Golden State Warriors hold their nerves to edge past the New York Knicks; David Lee star of the show
Dorell Wright nailed in a crucial three-pointer and followed it with a layup shot as the Warriors recovered after they blew a 19 point advantage in the second half to hang on for a 5 point win at 122-117 in a nerve-jangling marathon.
David Lee returned to the place where it all started for him and scored a team high 28 points as he ripped through the defences of the New York Knicks. Lee grabbed his 10th board after Wilson Chandler missed a match tying triple
point attempt and slipped in two chilling free throws into the hearts of the Knicks with 1.5 seconds left to seal the game for the Warriors.
The long-time New York heartthrob was greeted by a tremendous ovation during pregame introductions and a video tribute honouring the achievements at his former franchise was played during a first-quarter timeout.
After hanging on for a kind of win that often eluded him at New York, an overwhelmed Lee said in post-match interview: “It meant a lot to me, and it was a great feeling, like I said, it would have been all for nothing if we
wouldn't have won the game, because I would have come out of there very, very frustrated, especially after being up 19. So I'm happy we finished it out.”
The New York Knicks started the match on a fast tempo and raced to a seven point lead seven minutes into the first quarter. Dorell Wright nailed in first of his three-pointers as the Golden State Warriors scored nine consecutive
points within one and a half minutes to wrest the initiative from their opponents.
The Warriors increased their advantage to 7 points at 34-27 with 1:17 to go till the buzzer, but Wilson Chandler netted a 3-pointer to reduce the Knicks’s deficit to 2 points going into the second quarter.
Amar’e Stoudemire, who was recruited into the New York Knicks from the Phoenix Suns upon the departure of David Lee, scored 10 points in the second quarter as the Knicks kept a tight leash on the offensive prowess of the Golden
State Warriors to go into the second half with a four point deficit at 60-56.
The Warriors came into the second half with all cylinders firing. They really put their foot on the pedal and sprinted to 17-6 run early in the third quarter. A Monta Ellis driving layup shot gave a 19 point advantage to the Warriors,
their biggest of the match, with nearly four minutes of play left in the third quarter.
The Knicks were not willing to be subdued by the huge deficit and showed some fight. Tony Douglas’s floating jump shot initiated a vociferous comeback as they blanked the Warriors 15-0 within three minutes to make it a five point
game at 80-85.
The Warriors recovered in the fourth quarter and restored an 11 point advantage with 5:50 remaining in the match. The Knicks, though, were not done yet as they launched another assault on the Warriors’ defence.
With the score at 107-96 in the favour of the Warriors, the Knicks reeled off an 11-0 run to make it even and Raymond Felton converted two free to put them ahead at 113-111 with 2:11 left on the clock.
At that point, it looked like the Warriors would succumb to the pressure, but Dorell Wright came to their rescue. He slipped in a crucial three-pointer to hand the lead back to the Warriors and then followed it with a layup shot
to calm their nerves.
Amar’e Stoudemire made a three-pointer with 14.4 left to bring the Knicks’s deficit within one point, but Chandler crumbled under pressure as he missed a three-pointer to level the score. David Lee rounded off the game with two
free throws as the Warriors edged past the Knicks 122-117.
Stephen Curry, who had an excellent last game against the Raptors chipped in with 25 points and 8 assists. Monta Ellis recovered from a back strain to start the match and scored 22 points with six assists as six Golden state players
featured in double figures.
Amar’e Stoudemire led the charge for the Knicks with 33 points shooting 9-for-15 and 10 boards. Wilson Chandler had 27 points but missed a crucial 3-pointer in the dying seconds as the New York Knick just fell short of an incredible
win.
Tags: