NBA highlights on March 18: Knicks beat Warriors with better duration

The New York Knicks beat the Golden State Warriors 119-112 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, on Monday, handing their opponents their third straight loss at home.

Pior to Monday's game, the Knicks had preented any of their opponents to reach even 100 points in their previous five games, largely due to their ability to sustain superb defensive intensity throughout all four quarters. Josh Hart contibuted a full 48 minutes against the Warriors and dropped his fifth triple-double this season as well as in his career of 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

Though the Knicks have the slowest pace of all 30 teams this season, Hart's remarkable performance of competing for every 50-50 rebound and then launching a fast break enabled his side to match the Warriors in transition points (15-12).

The other "Iron Man" on Monday night was Miles McBride, who played over 46 minutes for the Knicks. Though he played a different role from Hart's, the junior guard made the same significant contributions to the team's victory by doing two excellent jobs: guarding Stephen Curry and shooting 3-pointers.

Every second they were both on the court, McBride tried everything he could to stay within a hair's breadth of Curry. Such defensive arrangements nearly paralyzed the Warriors' signature give-and-go offense, which hinges on Curry's off-ball plays. It also disturbed Curry's shooting rhythm, causing him to miss 12 of his 20 field goal (FG) attempts.

McBride also joined Donte DiVincenzo, combining to shoot 10-for-17 from downtown to score 47 points for the Knicks. Getting 29 points also set a new career high for McBride. Their shooting performance discouraged the Warriors from sticking to zone defense every time they tried to do so.

Of course, the Knicks' best offensive performance came from Jalen Brunson, who converted 12 of his 25 FGs to ahieve a game-high 34 points. None of the Warriors could prevent him from scoring, either a bucket or a foul, via one-on-one defense. He added 15 points in the third period alone, ensuring that his team entered the final quarter with an 11-point lead (99-88).

The Warriors' starting lineup struggled on the offensive end, going 18-for-51 in FGs. Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Brandin Podziemski got seven, two and zero points, respectively. The five starters also committed 10 of the team's 13 turnovers in Monday's game.

The primary reason the Warriors could keep the contest alive was the remarkable performance of their bench unit, which outscored their Knicks counterparts 60-15. Chris Paul made six of his nine shots to get 14 points and four assists. Klay Thompson knocked down five 3-pointers out of 10 attempts and delivered a team-high eight assists, over half of which were for rookie center Trayce Jackson-Davis, who made all nine of his shots to drop 19 points and nine rebounds, including three on the offensive glass and three blocks.

Other games on Monday (away teams come first):

Portland Trail Blazers 107-110 Chicago Bulls

DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic and Ayo Dosumu collectively scored 73 points for the Bulls to secure a victory over the Trail Blazers at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Andre Drummond played less than 14 minutes off the bench but grabbed nine rebounds, including seven on the offense glass for the team.

Anfernee Simmons faced challenged behind the arc where 10 of his 14 attempts ended as bricks, but he still got 30 points and nine assists for the Trail Blazers. Deandre Ayton had a double-double of 25 points and 15 rebounds, extending his 20+points streak to six games. However, their performances didn't stop their team from suffering the third consecutive loss as the fifth-worst performing team in the league.

Atlanta Hawks 105-136 Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers secured a big win at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, on Monday and returned to ninth place in the Western Conference. LeBron James, Anthony Davis and D'Angelo Russell combined to drop 74 points, 26 rebounds and 26 assists for the purple and gold, turning the game into a long-gone conclusion before the fourth quarter. Russell made six triples in the game, reaching 183 on this front, the most for any Laker in a single season.

Cleveland Cavaliers 108-103 Indiana Pacers

Detroit Pistons 94-119 Boston Celtics

Miami Heat 91-98 Philadelphia 76ers

Minnesota Timberwolves 114-104 Utah Jazz

Memphis Grizzlies 111-121 Sacramento Kings