Early in the season, the Golden State Warriors have had four chances to earn a three-game winning streak. After impressive wins over the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs, the Warriors looked to have momentum rolling towards another victory with the New York Knicks in town on Wednesday night.
However, the Knicks were riding a two-game winning streak of their own. Led by RJ Barrett, the Knicks set the tone for the contest, outscoring the Warriors 40-31 in the first quarter. As the Warriors tried to chip away at New York’s advantage, the game took a sudden turn.
With a little over a minute before halftime, Draymond Green received his second technical, triggering an ejection from the contest. Green appeared to be barking instruction to rookie James Wiseman. Yet, the referee believed Green’s comments were directed at the officials. The former Defensive Player of the Year’s night was over after tallying three points on 1-of-3 shooting with eight assists in 17 minutes.
Without Green, the Warriors failed to get into any type of rhythm on offense. Adding to the game’s choppy nature, both teams were consistently at the free-throw line due to a bevy of foul calls.
Steph Curry led the Warriors with a game-high 30 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field, but it wasn’t enough to spark a rally. Despite late magic in recent games, Golden State couldn’t manufacture a comeback on Thursday, falling to the Knicks, 119-104.
The Warriors will now have a day off before traveling to Salt Lake City for a matchup with the potential playoff-contending Utah Jazz.