Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Jimmy Butler were all out for the Golden State Warriors, while the Knicks were at full strength.
And so the Knicks proceeded to fall behind by 21 points early in the 2nd quarter before ‘waking up’, and taking back the game — pulling within 9 at the half, taking a 3-pt lead after 3 quarters, and taking a 7-pt lead with 6 minutes left.
Golden State hung in however, pulling back within a point before a decisive Jalen Brunson bucket with a minute left put NY back up 3, Landry Shamet and OG Anunoby hit clutch free throws after each being purposely fouled in the final 16 seconds, and NY stole the ball on the final Warrior in-bounds with 6 seconds left to secure the win — 110-107 on a Sunday night at Madison Square Garden.
In the end it was the biggest comeback the Knicks have had all season — being down 21 pts at one point — and the most uninteresting and unwatched. Many sports fans were watching the USA play the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic semifinal game — the USA winning 2-1, while other households had the Academy Awards on; that show ended minutes before the Knick game ended.
Jalen Brunson led NY with 30 pts on 9-20 shooting (2-7 from 3, 10-10 in free throws), Karl-Anthony Towns was dominant in the 2nd half especially, finishing with 17 pts (on 7-12 shooting) with 12 rebounds, Josh Hart had 7 pts and 12 rebounds, and Mitchell Robinson had 4 pts, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks in 17 minutes. Jordan Clarkson was a weapon off the bench for NY with 14 pts (on 6-11 shooting). Mikal Bridges had another tough shooting night (7 pts on 3-10 shooting, 1-6 from 3) but had 2 blocks and a steal.
“I was not happy with the way that we started the game and the way we played most of the game,” said coach Mike Brown afterwards. “We have to figure out how to start games better.”
NY improves to 44-25, a game behind Boston and 5 behind Detroit. GS falls to 32-25.
1. GS Goes on 11-0 Run to End 1st; Go Up by 21 in 2nd
Golden State started 7-foot Quinten Post at center (a 2nd-rd pick out of the Netherlands in his 2nd season), 6’7 Gui Santos at forward (a 2nd-rd pick in his 3rd yr), to go along with Brandin Podziemski — the 6’4 guard in his 3rd yr who who normally starts in their backcourt.
Those 3 did most of the damage for GS all night — scoring 20, 22, and 25 pts respectively. Gary Payton II came off the bench for 19 pts.
Golden State had a 24-21 lead with 3:28 left in the 1st quarter when they went on an 11-0 run — Pat Spencer got a bucket and then 2 free throws, Podziemski hit 2 free throws and then hit a 3, and Malevy Leons scored a bucket inside — to give the Warriors a 35-21 lead after 1 quarter.
KAT got a bucket to start the 2nd and end the run, but Podziemski hit a 3, and then after OG answered with a bucket, Payton hit consecutive 3’s and Golden State was up by 21 pts.
2. Knicks Pull within 9 at the Half
Finally the Knicks started to wakeup — their defense firming up, and Jordan Clarkson coming off the bench to hit some buckets — one off a Jalen Brunson steal — to pull NY back within 13.
Brunson and OG got buckets, and a Landry Shamet 3 with 8 seconds left brought NY within 9 at the half at 54-45.
landry drains the 3 headed into the half 🎯 pic.twitter.com/tBqydBZfLC
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 16, 2026
3. Knicks Take 3-pt Lead After 3 Quarters
Brunson hit a 3 to start the 3rd, and then Karl-Anthony Towns started to dominate — taking it to the rim over and over for buckets or free throws.
Josh Hart was defending, stealing the ball, and running the break — using his amazing ability to score a layup in traffic then next time down hitting a 3.
KAT continued to take it to the rim, and when Brunson hit consecutive drives with 3 minutes left in the quarter, NY had a 2-pt lead at 77-75.
that’s our captain 🫡 pic.twitter.com/9CwLqA7my8
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 16, 2026
Clarkson, Mitchell Robinson, and Landry Shamet added buckets at the end of the quarter to send NY into the 4th up by 3, at 83-80.
4. Clarkson Helps Knicks Take 7-pt Lead with 6 Min Left
Jose Alvarado led the Knick attack to start the 4th quarter, and big buckets by KAT, Robinson (offensive rebound and put back) and Clarkson (a 3, a drive-and-1, and a bucket) put NY up 97-90 with 6 minutes left.
JC brought the energy ⚡️🔌 pic.twitter.com/tjxljCuWnl
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 16, 2026
5. GS Hangs In — Brunson & Knicks Squeeze Out Win
But GS would not go away — buckets by Quentin Post, Gui Santos, and Gary Payton II kept them close — a Santos drive pulling them within 104-103 with 2:04 left.
Santos then blocked a Josh Hart layup attempt, but NY defense caused him to turn the ball over.
Brunson then came down and hit a floater with 1:04 left to give NY a 106-103 lead — HUGE.
Podziemski answered with a layup with 55 seconds left for a 1-pt game again.
Brunson missed a pullup; OG missed an offensive rebound tip-in — but down the other end Podziemski missed a 3 with 23 seconds left and GS was forced to foul.
never let up 👏
Jalen 30 PTS | 9 AST | 2 STL
KAT 17 PTS | 12 REB | 2 AST
Jordan 14 PTS
OG 14 PTS | 4 REB
Josh 7 PTS | 12 REB
Landry 10 PTS | 2 STL pic.twitter.com/uCvkikcKaa— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 16, 2026
In the final seconds it came down to free throws — and NY hit them all:
- Shamet hit 2 clutch free throws, but Podziemski andwered with another drive for a 1-pt game with 7 seconds left.
- OG hit 2 clutch free throws to give NY a 110-107 lead with 6.2 seconds left.
GS inbounded but NY tipped the ball away — Landry Shamet coming up with the loose ball for the NY win.
Be the first to comment