Klay regains his powers as the Warriors dominate Knicks.

The New York Knicks came into Friday nights game with a suprising 8-7 record considering their offense looks eerily similar to seasons past under coach Thibs. Despite newly aquired fringe All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson the Knicks remain one of the leagues worst offenses. Ranking 21 of 30 teams on offense the team relies on grit and defense to win games. They are coming off a victory over the Joker-less Denver Nuggets where bull in a china shop All-Star forward Julius Randle had game high honors scoring 34PTS in a late game comeback against DEN.

The Warriors would be hosting the visiting team sporting a pretty 6-1 home record at Chase Arena. Which I must say is a beautifully house of basketball for the dynasty. Road games on the other hand have been quite the issue for the defending champions. After losing to their division rivals @Phoenix Suns where Klay Thompson had one of his worst shooting nights of his career and squandering a 50 piece put up by Chef Curry the Warriors looked to get back on track tonight at home.

Will they?... Let's find out.

First Half

Golden State started the game right out of the gates running a set play for Klay to take the games opening shot. He missed but it was a sign that unlike the Twitter sphere Thompson had the support of his squad as he looked to get back into the groove. Getting into his bag first was Draymond who opened up the box score hitting on a nice midrange jumper. I think the Warriors are at their best when Dray at least attempts to keep the defense honest by shooting a few times a quarter when he's open. Although he has the form of a kid who's shooting with his book bag on I wouldn't necessarily say he's a bad shooter per se. Unlike when I see Giannis Antetokounmpo pull up from 3 I don't feel the need to grab the nearest hard hat.

After getting an easy one in transition Klay looked to settle back into his shooting form hitting a barrage of 3s early in the quarter. The Dubs would jump to a early 12-4 lead behind Thompson's hot hand.

The Knicks would continue their historically bad shooting from deep. The New York squad would ultimately go 0-10 from 3 in the first quarter including RJ Barrett's race towards history missing his previous 19 attempts from the land beyond.

Stephen Curry would hit a 3 in the first extending his historic campaign of regular season made 3's to its 204th game with at least one trey ball.

The ball was moving very well for Golden State ultimately ending up in Klay's ever ready hands as he was looking to be aggressive. Although that is usually his MO tonight Thompson looked completely self aware and not forcing anything that wasn't there. He would find his teammates early and they would reciprocate the favor. Klay Thompson finished the first quarter with 15PTS going 3/5 from 3.

35-19 Warriors lead the Knicks after 1.

Klay is feelin' it in the first quarter 🙌 pic.twitter.com/r0uaeNIsSR

— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) November 19, 2022

2nd Quarter

Andrew Wiggins has himself a quarter. 

The Warriors would open up the second quarter with their second unit lead by Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins. Poole had an off night against the Suns and looked outwardly frustrated. I don't know if it was due to Thompson trying to force his hand against PHX or the fact he feels like he might deserve to start but at this point in the season its obvious that chemistry is a issue for this team. Which in the past was never in question. 

Wiggins would open up the quarter with a designed three pointer on the extended left wing assisted by Jordan. Unlike the first quarter the second would see both teams play a "ugly" style of basketball. Some unforced turnovers ( Jordan Poole got called for yet another carry) or wide open missed jumpers the game started to bog down.

Previously mentioned RJ Barrett did break his "streak" of missed threes midway through the second.

Jordan Poole would go 2/7 from the field at this point in the quarter and it still seemed like he was a bit off. On the other hand Knicks point guard was doing his best to keep the game competetive, Jalen Brunson would use his post game a couple times in the quarter to get to the free throw line. Brunson would end the game with a poor shooting night going 2-13 from the field but finishing the night with 13PTS 5REB 4AST. I know over the length of the season his shooting numbers will go up.

Andrew Wiggins would score 13PTS in the second pushing his running total to 15PTS so far on the night. I have always been a Wiggins fan since he came from the Mamba Disciples constantly modeling his game after the late great Kobe. When Wiggins is on he looks like the most athletic guy on the court who is always calm and collected.

Late in the second quarter curry would have a top play candidate where took a bounce pass from Poole and went behind his back for a nice layup.  (view here)

Julius Randle would finish the quarter with a AND-1 layup knocking down the free-throw. The Warriors would take a 61-50 lead into the half.

Second Half.

The Warriors start to pull away.

Steph would open up this quarter quickly hitting a 3 his third of the night pushing the lead back up to 14. The fantastic ball movement would continue early in the half seeing the ball move from wing to wing putting constant pressure on the Knicks defense. To its credit New York hung tough the dubs for a majority of each 24 second possession. No matter how good a defense is the weight of having to chase Steph and Klay around the court will make any team buckle.

Cam Reddish who was traded from Atlanta last season is now starting for the Knicks. Cam had a good third quarter utilizing his size on a 3 point jumper over the outstretched hand of a Warrior defender and slamming home a put back jam cutting the Warriors lead midway through the third.

After a Steve Kerr timeout the Warriors regrouped. Klay had a nice punch dunk in a semi transition situation giving him 13PTS thus far. Steph Curry would find Draymond on a pick and roll dive where Dray finished at the rim nicely. Curry would then follow up with a beautiful three point shot pushing the Golden State lead to 20 over the Knicks.

At this point in the game I could definitely see the Warriors playing with much more enthusiasm on the defensive end but I have to say this New York offense is so hard to watch. Every time I see Julius Randle ask for the ball at the elbow I just know its going to end poorly. I came into the game after watching Joel Embid put on a clinic against the Bucks, so seeing Randle's offensive game in comparison is like watching Shark Boy and Lava Girl after viewing The Godfather.

Veteran point guard Derrick Rose had a nice 3rd quarter scoring 7pts and running the better part of the Knicks offense. Rose would have a pretty reverse layup keeping the game semi competitive brining the Warrior lead down to 13 points. Rose was quoted earlier this season as stating he is "in the unknown" when it comes to playing time. He's only averaging 15MPG while the Knicks start Brunson and give Quickly the lion share of mins at point.

4th quarter 

The Knicks battle back as Warriors play with their food.

Jordan Poole would once again open up the quarter leading the second unit, which I have to say is not as impressive as we're used to when we think Warriors bench. I know Andre Iguodala hasn't played this season (Left Hip management) and James Wiseman has been sent down to the G League but this team's bench is certainly a weak link. Look for the team to make a trade for a defensive wing or guard for this second unit before the break.

Jalen Brunson would put some pressure on the Warriors in the fourth drawing a second defender before kicking it out to an open 3 point shooter. He would also get to the line for two FT's bringing the lead back down to 12. One think you can always count on from a coach Thibs team is grit.

Obi Toppin would have a impressive block on Jordan Poole which would lead into a transition bucket brining the Knicks within 10.

Nearing the end of the 4th Julius Randle would hit a 3 from the top of the key brining them within 8 points. This would be the closest the Knicks got to tying the game all night.

After a timeout Curry would lead a barrage of points which saw him and Klay go shot for shot putting the finishing touches on this game. Although the Knicks did battle back to make it respectable the outcome was never really in question.

Curry, Klay and Wiggins would all go for 20PTS and up and the Warriors would defeat the New York Knicks 111-101.

MY TAKEAWAYS.

• Tonight you saw some of that chemistry come back to the Warriors. Coach Kerr was quoted after the game stating that (Klay) let the game come to him and was rewarded.

• Stephen Curry has always been the games best shooter but I would argue at this point in his career he's the games best point guard. With the added weight he put on and his ability to finish at the rim. He really has no weaknesses.
• Im going to keep my eye on the Jordan Poole situation something about it just doesn't feel right. Im not saying they would move Poole considering he just signed a massive contract but they need to figure out where his heads at. 

• The Knicks offensive is so bad and everyone knows it. It seems like this team is stuck in constant limbo. Not being extremely terrible but never being good. I enjoy watching the Knicks compete and I am a fan of Jalen Brunson's game.
• Look out for their big Jericho Sims. He has the frame of Dwight Howard in Orlando and a similar game. He crashes the boards hard and competes at both ends. 

Thank you everyone for taking the time to read our recap. Follow us on Twitter and IG @GOODWORKSWORLD!