The Warriors led by as many as 21 points in their 110-107 loss to the New York Knicks on Sunday Night Basketball at Madison Square Garden. Golden State had a chance to tie the game on the final possession but were unable to get up a shot attempt as they committed their 18th turnover. The Dubs were without eight key players but had a plethora of contributors with Brandin Podziemski (25), Quinten Post (22) and Gui Santos (20) each scoring at least 20 points. Podziemski finished one point shy of a season-high, Santos finished two points short of a career-high and Post notched a new career-high. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks to their largest comeback victory of the season with a game-high 30 points and nine assists while shooting a perfect 10-for-10 from the foul line. The Knicks outscored the Warriors by 12 points in a momentum-shifting third quarter and All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns tallied 11 of his 17 points in the frame.
POST’S CAREER NIGHT
Quinten Post set the tone for the Warriors in the opening quarter, scoring eight points within a two-minute and 19-second span, finishing a left-handed layup and sinking a pair of 3-pointers. Without Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis, Post logged the majority of the center minutes and thrived, finishing with a career-high 22 points. He ended up with four 3-pointers and three blocks, showcasing his ability to space the floor offensively and defend the rim on the other end.
RICHARD’S POSTER DUNK
Will Richard had the most emphatic finish of the night, throwing down a poster dunk over OG Anunoby. Richard cut to the basket after the Warriors grabbed an offensive rebound and Quinten Post hit him right in stride as he began to take flight. He launched into the air like the restricted area was a trampoline and ferociously dunked the ball with his right hand, his body directly over Anunoby’s back. The entire Warriors’ bench rose from their seats and erupted in celebration as even the road crowd let out ooo’s and aaa’s. Richard finished with five points on three shots and nabbed three steals in 29 minutes.
SANTOS FINISHES STRONG
Gui Santos scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 3-for-5 from the field and making all four of his free throw attempts in the period. Santos’ stellar footwork and control of pace were on display all night as he seemed to get to the rim at will. In particular, there was a sequence late in the second quarter, where he did the same step-through move on both sides of the basket to finish a pair of crafty layups. Despite tenacious ball pressure, Santos remained composed, understood the angle he needed to get the shot off at and tactfully used his gather step to get there.
