The New York Knicks and their third-rate roster don’t belong on the same court as the Warriors, and there they were in the third quarter putting their feet into the backsides of the defending champs.
This was Friday night in New York, and if the Warriors wanted authentic grins while partaking in the charms of the Big Apple, they first had to get to work.
So Kevin Durant, who exists as the savior in the dreams of Knicks fans, took it upon himself to give his team a reason to strut out of Madison Square Garden.
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Durant scored 25 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter, single-handedly erasing a six-point deficit and carrying the Warriors to a 128-100 victory.
“I only took two shots in the third [quarter],” Durant told reporters in New York. “I wasn’t aggressive enough and I wanted to come out there and impose my will scoring the ball. We needed it, especially with the group (we had) coming out in the fourth. We needed a punch scoring the basketball, so I tried to be aggressive and shoot good shots at the same time.”
The highest-scoring quarter of Durant’s illustrious career took less than 10 minutes and came at a crucial time. Trailing 94-93 with 7:30 play, the Warriors outscored the Knicks 25-4 in less than five minutes, going up 118-98 with 2:42 remaining.
Durant was responsible for 15 of the 25 points that transformed the game from practical tie to blowout so fast, the Knicks' heads will spin for two days.
Golden State Warriors
“Forty-one [points], 25 in the fourth, some of those shots ... crazy,” Kerr said of Durant. “He was just spectacular.”
This was Durant unleashing every scoring weapon in his vast armory. He soared in for dunks, slashed in for layups and runners, dribbled into rhythm shots inside and beyond the arc. Yes, it appears he has relocated his missing 3-point shot, making 5-of-9 from deep, 4-of-7 in the fourth.
“He came out attacking,” Draymond Green said of Durant’s fourth-quarter run. “We found something in the pick-and-roll and he exploited it. He was downhill every play. Whether he got it in transition or if he was coming off a pick-and-roll, he was putting his head down and that’s what got him started.”
This was timely not only for the Warriors (5-1) but also for the audience. Durant is expected to opt out of his contract in July and become a free agent. New York has already started its recruiting pitch, and now the fans had a first-hand look at the man they’d like to see try to save the barren wasteland that is Knicks basketball.
“It was amazing to see him turn it on like that,” said Stephen Curry, who scored 29 points. “He had been playing efficient, but when the moment called for it he stepped up and got wherever he wanted on the court and made all types of different shots. It was fun to watch for sure when he gets in that type of aggressive mode. He put on a show for the fans.”
What Durant did for the fans is fire them up. No doubt his exploits were the talk of the town Friday night and into Saturday. They’re visualizing him doing incredible things for a team that is two great players away from being a credible contender.
What Durant did for the Warriors was bury the pesky Knicks, sparing them the humiliation of losing to a team that has no business keeping up with them.