Two teams with losing streaks at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., clash at the venue Tuesday night when the New York Knicks duel the Golden State Warriors.
The Knicks (10-30) will be making the final stop on a six-game trip highlighted by a 119-112 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night but that has seen the Knicks lose four games, including Monday night at Portland, 111-101.
That loss to the Trail Blazers came despite double-doubles from Enes Kanter (18 points, 14 rebounds) and Noah Vonleh (16 points, 14 rebounds).
The Knicks will visit Golden State not only on the second night of a back-to-back and at the end of a 13-day trip, but also riding a four-game losing streak at the site.
What’s more, including their 128-100 home shellacking in October, the Knicks have lost nine straight to the Warriors (26-14).
A visit to Oakland also means a homecoming for Knicks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. His dad, Tim Sr., was a member of the Warriors’ popular “Run TMC” combination with Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond in the 1990s.
Tim Jr. was born in the Oakland suburb of Orinda on March 16, 1992, one night before his dad had a 28-point, 13-assist double-double for the Warriors in a win at Seattle.
Son has played five times previously in Oakland without ever approaching his dad’s average production — 11.0 points and 1.8 assists per game in the five contests, the last four of which the Knicks have lost.
If the Hardaways have had anything in common, other than their name, it’s a lack of postseason success early in their careers.
Dad played in just 13 playoff games in his first six seasons with the Warriors, while son appears headed for a fourth season in six without a playoff berth.
“It’s obviously a tough pill to swallow,” Tim Jr. told reporters of the losing during the current trip. “You definitely want to try to win as many games as possible. I’m a competitor. None of us got here by losing ballgames for our respective ball clubs when we were in college or in high school. Everybody was winners. Everybody wanted to win.
“Just to be in this situation is tough, but it builds character and matures you as a ballplayer and it makes you relish and appreciate the fact that you’re in this opportunity, that you’re in the NBA.”
Hardaway scored a team-high 24 points in the October loss to Golden State. But he suffered through a five-point disaster Monday at Portland in a game in which he shot just 2-for-12 overall and 1-for-7 on 3-pointers.
The Warriors have been better on the road than at home of late. They are coming off a 127-123 win at Sacramento in which they contributed 21 3-pointers to an NBA-record 41 in the game.
The win was their third straight on the road, matching their current run of home losses.
“We got to get better,” Warriors guard Stephen Curry noted of the home skid, “and we know that.”
Curry had 10 of the Warriors’ 21 3-pointers in Saturday’s win. He was coming off a 5-for-15 effort from beyond the arc in a home loss to Houston two nights earlier.
Curry went for 29 points in the earlier win in New York. Kevin Durant led the Warriors in that game with 41 points.
