Without eight players, the Golden State Warriors nearly pulled off a huge upset, but the New York Knicks held on for 110-107 victory on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
The Warriors were playing without their six highest-paid players in Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Kristaps Porzingis, Draymond Green, Moses Moody and Al Horford. They were also without De’Anthony Melton and Seth Curry, yet they built a 21-point first-half lead.
But the Knicks (44-25) used a dominant third quarter to take a three-point lead into the fourth, and they pulled it out late behind 30 points from Jalen Brunson.
Brandin Podziemski had a team-high 25 points for the Warriors (32-35).
Here are two takeaways from Sunday’s game.
GPII, Post Makes Case for New Contracts
Gary Payton II and Quinten Post have been rotation afterthoughts at various points this season.
Post’s minutes have been especially volatile recently, as he’s been playing behind Horford, Porzingis and Green at center.
But with all of them out, Post showed why the Warriors should keep him in their long-term plans.
The stretch 5 had 22 points (4-of-10 from three), three rebounds, three assists and three blocks in 35 minutes.
It wasn’t always pretty—he had four turnovers—but overall it was a great performance against a big and talented Knicks frontcourt.
Payton had one of his best games of the season with 19 points (8-of-13 shooting), six rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block and zero turnovers. Among his highlights was a driving finish with his right hand that I didn’t know he had in his bag.
Payton is on a one-year veteran minimum contract. He probably won’t have a market bigger than that this offseason, so the Warriors have to decide if he’s worth having for depth. I think he’s proved over the last several weeks he should get another contract offer. Ultimately, it’s nice having some bench players that have familiarity with the system, and Payton is still producing enough to be worth it on merit alone.
Post, 25, is a restricted free agent, and it’s likely his market will be slightly more than a minimum contract. Even if the Warriors have Porzingis, Horford and Green back, they should pay that price for Post as a depth center.
Podz’s Missed Three Was the Right Shot, Wrong Result
With the Warriors down one, Podz rebounded an OG Anunoby miss with about 28 seconds left, and he dribbled the ball down the floor, looking to attack like he had all game.
Brunson gave him space for a step-back three, and Podz took it. He missed it short, and the Warriors never got another chance for a go-ahead shot.
Any time a a player not named Stephen Curry takes an early three and misses, a section of the fanbase is furious with the player for