Jimmy Butler III, Warriors wear down Jalen Brunson-less Knicks

Jimmy Butler III put up for a game-high 32 points, Stephen Curry found his 3-point range in the second half en route to 27 points and the Golden State Warriors handled the Jalen Brunson-less New York Knicks 126-113 on Thursday in San Francisco.

Moses Moody and Brandin Podziemski combined for 40 points on 15-for-19 shooting in complementary roles for the Warriors, who shot 53.9% from the floor and buried 20 3-pointers en route to the fourth win in the past five games.

Starting in place of Brunson, Miles McBride had 25 points, as did teammate OG Anunoby. Karl-Anthony Towns snatched a season-high 20 rebounds to go with 17 points for the Knicks, who completed a 1-3 Western swing on the second night of a back-to-back.

Brunson sustained a sprained right ankle in New York's loss to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.

Down by 17 early and even at 65-all in the second minute of the second half, the Warriors got three 3-pointers from Moody and a pair from Curry in a 24-11 run that opened a 13-point lead.

The Knicks got no closer than seven the rest of the way.

Butler logged his fifth 30-point effort of the season thanks to 14-for-22 shooting. He also found time for a team-high eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Curry, who missed all four of his 3-points attempts in a nine-point first half, went 4-for-5 from deep during an 18-point explosion over the final two periods. He also had a team-high seven assists.

Moody buried seven 3-pointers on a 21-point night, while Podziemski shot 8-for-9 overall to put up 19 points for the Warriors, who outscored the Knicks 60-42 from deep.

Mikal Bridges chipped in with 21 points and Jordan Clarkson had 11 for New York, while Josh Hart dished off a game-high 10 assists to go with five points and five rebounds. The Knicks lost despite shooting 46.2% on field-goal attempts.

Towns had a double-double in the first half alone, helping the Knicks go up 31-14 before settling for a 62-59 deficit at the break. The big man had 11 points and 10 rebounds before the break, with half his boards coming at the offensive end, where the Knicks gathered back 10 of their 25 misses.

Golden State's reserves were the driving force in rallying into the halftime lead. Four subs, led by Podziemski with 10 points on 4-for-5 shooting, combined for 23 first-half points and a 10-point advantage in bench scoring.