Good things come in thirds
Golden State owns the quarter
NEW YORK — After watching courtside as Warriors center JaVale McGee drained a turnaround jumper midway through the third quarter, comedian and political commentator Jon Stewart, mouth agape, raised both hands to his forehead and stared at the big screen above.
“Oh, my God,” Stewart said, seemingly to himself.
It was a sentiment surely shared by many of his fellow Knicks fans Monday night. Down by one at halftime, Golden State rode a brilliant third quarter to a 125-111 win over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
In those 12 minutes, the Warriors outscored New York 39-18. They shot 12-for-19 from the field, including 7-for-10 from three-point range, while holding the Knicks to seven field goals. Along the way, Golden State delivered more highlights than most teams have in entire games.
It was the seventh time this season the Warriors have outscored an opponent by at least 20 points in the third. With 21 regular-season games left, Golden State boasts a thirdquarter plus-minus of plus-329, easily the most lopsided margin for a quarter of any team.
“Our third quarters have been great all year,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “It is not like we
are doing anything different. I think we wear teams down a little bit.”
The Warriors have a knack for bringing out the best in opponents — for the first half, at least. Against a club as loaded as Golden State, inspiration can take a team only so far. There comes a point in most games, typically in the third quarter, when the Warriors’ collective powers — the switch-heavy defense, the cast of All-Stars, the deep bench, the rapid tempo, the parade of passes — take their toll.
The Knicks, riding 18 points from point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, shot 58.3 percent in the first half to take a 64-63 lead into intermission. Forty-one seconds into the third quarter, Draymond Green heaved a three-pointer that banged off the glass and through the cylinder. Green smirked and shrugged as he ran back on defense.
“I think I just had good karma, man,” Green said.
Two minutes later, with no one within several feet of him, McGee hammered home an alley-oop dunk off a lob from Stephen Curry. Late in the quarter, 6-foot-11, 270-pound Zaza Pachulia intercepted a pass from Damyean Dotson, raced downcourt and laced a dribble behind his back before finding rookie Jordan Bell, who was fouled on the layup attempt.
It wasn’t long before Curry, while getting fouled by guard Trey Burke, nailed a threepointer on what became a fourpoint play. By the time Golden State ended the third with a 102-82 cushion, Kerr had seen enough: Curry was free to watch the rest of the game from the bench.
His favorite team down 118-95 midway through the fourth quarter, Stewart was leaning forward in his courtside seat when he appeared on the big screen. Stewart, still grimacing, halfheartedly raised his right hand in acknowledgment.
“I still don’t have an answer about the third quarter except we wear teams down,” Curry said. “We come out of the halftime with some juice and energy. It is winning time.”
That the Warriors’ latest blitz came against a Kristaps Porzingis-less Knicks team mired in a 1-10 skid hardly made Monday’s blowout any less important. After struggling to focus for two-plus weeks entering the All-Star break, Golden State is resembling the bully many had anticipated.
It escaped with a seven-point win Thursday over the Clippers before beating Oklahoma City on Saturday by 32 points. In disposing of the Knicks, Klay Thompson (26 points), Kevin Durant (22) and Curry (21) paced the Warriors on a night the team had 31 assists to 12 turnovers and shot 51.8 percent from the field.
Afterward, Kerr, one of the most politically conscious coaches in professional sports, walked down the sideline and embraced Stewart. As the two chatted, Stewart smiled and laughed.
“That fade-away, that was crazy,” Green said of McGee’s turnaround jumper that had Stewart with his face in his hands in the third quarter. “Like, whoa.”