3-point shots in six attempts. All the Warrior starters were in double figures. Kevin Durant had 22, Steph 21 including four 3s, Draymond Green and JaVale McGee each had 10. David West had 11, and Andre Iguodala added nine.

The Knicks were led by Emudiay with 20. Enes Kanter had 10 and Tim Hardaway, Jr pitched in with 14.

The Knicks, however, had four players coming off the bench to score in double figures: Trey Burke scored 18, Frank Ntikilini 13, Kyle O’Quinn 14, and Lance Thomas 11.

Up Next: The Warriors play the Washington Wizards Wednesday night in the Nation’s Capitol. Game time will be at 5 pm PT.