(SportsNetwork.com) - The team with the best record in the NBA, the Golden State Warriors, will meet the team with the worst mark, the New York Knicks, Saturday night at Oracle Arena.
The Warriors had a five-game winning streak snapped on Friday thanks to a 114-103 road loss to the Denver Nuggets. Granted, Golden State sat Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Bogut and Andre Iguodala. Backup center Marreese Speights was suspended for the game after pleading guilty to reckless driving in Florida.
"Steph and Klay were tired, and we have Bogs and Andre on a routine to give them a night off once in a while. Tonight seemed like the right night," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
Justin Holiday had a career-high 23 points for the Warriors. James Michael McAdoo finished with 16 off the bench, followed by 14 from Leandro Barbosa and 13 out of David Lee.
Draymond Green and Shaun Livingston managed 12 apiece.
An offensive foul on McAdoo led to a dunk from Wilson Chandler at the other end, but Livingston's jam had the visitors within 103-101 with 2:59 left. Randy Foye responded with a 3-ball to start a game-sealing 8-0 burst.
Saturday's contest begins a six-game homestand for the Warriors. Golden State welcomes the Los Angeles Lakers, Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Pelicans, Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards on this stay.
The Knicks are on game four of a five-game western swing. New York is 1-2 on the trek, but that lone victory came last time out, a 101-94 triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.
The Knicks snapped a five-game losing streak with the win.
"Winning in this league on the road is difficult," said Knicks coach Derek Fisher, who returned to Staples Center for the first time as a coach against his former team. "It feels good to win tonight. We played as a team. They wanted to win this as a unit."
Tim Hardaway Jr. paced New York with 22 points on 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point range, Andrea Bargnani had 16 and Alexey Shved totaled 14 points with 11 rebounds and six assists.
Los Angeles, which has lost six of its last seven, went without a basket for over five minutes in the third as New York built a double-digit lead. The Lakers got it going late, however, with Jeremy Lin scoring six points during a 9-3 run to end the quarter and bring the hosts within 80-74 entering the fourth.
Los Angeles' lack of offense continued in the final stanza. The Lakers went just over four minutes without a point and a Shved free throw put the Knicks up 92-80 in the process. A Jordan Hill 3-pointer with under a minute left cut Los Angeles' deficit to four, but Bargnani followed with a free throw that helped New York snap its losing skid.
The Warriors beat the Knicks by 14 at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 7 and have won 10 of the last 12 meetings as the host in this series.
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