Knicks at Warriors
The New York Knicks were hoping to catch a tired team on the second night of a back-to-back when it visits Golden State on Saturday. Instead, a quartet of the Warriors’ best players should be fresh when the best team in the NBA takes on the worst. Golden State coach Steve Kerr elected to sit All-Star guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson along with Andrew Bogut and Andre Iguodala in a trip to Denver on Friday.
The shorthanded Warriors nearly pulled out a win before falling off late in a 114-103 loss to the Nuggets but still sit 6 1/2 games ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies in the race for the top spot in the Western Conference. The Knicks are a game below the Minnesota Timberwolves in the race to the NBA's basement but snapped a five-game slide with a 101-94 win over the Los Angeles Lakers behind 22 points from Tim Hardaway Jr. on Thursday. That marked the first time in six games this month that New York even reached 90 points.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, MSG (New York), CSN Bay Area (Golden State)
ABOUT THE KNICKS (13-51): Hardaway went 7-of-33 from the floor in the first three games this month before sitting out the next two with back spasms. The second-year guard came off the bench looking refreshed Thursday and buried five 3-pointers as part of an 8-of-14 shooting effort, giving the team a positive look as it builds for the future. Rookie point guard Langston Galloway is exceeding expectations as well and has scored in double figures twice in the first three games of the five-game road trip.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (51-13): Golden State is gearing up for a deep run in the postseason, and making sure its veteran players are healthy when the middle of April roles around is one of the keys during the next month. The Warriors had won five in a row before falling at Denver, and the team is hoping one night off doesn’t cool Thompson’s shooting stroke. Thompson went through a rough patch at the beginning of March but has gone for 21 or more points in each of his last three games and is 10-of-19 from 3-point range in that span.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Warriors eased to a 106-92 win at the Knicks on Feb. 7 and have taken three of the last four in the series.
2. Golden State F Draymond Green has scored in double figures in six straight games — the second-longest streak of his career.
3. New York F Quincy Acy (knee) sat out Thursday and is day-to-day.