The New York Knicks (1-4), losers of four straight, head back home to Madison Square Garden for a Friday night meeting with the Golden State Warriors (4-1).
The Warriors easily took care of business in their last outing on Wednesday with a 144-122 victory over the Washington Wizards. Golden State put on a clinic shooting 57.6 percent from the field and dishing out 37 assists. Stephen Curry finished with an early NBA-high this season of 51 points in a game which he connected on 11 three-pointers.
While the Knicks mostly remained competitive in their first three losses, that wasn't the case when they fell 110-87 to the Miami Heat on Wednesday.
After leading by 11 after one quarter, New York was outscored 76-38 in the second and third quarters. Damyean Dotson led the Knicks off the bench with 20 points.
Known injuries
Golden State: Out - DeMarcus Cousins (Achilles)
New York: Out - Kristaps Porzingis (knee), Kevin Knox (ankle), Courtney Lee (neck), Questionable - Emmanuel Mudiay (ankle), Lance Thomas (knee)
Projected starting lineups
Golden State: PG - Stephen Curry, SG - Klay Thompson, SF - Kevin Durant, PF - Draymond Green, C - Damian Jones
New York: PG - Trey Burke, SG - Tim Hardaway Jr., SF - Frank Ntilikina, PF - Lance Thomas (Noah Vonleh or Mario Hezonja likely replacements if he can not play), C - Enes Kanter
Team stat leaders
Golden State: Scoring - Stephen Curry 34.6, Rebounding - Kevin Durant 8.0, Assists - Draymond Green 7.0
New York: Scoring - Tim Hardaway Jr.
24.4, Rebounding - Enes Kanter 10.8, Assists - Trey Burke 5.0
What to know and watch for
The Knicks haven't exactly lit the world on fire as their 34.8 percent clip from downtown ranks as 19th-best in the league. They face a Golden State team which currently owns the best three-point defense as opponents have connected on only 29.3 percent of their tries from deep.
Expect the Knicks' faithful to be into the game early as many have dreams of Kevin Durant signing with the team as a free agent in the offseason. According to ESPN, a billboard was posted near Madison Square Garden in hopes of swaying Durant to come to New York once teams are allowed to sign free agents next July.
One way that New York can hang close in a game very few expect them to win is by forcing turnovers.
They force opponents into the most turnovers per game in the NBA with 17.6. Meanwhile, there are times when the Warriors get a little careless with the ball as their 16.8 turnovers per game are the most in the league.
History in the regular season between the Warriors and Knicks
The Warriors and Knicks have met 339 times in the regular season with the Warriors holding a 179-160 advantage in the win column according to Land of Basketball. They are 93-85 against New York since moving from Philadelphia to California.
As Golden State has dominated the league in winning the last two and three of the last four championships, they have had no trouble with the Knicks as of late. They have now won eight straight in the series with seven of those wins coming by double figures.
The Warriors have won the last five meetings played at Madison Square Garden.