Golden State held New York to their season-low of 94 points and Draymond Green pioneered the first-ever “Night Night” layup
Karl-Anthony Towns was ready to get revenge Saturday night for some insensitive comments from Draymond Green. But in the final 67 seconds, Gary Payton II stole the ball from him, Towns fouled Green, and Draymond busted out the Warriors’ first-ever “Night Night” after a layup as the Golden State Warriors beat the New York Knicks, 97-94.
DRAY SAID 😴
📺 #NBAonABC pic.twitter.com/6c468fWc7h
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 16, 2025
The Warriors got their seventh-straight win with the victory and improved to 14-1 with Jimmy Butler in the lineup, holding the Knicks to their season-low of 94 points. Steph Curry led the team with 28 points, tying for the team lead in rebounds with Gui Santos with seven, and tied Jonathan Kuminga for the team lead in assists, with five. Curry also tied Moses Moody with four three-pointers, as the 22-year-old scored 18 points, seven coming in the final quarter.
Moses Moody stays ready ✅
📺 #NBAonABC pic.twitter.com/xNmGzRDxWB
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 16, 2025
Same spot, same shot. Yeah, Mo‼️
📺 #NBAonABC pic.twitter.com/VAMkY0w1R3
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 16, 2025
Moody’s last three gave the Warriors a nine-point lead with 9:32 to go, but Towns brought the Knicks back by scoring their next 11 points in a row. With 2:52 left, Mikal Bridges tied the game at 88-88, but the Knicks wouldn’t score again until 17 seconds remained and the game was out of reach. Outside of the desperate final seconds and a meaningless OG Anunoby three at the final buzzer, the Warriors held the Knicks to 16 points for the competitive portion of the 4th quarter.
The win was a milestone for Steve Kerr, who passed the great Al Attles to become the winningest coach in franchise history.
A legacy of greatness.
Congrats, Coach Kerr on becoming the All-Time Winningest Coach in Warriors franchise history 👏 pic.twitter.com/R21nGfCjdE
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 16, 2025
The game had some added juice beyond being a nationally-televised game between two elite (or, recently-elite) NBA teams thanks to some boorish remarks from Green. On his podcast, Green suggested that Towns missed the Warriors’ victory in New York because he was ducking Jimmy Butler, his old teammate from the Minnesota Timberwolves where things ended poorly. It turned out Towns was actually attending a funeral for a family friend.
Towns scored 29 points and collected 12 rebounds, and it likely would have been more without some first-half foul trouble. Green drew Towns’ third foul early in the second quarter and reacted exactly as graciously as you’d expect, pointing at the bench for Towns to sit down.
Draymond told KAT to sit down after the foul 😅
Knicks-Warriors getting chippy early on ABC 👀 pic.twitter.com/QmCgy84mPd
— ESPN (@espn) March 16, 2025
An up-and-down first quarter almost ended with the Knicks up by two points — until Jimmy Butler channeled his inner Steph Curry with a buzzer-beating three-pointer. Steph probably wouldn’t have banked it in, but Butler has to put his own spin on a classic.
BUTLER III AT THE BUZZER 🚨
📺 #NBAonABC pic.twitter.com/tmsQ0gpHqz
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 16, 2025
Curry answered with his own late three-pointer in the second quarter, though he hit his shot with three seconds left so as not to be a copycat.
Steph cashes in the three to end the half 💰
Warriors lead the Knicks 54-50 at halftime on ABC 👀 pic.twitter.com/mv92cSo9hq
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 16, 2025
The Knicks didn’t have Jalen Brunson, who will likely be out at least two more weeks for the Knicks. Miles “Deuce” McBride filled in admirably with 19 points, matching Bridges, and OG Anunoby had 23. But the Knicks bench, the source of a recent controversy about playing time between Bridges and coach Tom Thibodeau, scored only four points total.
Meanwhile Kuminga finished with 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Quinten Post had five points and six rebounds. Gary Payton II continued his stellar recent run with a very complete effort — six points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block — logging a team-high +12 in 25 minutes.
In a game where the Warriors weren’t hitting from the outside, going 13-for-41 on threes, the team did it with defense and limiting their turnovers to nine. Butler’s stats weren’t overwhelming, with 11 points, seven assists, and six rebounds, but his presence has shored up the team’s defense and made them more connected on offense. He was a +10, as was Moody, and perhaps due to his influence, the Warriors’ newfound free-throw attack continued with an 18-for-22 night from the line.
The Warriors are winning games the hard way. Also the easy way, but Saturday was a game they would have lost three months ago. Defense wins championships, and so do free throws.
