Knicks Have Lost their MOJO. Golden State 126 NY 113

January 16, 2026 LouV 2025-26 0
KAT had 17 pts and 20 rebounds in a mano-a-mano war with Jalen Green all night. Photo courtesy NY Knicks.

The Knicks got off to a hot start from the 3-pt line, but Golden State soon took control and manhandled NY the rest of the night to hand them a 126-113 loss on a Thursday night in San Francisco.

Jalen Brunson and Mitchell Robinson did not play for NY, and the Knicks did well to hang with the Warriors all evening — but Golden State was the more physical team and the Knick defense just wasn’t there.

NY has now lost 7 of their last 9 games, and their MOJO seems gone. This does not look like a team that will advance deeply in the playoffs, let alone go to the finals as the mainstream sports media predicted before the season, despite the firing of Tom Thibodeau and hiring of Mike Brown as his replacement.

Thibodeau’s intense barking from the sidelines is gone, and the Knick intensity seems to have gone with it.

Karl-Anthony Towns rebounded off a poor game the night before vs Sacramento to score 17 pts and grab 20 rebounds in a mano-a-mano battle all night with Draymond Green. OG Anunoby played well with 25 pts, Mikal Bridges scored 21 pts on 9-11 shooting, and Miles McBride had 25 pts on 9-16 shooting.

But NY’s defense couldn’t stop the Warriors. Jimmy Butler had 32 pts, Steph Curry had 27, Moses Moody had 21 pts on 7-10 shooting (7-9 from 3), and Brandin Podziemski came off the bench with fire and scored 19 pts on 8-9 shooting (2-3 from 3).

NY was on the back end of a back-to-back and was missing Brunson and Robinson — so the fact that they hung with GS all night was the good news. Landry Shamet was also back for NY.

“I thought we played good in stretches tonight. Our level of competitiveness was there,” said Knick coach Mike Brown afterwards, but then noted that Golden State’s physicality was greater than the Knicks’.

NY falls to 25-16, into 3rd place in the East behind Boston. Golden State improves to 23-19.

1. Knicks Jump Out to 31-14 Lead with 3’s

Coming off their worst 3-pt shooting effort of the season the night before against Sacramento, the Knicks came out looking to make amends — and did — hitting 6 of their first 7 attempts from 3 in the 1st quarter.

Miles McBride hit a 3, Mikal Bridges hit a 3, OG scored on a drive, Josh Hart hit free throws, McBride hit another 3, KAT hit a 3, and NY was up 18-8.

Landry Shamet hit a 3 a little while later and NY was up 26-11.

2. Golden State Pulls Back Into It by End of 1st Quarter

But Jimmy Butler muscled in for 3 straight buckets — a dunk, an offensive rebound and tip in, and a drive — and Golden State started to come back. Old enemy Al Horford scored a bucket inside as the period ended and GS was back within 35-30, and had momentum.

3. Golden State Takes 62-59 Lead at the Half

Brandin Podziemski was super active, Moses Moody kept hitting 3’s, and De’Anthony Melton hit a couple of buckets including a 3 and soon GS was up 47-46.

Jordan Clarkson and KAT  answered back. Mikal Bridges started to get hot — hitting consecutive jumpers — but Golden State took a 62-59 halftime lead.

4. Golden State Builds 10-Pt Lead in 3rd

OG and Mikal Bridges scored consecutive buckets to start the 3rd and give NY back the lead. But Quinten Post got consecutive scores for the Warriors (one a 3), Butler scored inside, and Steph Curry hit consecutive 3’s and Golden State took a 72-65 lead. Moses Moody hit a 3 and GS was up 10.

KAT fought back — hitting a 3 and powering inside for a drive against Draymond Green. Mikal Bridges got Hot for NY, hitting 3’s and deuces, and Landry Shamet hit a 3 — but Golden State had answers, mostly provided by Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry with Will Richard hitting a 3 for “who’s he” measure.

NY pulled within 7 late in the quarter but a Jimmy Butler dunk and then a Jimmy Butler offensive rebound and tip-in with 2 seconds left put GS up by 12 after 3.

5. KAT vs Green Battle Within the Battle

All night long KAT and Draymond Green went at it — Draymond with his clownish agitation as a weapon against KAT; KAT taking it to Draymond dead serious.

As the 4th quarter started, Green fell down guarding KAT, and as KAT rolled past the fallen Green to the basket, Green grabbed KAT’s leg, causing KAT to tumble. The refs called a flagrant foul. KAT made the 1st free throw to make it a 99-91 game, but missed the 2nd, as Green laughed/cheered on the court at the missed free throw.

NY continued to have possession on the flagrant, and KAT posted up on the left side — but was called for an offensive foul for using his elbow as Podziemski ran around him chasing his man. The refs then reviewed the play to see if it was a flagrant foul. It didn’t look like a foul at all, let alone a flagrant, as KAT was just holding the ball — and Steve Novak on the MSG broadcast said so. 

But Golden State had the ball, and on the other end, Draymond Green drove against KAT, drew a ticky-tack foul and made 1 of 2 free throws — missing the 2nd as Podziemski came flying in and tumulted over OG and Bridges sending everyone to the floor. His play was reviewed for a flagrant foul but instead was called a simple lane violation.

But any Knick momentum was shunted.

6. Warriors Command 4th Quarter

Steph Curry then hit a bucket and a couple of 3’s for 8 straight Golden State points and they were up by 14 at 110-96 with 7 minutes left.

NY hung in — OG making aggressive drives to the hoop and McBride hitting 3’s.

But Golden State — and Podziemski especially — had answers. NY wasn’t able to dent the deficit and went down to another defeat.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401810439

 

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