SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Steve Kerr wanted Klay Thompson to relax a bit, and let the game come to him.
And Thompson is certainly showing signs of finding his shooting groove again.
Scored 20 points with four three-pointers, Stephen Curry added 24 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, Golden State Warriors hit the New York Knicks 111-101 Friday night.
Andrew Wiggins added 20 points with seven rebounds and Draymond Green contributed ten points, nine rebounds and seven assists with two lead shots.
Thompson hit 4 of his first 6 shots with 3 3s for an early 11 points.
“It seemed like every time Clay made an extra pass, the ball started moving and then we got a wide open shot,” Kerr said. ’ We ended up with 32 assists. I started early on Klay taking a more patient approach. Then the game rewarded him.”
Jordan Paul scored 13 points off the bench and Jamichal Green 12. He hailed a team meeting earlier Friday in which the Warriors had a tough conversation about their struggles and “addressed the elephants in the room.”
“I feel like tonight was the best game we’ve ever had together on the defensive side,” he said.
Julius Randle scored 20 points and seven rebounds and RJ Barrett scored 18 for cool shooting. The Knicks started 5-of-22 and shot 34.5 percent and tried to catch up all night.
Jalen Bronson battled his shot to go 2-for-13 — 1-for-5 from long range — and finish with 13 points for New York in a 106-103 win over Denver on Wednesday night. The Knicks have won two in a row and three of four but missed matching their longest winning streak to date.
home and road
The Warriors are 7-1 at home and 0-8 on the road.
“I’m actually more interested in why we didn’t play well on the road than why we did well at home,” Kerr said. “I expect to play well at home. We’ve got a good record here over the years, good players and great fans. There’s no reason we can’t control our home court. But we have to start assembling it on the road as well.”
Golden State snapped a three-game home run against the Knicks and won the quarter-finals in New York.
“For me, road record is directly related to defense,” Kerr said.
Tip-ins
Knicks: Mitchell Robinson sat with a sprained right knee. … New York lost at home to the Warriors for the first time in four games since the 122-95 rout on January 8, 2019. … The Knicks missed their first 10 three-pointers before RJ Barrett connected at the 9:15 mark in the second quarter. Derrick Rose, Jalen Bronson and Emmanuel Kwekley started 0-for-9 from deep.
Warriors: The Warriors only shot 11 of 20 at the free throw line, Curry missing two and Wiggins three. “It happens, just one random game,” Kerr said. … Thompson beat J.J. Redick (1950)—on home runs—to finish 16th on the three-pointer list. … C Kevon Looney has played 127 consecutive regular season games, the third longest active streak. … Golden State took an 18-point lead in the first quarter and kept pushing.
next one
Knicks: In Phoenix on Sunday for the fourth contest of a five-game, seven-day trip. The Knicks will play in Oklahoma City on Monday night to complete the running back and end western swing.
Warriors: in Houston on Sunday debuts in a back-to-back road finish in New Orleans Monday night.
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