The New York Knicks will be at ORACLE Arena to take on the Golden State Warriors. This will be their fourth game of a five game West Coast road trip. The Knicks are coming off a victory Thursday night in Los Angeles when they beat the Lakers 101-94 at Staples Center. Not only will this be a tough task for the last place New York Knicks, facing off against the cream of the crop in the West, but the Knicks also own the league's worst road record at 5-28. Meanwhile the Golden State Warriors have the league's best home record at 28-2.
If things couldn't be any worse for the struggling Knicks, they should be facing a fresh Warriors team tonight with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala and Andrew Bogut all sitting out during last night's 114-103 loss in Denver that snapped a 5-game losing streak. Look for the Warriors to jump on the Knicks from the start like most teams have done this season and take them out of the game early and not give them any sign of light.
Knicks second year guard Tim Hardaway Jr. scored a game-high 22 in his return to the lineup Thursday night after missing two contests with a back ailment.
"The time off helped my legs out a lot and strengthened my body a little bit more," Hardaway said. "It got me ready for this game I think. I did a good job of moving on the defensive end and offensive end and just helping the guys out."
Alexey Shved also served as a key contributor Thursday night with 14 points and 11 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double.
Hardaway has thrived against Golden State. His 15.7 scoring average against the Warriors is his third-highest against any opponent in his career.
Their last meeting came on Feb. 7. with Golden State victorious 106-92 over the Knicks. Thompson was 5 for 22 from the field and Curry finished without an assist for the first time in his career when playing more than 11 minutes, but the Warriors held the Knicks to 40.2 percent shooting from the field.
Tip off is at 10:30 Eastern Standard Time.