Chandler Proud Of Knicks' Late-Game 'D' On Stephen Curry
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Stephen Curry won the battle.
The Knicks won the war.
On a night when Curry couldn't miss, a big play by guard Raymond Felton helped seal the deal for New York.
"I was really proud of the way we defended (Curry) in the final few possessions," said Knicks center -- and defensive leader -- Tyson Chandler.
Felton's blocked shot led to J.R. Smith's tiebreaking basket with 1:10 left, and the Knicks overcame Curry's NBA season-high 54 points to beat the Golden State Warriors 109-105 on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
"He's a special young player with a very unique talent," Chandler said. "We ran everything at him. He just got hot. There was some shots that he couldn't have seen the rim."
Curry was 18 of 28 from the field, finishing one shy of the NBA record with 11 3-pointers in 13 attempts, in a performance that had the crowd hanging on his every shot. But the Knicks and Felton finally stopped him with 1:28 to play and the score tied at 105.
"There was nothing anybody could do except hope he misses," said Carmelo Anthony. "He was 11 for 13 on threes. That's self-explanatory."
Ultimately it was Felton who came up with the huge play on Curry.
"My main thing is to keep playing. Like I said, once a guy gets it going like that, there's nothing I can really do. I've still got to stay in my mindset, still play my game, and I was still able to come up with some big plays at the end," Felton said. "We all came up with some big plays to get that win."
Carmelo Anthony followed Smith's basket with another one and the Knicks hung on to spoil former Knicks star and Warriors coach Mark Jackson's homecoming.
Anthony finished with 35 points and Smith had 26. Chandler grabbed a whopping 28 rebounds.
"We made the defensive stops we needed to make down the stretch," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said.
This performance — the most points by an NBA player in a loss since Kobe Bryant had 58 in a loss to Charlotte on Dec. 29, 2006 — was spoiled along with Jackson's trip back to his old home because of a few mistakes down the stretch.
"Stephen Curry did a phenomenal job. He shot the lights out," said Knicks forward Amar'e Stoudemire. "It was fun game to play in because we got the win."
Your thoughts on Wednesday's wild affair? Be heard in the comments!
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