SAN FRANCISCO — Here are five quick observations from the Warriors’ 97-94 win over the Knicks on Saturday night, a seventh straight victory to keep them in the sixth seed with a month left in the regular season.
1. 94 Knicks points
Down the stretch, Steve Kerr put Gary Payton II on the floor ahead of Gui Santos, who started, and Jonathan Kuminga, who played well but is still under a minutes restriction. The decision worked. On the game’s two largest defensive possessions, Payton was credited with a pair of steals.
With 1:10 left and the Warriors up two, Karl-Anthony Towns tried to split Moses Moody and Payton on a drive from the right wing. Payton reached in and stripped it. The loose ball bounced to Draymond Green, who baited a foul and put the Warriors up four with two free throws.
The next time down the floor, Mikal Bridges tried to attack. He had Payton on him. The Knicks called a high screen to switch Steph Curry onto Bridges. Bridges attacked Curry. Green reached in from the help side to strip it. The ball pinballed to Payton (who was credited with the steal).
These pair of defensive plays essentially sealed it.
That was just a punctuation point to what was a complete effort from the Warriors on the defensive end. The Knicks, missing Jalen Brunson but still with plenty of firepower, scored 19, 22 and 22 points the last three quarters, finishing with 94 total on 43 percent shooting. It was the first time they’ve lost this season while giving up fewer than 100 points.
“We can do a lot of things,” said Green. “We can play in coverage. We can switch all five. It’s not like we just switching and giving up size. We have the physicality and length and size to match up with lineups when we are switching. Even if it may look like a mismatch, there’s a lot of physicality we’re putting on the floor right now.”
In the 16 games since Jimmy Butler’s arrival, a small but not insignificant statistical sample, the Warriors have the NBA’s second-best defensive rating (107.9). They are using their length, speed, muscle and strategical acumen to shut down opponents (during a soft portion of the schedule) without a traditional rim protector.
“Most championship contending teams are top 10 in both (offense and defense),” Curry said. “No matter what style, you should have the results. We have some tough lineups we can throw out there defensively down the stretch. Take myself out of it, but you have GP, Jimmy, Draymond, Moses has really been an amazing point-of-attack defender. Pick your poison with those four guys and I have to do my job.”
2. Moody’s continued ascendance
Moody had 18 points in 33 minutes, which included what Kerr called the biggest shot of the game — a driving layup with 2:26 left to break a tie at the shot clock buzzer. Moody also made four 3s. He has scored in double digits in 23 of the past 27 games, while also upping his level of individual defense after the departure of Andrew Wiggins.
“It’s his defense,” Kerr said. “He’s really taken on the role of guarding the opponent’s best player or point guard. He’s done it night after night. He’s embraced it. I think one of the reasons we felt so strongly about locking up Moses this past fall (on a three-year, $39 million extension) was just the character piece, how hard he plays, what a great human being he is. Then you look at the length and the shooting ability. He’s clearly a guy who can have a long career in this league.”
3. Jimmy Butler’s scoring
In the last three games, Butler has only scored 15, six and 11 points on 10, five and 11 shots. He’s been selective about when to attack and hasn’t been aggressive with his jumper. Butler went two straight games without even attempting a 3-pointer.
His imprints are still all over this win streak. The Warriors have won 12 straight games with Butler in the lineup. But this team’s playoff ceiling will partly be determined by whether he can crank it up on the offensive end when the time calls. Butler said he would be ready.
“When it’s my time, you’ll know it’s my time,” Butler said. “Until then, I’m going to pass the ball to the open man, get my guys some jumpers, get them out in transition and we gonna keep winning.”
Jimmy Butler on his scoring: “When it’s my time, you’ll know it’s my time. Until then, I’m going to pass the ball to the open man, get my guys some jumpers, get them out in transition and we gonna keep winning.” pic.twitter.com/sbue8m2uIP
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 16, 2025
4. Shot of the night
Here is the Green layup that sealed it, complete with an elongated celebration.
Arena view of that Draymond Green lefty layup to put the Warriors up six with 25.8 seconds left and ensuing night night celebration vs Knicks pic.twitter.com/N07pfSeg6f
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 16, 2025
5. Standings watch
The Warriors and Timberwolves have won seven straight games, keeping them attached at the hip in the standings. The Warriors are a half-game up on Minnesota and hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Above them, the Lakers are falling, having lost four straight to put them within striking distance (two games) for the Warriors at the fifth spot. They play in early April in Los Angeles. The Lakers have already clinched the tiebreaker.
The Warriors also received some help from an old friend, Jordan Poole, on Saturday night. Poole hit a 34-foot game-winner in Denver to drag the Nuggets down to 25 losses. That has the Warriors within 3.5 games of the three teams (Nuggets, Grizzlies and Rockets) currently tied for the second seed.
2. Nuggets: 43-25
3. Rockets: 43-25
4. Grizzlies: 43-25
5. Lakers: 40-25
6. Warriors: 39-28
7. Timberwolves: 39-29
(Photo of Moses Moody driving to the basket against Karl-Anthony Towns: Neville E. Guard / Imagn Images)
