New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) pushes away Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Cury (11) while driving the ball in the first half at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Mon Mar 18, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors (35-32) hosted the New York Knicks (41-27) at the Chase Center on Monday night. The Warriors, fresh off an important win over the LA Lakers Saturday night, wanted to record another win.

The Knicks had won three in a row and were playing well. The Warriors needed to find a way to stop Jalen Brunson and not let any of the Knicks’ role players beat them. The Knicks got off to a good start and never relinquished the lead. New York York won 119-112. 

The Knicks scored the first eight points of the game. New York led 20-6 before the Warriors’ offense started to put points on the board. The Knicks won the quarter 30-22. 

The Knicks continued to dominate play in the second quarter. The Warriors needed a defense for guard Miles McBride. McBride, averaging 6.5 points per game, torched the Warriors, knocking down 19 points in the first half and connecting on five threes in the half.

The Warriors were down 59-44 until Warrior guard Stephen Curry and Jonathan Kuminga tallied ten points to come within five, 59-44. The Knicks finished the first half with a six-point advantage, 62-56 Curry led the Warriors with 15. Kuminga and Chris Paul were second with 12. Brunson tallied 14.

The Warriors knew a six-point lead was not insurmountable. The Warriors wanted to get off to a good start and play better defense. The Knicks did not let that happen. The Warriors’ defense could not contain Brunson. The Knicks’ offense got help from former Warriors Donte DiVincenzo, who made four threes. The Knicks finished the third quarter leading by 11, 99-88.

The Warriors went on a 7-0 run in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to four, 99-95. The Knicks increased the lead to nine, 106-95. The Warriors went over four minutes without scoring. The Knicks defense refused to wilt. The Warriors could not get any closer. New York won.

Game Notes: The Warriors celebrated women’s empowerment by having women do all the broadcasting. Jenny Cavner, who will be in the broadcast booth doing play-by-play broadcasting for the Oakland A’s, was in the TV booth with Lachina Robinson. The Warriors had four women do the pre-and post-game segments.

With the loss, the Warriors are 35-32. They fell one game behind the LA Lakers in the battle for the play-in tournament. The Warriors must win both play-in games to advance to the playoffs. The Warriors have 15 games left to play. The Knicks improved to 41-27. New York has won their last four games.