It was as if eleven months of enthusiastic zeal had been unleashed in one night in the garden.
A lively, loud crowd of 2,000 cheered the Knicks, molested the Warriors, and booked the referees off Tuesday night. But in the end, the first Garden crowd of the season could only do so much and the Warriors’ talent won.
Golden State beat the Knicks in the second half to claim a 114-106 win. Stephen Curry rained in 37 points and Draymond Green was in a defensive gem all over the place.
Green let the newly minted all-star Julius Randle fight off the field while piling 11 assists, two steals and a block.
Randle finished with 25 points from 8 of 21 shots and was thrown 17.5 seconds back after picking up his second technician.
Meanwhile, RJ Barrett had a tough night, shooting 1 of 9 for four points and missed a free throw 1:26.
The Knicks allowed the Warriors to steal the win despite taking Golden State to 15 points in the fourth quarter.
The crowd was safest when Barrett was called 59.8 seconds ahead for a foul on a driving Kelly Oubre. Knicks trainer Tom Thibodeau lost the challenge and made the mocking Garden believers even more angry.
The night looked like it would be special when Randle took the microphone before jumping to chants of « MVP », thanked the important workers and yelled: « Let’s curtsy! » The MVP chants continued when he shot free throws.
During the introduction of the players, the warriors were thoroughly booed, just as if one of their players went to the foul line.
After Green bricked two straight deep shots the fans in the blue seats started chanting « Draaay-mooond ». After almost two months in a sterile garden environment with computer-generated noise, everything felt refreshing.
The eager fans who missed the first 14 games were scattered throughout the arena, many of them in new shirts by Immanuel Quickley and Randle.
Team president Leon Rose and his lieutenants were stationed at the court for the games without a spectator, but were moved behind the baseline on the other side of the Knicks bench for Tuesday.
After Elfrid Payton after taking off Curry had been called in for questionable fouls, Rose stomped her feet and Knicks Senior Vice President William Wesley angrily jumped from his seat and paced up and down in disgust.
Knick’s owner James Dolan was not in his new 100-level seat in attendance – probably hidden in a suite.
While Quickley was having a bad outing, Obi Toppin was energized in front of his hometown fans – and parents -.
The Brooklyn native grabbed a low pass from Alec Burks and still slammed it home with one forceful movement. Two properties later, Toppin muscled himself with a hook that was shot into the alley.
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