Steve Kerr praised Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks on Thursday as “a typical Thibs team”, throwing himself “defending like crazy” as he “builds a foundation” to eventually reappear as a club. of winning balls.
Such strong words from the three-time NBA championship coach must have meant much more after the Knicks opened a four-game Western swing, with a strong 119-104 victory over the San Francisco Kerr’s Warriors. It was the third consecutive victory robust from a defensive point of view – following a slip lost in five games – to their 8-8 draw.
“It simply came to our notice then. We can’t feel good, we have to keep working “, said Thibodeau after the match. “It’s a long season. I have to go step by step. There are a few things I did well. We had some good victories. But we also had a few games in which we could have played much better.
“So we have to be honest with ourselves and know that there is a lot of work and we are able to improve and do much better. This is our challenge. ”
RJ Barrett scored 18 of his 28 career points in the first half, while Julius Randle continued to build his All-Star resume with almost the second triple-double of the season (16 points, 17 rebounds and nine than decisive).
“We only worry about ourselves … and we get into every game feeling we should win the game or give ourselves a chance to win the game,” Randle said after the Knicks improved to 5-4 on the road. “I think we have a good team and we play good team basketball.”
Reserve center Nerlens Noel recorded four of Knicks’ nine blocked shots, Mitchell Robinson scored all 18 points after the break and Alec Burks contributed 11 points in 31 minutes from the bench in his first game since suffering an ankle sprained on December 27th.
Stephen Curry finished with a maximum score of 30 points, but the MVP twice committed four turnovers and missed nine of 14 attempts in the 3-point range. Golden State (8-7) played the last two quarters without Draymond Green after winning the second technical foul just before the break.
“A guy like Curry is impossible to guard with one guy. I thought, Elfrid [Payton] he did a very good job, “said Thibodeau. “What you’re trying to do is make him work as hard as you can for anything. He missed a few photos that he probably normally takes, and I think, in short, I’ve uploaded quite a lot since Draymond was fired. ”
Reggie Bullock (12 points) scored three triples in the first four minutes and combined with Barrett for 23 points in the first quarter as the Knicks pulled 54.5 percent off the floor and took a 40-31 lead – the highest score performance for any quarter of this season.
Curry, the third NBA scorer (28.1 ppg) to enter the game, was held scoreless for the first eight minutes until he finally turned a three-point game at the end of the period.
Randle responded with a three-point play for the Knicks, and Curry missed the free throw after Payton (15 points) hacked him while hitting a 26-foot cross. But Payton pulled out a 3 to get a 55-55 tie for a 63-57 Knicks lead in two quarters.
Robinson escaped twice and scored the first nine of 18 points in the second half in the third, while the Knicks extended their lead to 89-76 in the final quarter.
The first of two basic dunks from rookie Obi Toppin and a 3-pointer from first-round teammate Immanuel Quickley brought the Knicks ahead just 16 minutes into the fourth.
“I said that from the beginning, I love our young people, especially through their attitude and approach,” said Thibodeau. “I come with a lot of energy every day. Some days we are wrong. But the next day there is a decision to correct your mistakes and improve. If we do this every day, we will continue to grow. ”