NBA: Golden State Warriors go to Madison Square Garden to play New York Knicks
Watch the Golden State Warriors take on the New York Knicks, live on Sky Sports Arena on Saturday 12.30am
Saturday 27 October 2018 04:56, UK
The Golden State Warriors and a red hot Stephen Curry are in New York to face the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, live on Sky Sports Arena in the early hours of Saturday morning.
The Warriors (4-1) have won their last two games with Curry showing the form which saw him crowned MVP in 2015 and 2016.
He dropped 51 points in three quarters in their last victory over the Washington Wizards - a performance which moved him up to fifth on the NBA's all-time 3-pointers made list.
Another positive for the Warriors is the progress off-season acquisition DeMarcus Cousins is making in his recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
The All-Star center, who signed a one-year deal with the Warriors this summer, took part in practice with the team in New York for the first time, but there is still no date for his return.
The Knicks (1-4) have not won since their season-opener against the Atalanta Hawks and are on a four-game losing streak.
They are without injured pair Kristaps Porzingis, their star player, and first-round rookie Kevin Knox, but head coach David Fizdale remains upbeat about facing the champions and wants his players to learn from the game.
Key Battle: Stephen Curry v Knicks team
Curry has been outstanding this season. He has drained 33 three-pointers - nine more than any other player, while only Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin has averaged more points per game (36.3) than Curry (34.6).
And the 30-year-old loves performing in the Big Apple. He put together a 54-point performance at Madison Square Garden in 2013 - his career high, which saw him become the first ever 50-point scorer to also hit double digit threes with 11.
Five years on, and with three NBA championships and two MVP awards under his belt, it would not be surprising to see Curry come close to that total on Friday night.
Last time out
Numbers Game
29.8 - That's the assists per game made by the Warriors through five games of the new season, the league's second-highest figure bettered only by the New Orleans Pelicans (31.0).
Golden State have topped the charts in this statistic for the last four seasons with ball movement at the forefront of Steve Kerr's philosophy.
It is a completely different story for the Knicks, who rank bottom in this area this season (20.0).
One to watch (Warriors) - Kevin Durant
Despite free agency being more than eight months away, Durant has been the subject of public courting by Knicks fans ahead of Friday night's game. A billboard was erected near Madison Square Garden pleading for him to join the franchise with the hashtag #KDNY2019.
Durant can become a free agent next summer if he does not take up a player option for the final year of his contract and the Knicks could have enough cap space to sign him on a maximum deal.
The 30-year-old said of the billboard: "To be honest, I don't know how to feel about that type of stuff. It's cool, no disrespect, but I'm not really impressed with that type of stuff.
"We look forward to free agency as fans, and your guys' job is to kind of look towards the future a little bit. And the fans love it. So I understand."
One to watch (Knicks) - Damyean Dotson
Dotson has impressed for the Knicks off the bench recently and he was one of very few positives in their blowout loss at the Miami Heat.
After failing to get onto the court in the first two games of the season, the 24-year-old led the Knicks in minutes (34), points (20) and boards (10) in Miami and that performance could see him start against the Warriors.
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