Curry puts on another show at Madison Square Garden after 54-point game last year.
There were seven games on the NBA schedule on Friday night, with the Golden State Warriors piling more misery on the New York Knicks with a win at the Garden.
Warriors point guard Stephen Curry put on a sensational shooting performance a year ago when he went 11-of-13 from 3-point range to score 54 points, however this time round he showcased his entire skill set with an all-round performance.
The 25-year-old had 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in three quarters, while Klay Thompson added 25 points to enable Golden State to send a frustrated Knicks team to a fifth consecutive loss.
“To get a win this year is bigger than any stats, but to play well and to impact the game the way I wanted to, it definitely felt great,” Curry said.
Carmelo Anthony responded with 23 points and 16 rebounds for the hosts, but it wasn’t enough to avoid a second straight blow-out in a back-to-back as Tyson Chandler picked up two technical fouls in the fourth quarter and was therefore ejected as the frustration boiled over.
J.R. Smith suggested that it was “a heart thing” that is setting his team back, and while New York (21-38) are now six games behind the Atlanta Hawks for that final playoff spot, Anthony insists that they are just trying to stay focused on playing their remaining games.
Elsewhere, the Chicago Bulls had an answer for the Dallas Mavericks as they picked up a significant road win with Taj Gibson scoring 20 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.
The Bulls improve to 32-26 with an eighth victory in their last nine games, with another team effort seeing them through as Jimmy Butler (19 points), Kirk Hinrich (17) and Mike Dunleavy (16 points and eight rebounds) all contributed.
“We’re used to this,” Gibson said. “We get knocked down and we keep coming back.”
Chicago are now level with the Toronto Raptors in third spot in the Eastern Conference, while the loss leaves the Mavericks in a precarious position as the Memphis Grizzlies still threaten for the last few spots in the West.
Meanwhile, there were no problems for the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night as Tim Duncan led them to victory over the Charlotte Bobcats with 17 points and 16 rebounds.
With Kawhi Leonard back in the rotation, the Spurs are gradually getting their key players healthy, and although Tony Parker remains sidelined, it appears as though his team-mates are giving him additional time to recover as they move to 42-16 for the season.
Manu Ginobili scored 15 points, Marco Belinelli and Patty Mills had 14 apiece while Leonard added 12 for the hosts, with coach Gregg Popovich admitting that he was “really proud” of how his team hung in against a very good team.
Western Conference rivals the Oklahoma City Thunder were also victorious, as they snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over the Grizzlies.
Kevin Durant returned to top form with 37 points while Russell Westbrook added 21 points and six assists in 28 minutes, as the leaders in the West got back to winning ways and ensured they remain one-and-a-half games above the Spurs.
NBA Results:
Utah Jazz 79-99 Cleveland Cavaliers
Memphis Grizzlies 107-113 Oklahoma City Thunder
Golden State Warriors 126-103 New York Knicks
Chicago Bulls 100-91 Dallas Mavericks
Charlotte Bobcats 82-92 San Antonio Spurs
Sacramento Kings 122-126 Los Angeles Lakers
New Orleans Pelicans 104-116 Phoenix Suns
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