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Durant sets career-high, exits with fourth ejection in Warriors’ win

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OAKLAND–It was the NBA’s most dominant team in that team’s most dominant quarter.

It was Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant against a Knicks’ squad missing Kristaps Porzingis.

If I told you that was the recipe, you wouldn’t have expected the final product to taste like anything but dominance. And sure enough, the Golden State Warriors had their way in a 123-112 win.

Though the night was devoid of significant drama, Durant set a career-high with 14 assists including 10 in the first half before exiting with his fourth ejection of the season late in the fourth quarter. After earning a technical foul for arguing during the first half, Durant talked his way into a second technical with fewer than three minutes on the clock and his team up 18 in the fourth quarter.

After trailing New York 60-58 at halftime, Golden State embarked on another monster third quarter run to open up a double-digit lead and dash the hopes of a Knicks team that shouldn’t have had them to begin with. Though New York put forth a valiant effort during the first half on Tuesday night, the Warriors went 1-for-11 from beyond the arc in the first quarter and struggled to defend a unit led by a resurgent Michael Beasley.

The Warriors’ first half was bogged down by uncharacteristic mistakes, defensive lapses and lackadaisical mindset that made battling the referees more enticing than stopping their opponents. Even with New York’s best player watching from the bench, Golden State couldn’t string together consistent stretches of basketball that allowed it to pull away from the visitors who traveled across the country.

However, Tuesday night wound up playing out like a story you’ve probably heard before, so stop here if the Warriors’ heroics aren’t for you. Led by a 15-point flurry from Curry who drilled four three-pointers in the frame, Golden State outscored New York by 11 points to take a 95-86 lead. Though the Warriors’ momentum slowed up in the final minutes of the third, a 12-3 run in the middle of the quarter allowed Steve Kerr’s squad to gain its first significant separation of the night.

Two Curry threes woke up a rather sleepy Oracle Arena crowd, including one that came immediately following a highlight-reel Durant block at the rim and another that ensued after Thompson led a fast break and dished to a wide open Curry on the left wing. After Curry drilled a triple in front of the Knicks’ bench, coach Jeff Hornacek drew a technical foul that allowed the Warriors’ point guard to step to the free throw line and add to his ledger.

The dominant third quarter came after Golden State scrapped together one of its worst opening quarter efforts of the year. Though the Warriors have actually been a more formidable team on the road this year, a sluggish start that led to a 10-point deficit at the end of the first quarter was still surprising for a team playing at full strength and coming off two full days of rest.

As he typically does, reserve forward David West led an inspired second unit for Golden State that took over at the start of the second quarter and began cutting into the Knicks’ lead. West nailed his first four shots of the night and played nearly the entire second quarter as the Warriors closed to within two at the half.

After Curry led the third quarter barrage, the second unit wound up building on the Warriors’ lead to put the game out of reach by the time their point guard was scheduled to return to the floor.