Stephen Curry visiting Madison Square Garden will always be a sight to see as long as the NBA’s greatest shooter is playing in the league.
And if you thought an ankle injury suffered less than 24 hours prior in a matchup against the Charlotte Hornets was going to be enough to keep him out — you’re mistaken.
“One trip to The Garden… pretty sure he’s gonna do everything possible to play,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said prior to tip-off on Tuesday night.
Curry, who entered Tuesday as a game-time decision, flirted with a triple-double after a slow start in his 13th overall appearance inside the World’s Most Famous Arena.
He had just nine points by halftime but later finished with 28 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
Had he stuffed the statsheet a bit more, Curry would’ve recorded his second triple-double at Madison Square Garden. He recorded the first in a blowout win in 2014: 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.
And his team trailed by eight by halftime, but a spark in the third quarter eventually led to a 114-102 win over Jalen Brunson and the Knicks.
The third quarter featured 10 points from Curry, scored on a flurry of assisted layups and contested jumpers that wowed the away crowd.
After closing out a defensive possession in the period, he appeared hobbled as he got off the floor near Celebrity Row with his team down at the other end. Seconds later, he jogged up the court, received a pass from Moses Moody and drained a 27-footer to regain the lead, 64-62.
Curry — seemingly not injured at all — returned back to the spot as Tom Thibodeau called timeout and appeared to wipe the floor dry and pat fanatic Spike Lee on the back.
The trey accounted for one of his five made treys on nine attempts Tuesday. He made 10 of 21 attempts overall before the night was over.
His final trey of the night was a 25-foot dagger that put the Warriors up 11 with 1:29 remaining in regulation.
Golden State fans in attendance responded with “Warrior” chants inside the away arena like it was the Bay Area.
And before the night was over, Curry responded to a Mikal Bridges trey with one last assist to teammate Brandin Podziemski.
The future Hall of Famer then walked to halfcourt and signaled his patented “goodnight” celebration, sending Knicks fans home on Tuesday night.