Knicks' Deuce McBride gives lift in rare start to help beat Golden State

SAN FRANCISCO — When OG Anunoby flew back to New York for an MRI Monday morning, a member of the organization joked that Jalen Brunson might need to score 50 for the Knicks to get the win. If that was what it would have taken, maybe Brunson would have done it, but he didn’t have to because the Knicks found an unlikely hero to help him.

Deuce McBride stepped into the starting lineup in place of Anunoby. That might seem an unlikely choice, the 6-2 backup point guard replacing the 6-8 defensive stopper. But McBride’s job was to chase Stephen Curry around the floor and he did that — and more.

McBride sat just 89 seconds, scored a career-high 29 points, and frustrated Curry with his defense. And with Brunson doing what he does — 34 points and seven assists — the Knicks were able to escape with their fourth straight win and one of the most impressive and gutsy of the season, a 119-112 victory over Golden State at the Chase Center.

Brunson, named Eastern Conference Player of the Week earlier in the day, fell short of becoming just the second Knicks player to ever score at least 40 points in three straight games — mostly because Golden State was swarming him. He made the right plays, patiently working his way through the defense and finding open shooters. Donte DiVincenzo added 18 points and Josh Hart played all 48 minutes and had a 10 point, 11 rebound, 10 assist triple-double. McBride helped keep Curry from taking over, making him work for his 27 points on 8-for-20 shooting. Curry was 4-for-13 from behind the arc.

With 45 and 42 points in the first two stops on this four-game West Coast trip, Brunson has opened eyes in a continuing ascension to new levels of stardom this season. But against Golden State, it was a test that was as tough as anything he’s faced with Draymond Green.

Green will someday likely earn a Hall of Fame spot based first on his defense and at a muscular 6-6, 230 pounds he might seem an odd choice to guard Brunson. But what Golden State started in the 2022 playoffs when they were able to at least contain Brunson, other teams have begun to at least try to emulate.

“I just have to adjust to situations, just depending on who’s defending,” Brunson said. “You’re always going to have to adjust to what’s going on during a game.

“Obviously having Draymond it was different. You have to adjust. For me it made me better. It made me understand what I had to work on to be better. One of those things that make you rethink what are you going to do to be better.”

And what did he have to do?

“You work harder,” Brunson said.

The Knicks led by as many as 14 early and never surrendered the lead, but in the fourth quarter with Brunson and DiVincenzo on the bench the lead was whittled to 99-95. Brunson came back on the floor with 9:27 left. It gave McBride his first breather of the night and the Knicks stabilized the game, scoring four straight points and prompting a Golden State timeout with 7:58 left. And with Curry back on the floor, McBride’s rest was over.

In the first half it wasn’t Brunson or Curry who dominated early, but instead it was McBride. McBride’s job on the night was to chase Curry around the court. Curry missed all three of his field goal attempts in the quarter with two turnovers and his only two points coming on a foul when Hart was switched onto him.

By halftime McBride was up to 19 points with five three-point field goals. And Curry began to find his range, too — finishing the half with 15 points as he twice beat the Knicks down the floor in transition. But Brunson started to find his scoring touch, too. By halftime, with the Knicks leading 62-56 Brunson had 14 points and four assists.

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

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.