SAN FRANCISCO — Despite a valiant fourth-quarter effort that had them one point down with seconds remaining, fatigue looks to have set in for the Golden State Warriors’ in their 116-114 loss to the New York Knicks on Thursday night at Chase Center.
The game came down to one last possession. Klay Thompson had an open shot to tie the game at the buzzer that ricocheted off the rim to seal their second straight loss in both legs of this back-to-back.
Carrying over from their blowout loss to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night, the Warriors were out-rebounded and out-worked throughout the second leg of this back-to-back. The Knicks out-rebounded the Warriors 43-29 at the end of the third quarter.
Issues defensively stemmed from Jonathan Kuminga and Nemanja Bjelica. While Kuminga made some flashy plays — a block at the rim, first deemed a goal-tend and reversed on a challenge — he didn’t box out for the rebound at times. Bjelica incurred four fouls midway through the third quarter trying to stop the bully-ball Knicks.
With Kevon Looney playing 19 minutes, the Warriors could have used another big. Hours before the game, the NBA trade deadline came and went without the team’s brass pulling the trigger on trade to bring another center as depth.
The Warriors’ offense didn’t fare much better. In the first quarter, the Knicks shot 52% from the field and 45% from three. The Warriors shot 31% from three and 46% from the field. By the half, Golden State climbed back into a slim 62-57 lead with just one turnover recorded. But the Knicks owned the rebound count, collecting 30 to the Warriors’ 18 by the half.
The Knicks went on a 11-0 run to start the second half, disrupted by a trio of three-pointers from Andrew Wiggins, Klay Thompson and Steph Curry. But fatigue from the Warriors’ side looked to set in, and more runs to follow were disrupted by fouls and missed rebound opportunities.
By the fourth quarter, coach Steve Kerr opted for small ball lineups to quicken the pace while New York attempted to slow it. With Kuminga in at center with Wiggins, Curry, Thompson and Jordan Poole in the final six minutes, the Warriors went on a tear, grasping contested defensive rebounds and turning them into a Wiggins three-pointer and Poole layup in transition to put Golden State two points back with just under five minutes remaining and bring Chase Center to life.
But two missed rebounds led to a Quentin Grimes three-pointer. Kuminga made two free throws with a minute left to make it 110-112. But Curry just missed a potential game-tying lay-up and Kuminga’s blocked shot on the other end turned into a goal-tend. A few missed Knicks free throws gave the Warriors an opportunity to win or send the game to overtime with five seconds remaining. Thompson found his open shot that rimmed out.
