Knicks fall to Golden State after taking early 17-point lead
The Knicks' Karl-Anthony Towns tries to get between Golden State's Quinten Post, left, and Moses Moody on Jan. 15, 2026 in San Francisco, California. Credit: Getty Images/Ezra Shaw
SAN FRANCISCO — This time there was no wandering to the locker room to check on the status of Jalen Brunson, hoping he’d return to save the Knicks. Less than 24 hours after he suffered a sprained ankle in the first quarter in Sacramento, the Knicks were without Brunson and in dire need of a chance to get themselves right.
But after a brief flurry that gave them a 17-point lead early in Thursday night’s game, the Knicks had no savior and no answers. The issues of a night earlier — the lackadaisical play and indifferent defense — were not a problem this time, but the Knicks still ended their four-game western trip with their third loss, falling to Golden State, 126-113, at the Chase Center.
A final insult came with 1:16 to play as the two teams emptied their benches. After Draymond Green and OG Anunoby exchanged handshakes, Karl-Anthony Towns approached Green and the two had words, continuing their long-running feud. Green eventually skipped and danced away, celebrating another win.
Towns would not discuss anything about Green when it was over,
“Ain’t no relevance in my life. I’m good,” Towns said. “Everyone on the court knows. They know what happened.”
Unfortunately for Towns and the Knicks, they did know what happened. This one could be chalked up to the Knicks’ star point guard sitting on the bench in sweats and a wool cap while Golden State’s star guard, Steph Curry, took over the game in the second half, scoring 18 of his 27 points. But still, more than just Brunson seemed to be missing.
The loss put the Knicks at the midpoint of the season with a 25-16 record that dropped them into third place in the Eastern Conference. With seven losses in their last nine games, they return home with problems to solve.
Without Brunson, the Knicks needed players to step up, and they did. Deuce McBride, starting in place of Brunson, and Anunoby each had 25 points and Mikal Bridges shot 9-for-11 and scored 21. Towns — who became embroiled in an angry exchange with Green here last season, with Green calling him soft and the two exchanging words before being separated — added 17 points and 20 rebounds. Josh Hart had 10 assists.
But it wasn’t enough, and again, Towns was dragged into Green’s world. Early in the fourth quarter, he attempted to drive by Green, who fell to the floor. As Towns moved by him, Green grabbed his foot, tripping him — and the foul was upgraded to a flagrant 1, giving Towns two shots and the Knicks back the ball.
He hit one of two free throws to pull the Knicks within 99-91, but Towns then committed his fourth and fifth fouls in short order, heading to the bench 16 seconds after the flagrant foul. By the time he returned, the Knicks were down 14 with 7:05 remaining.
“I don’t want to give my secrets away, but I do like the matchup,” Green said. “But I like playing against all the perennial All-Stars and stars in the league. I enjoy those matchups. Those are the matchups that really get me going.
"It’s an honor to play against a talent like Karl Towns. Make no mistake about it, Karl Towns is one of the better big men in this league. I cherish that opportunity. So I know I get out there and I talk my junk and I stir the pot a little bit, for sure. But the respect that I have for talents like that, for guys who’ve done it, what, 10, 11 years at a very high level. I have so much respect for guys that are able to keep that level of play. And yet a guy that I know going into that matchup, I have to be like that. Or he’s going to drag me.”
Coming off what Mike Brown called the worst loss of the season Wednesday night — a 112-101 loss to the Kings (11-30) in which they trailed by 25 — the Knicks opened a 31-14 lead over Golden State with 4:28 remaining in the first quarter, having shot 6-for-7 from three-point range. They trailed 62-59 at the break, though, and fell behind 113-96 with 6:51 left in the fourth quarter.
“We have to figure out,” Hart said. “We’ve got to get our defense under control. That’s something that has been a little shaky all year. Our offense has been that good, especially when you have guys out. You might have some lapses offensively, but that’s when you’ve got to bring it defensively, control the game on that side.”
Notes & quotes: The Knicks got a boost with the return of Landry Shamet, who was cleared to play after being sidelined since Nov. 22 with a dislocated shoulder. He had six points in 16 minutes. “He worked his tail off,” Brown said. “Landry, he’s a worker, man . . . He was getting after it. It means a lot for him to play. He was in a great rhythm before he [got hurt]. He’s been out a while. It’s going to take some time for him to get back. But it’s exciting for him to be back and we’re going to be patient with him while he’s fighting to get back to where he was.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
