The Warriors hit the big stage at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, but without All-Stars Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins, their show failed to captivate the crowd.
Golden State, who trailed off the opening chip and never posed a major threat to the Knicks, suffered a 132-94 loss and soared its road record to an NBA-worst 3-15.
Jordan Poole provided most of the offense and scored a game-high 26 points. Jonathan Kuminga added 13 from the bench while Clay He Thompson, Moses Moody and Ty He Jerome added 11 each.
Here are three observations from a game where Golden State’s defense gave the Knicks a slight breather, their offense only 23 assists, and they never found anything resembling their preferred rhythm and flow.
Death by turnover
It’s an old song, all too familiar to the Warriors.
Empty possessions have crushed them many times before, and they did it again this night. The Warriors recorded his 20 turnovers and the Knicks scored his 36 freebie points.
Thompson led the way with five prizes, followed by Poole with four and Kuminga with three.
Massive turnovers gave New York a whopping 87-74 on field goal attempts as the Warriors were outshot from deep, at a 32-13 free-throw disadvantage, and slammed into the grass (47-29). got the advantage of
On this night, it robbed the Warriors of a competitive opportunity.
This is a theme the Warriors often come up with, and will continue to hold until the worst years of their longstanding bad habits are finally broken.
waiting for the spectacle
The Warriors are waiting for Curry, who has missed the past three games with a left shoulder injury. They are also waiting for Wiggins, who has missed the past seven games with a right adductor strain.
They’re waiting for Thompson, too — and he’s appeared in all three of his last games.
With Curry out of action, it’s up to Thompson, the best shooter available, to provide some of the missing offense. So far, Nada. His 11 points came on his 5/11 shooting, including his 1/5 from range. He also recorded his five turnovers in 25 minutes.
Such relatively little production from a five-time All-Star dramatically increases the scoring burden for Poole pulling the ends of the ropes. I am recording a score.
Playing with knee pain, Thompson will break out in a spectacular shooting exhibition at some point.
arc soft
Forgive me if Golden State’s scout report doesn’t highlight its 3-point defense against the Knicks. Why did New York rank him 26th among his 30 teams in the league and enter the game shooting from 32.8% deep?
The Warriors’ apparent indifference paid a price. New York capitalized on many open looks from across the arc, scoring 51 of 132 points and shooting 42.5%. generated enough momentum to take command of the .
Related: Tracy Morgan not surprised by Warriors’ slow start
The Warriors adjusted their defense midway through the second quarter, mixing in more zones in addition to their usual pursuit and switching. It seemed of little use.
The Warriors probably didn’t expect so many triples from a team that normally shoots blanks, but it made a big difference.
