The Warriors (32-35) entered Madison Square Garden with eight rotational players sidelined by injury, including Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jimmy Butler. The Knicks (44*-25) were playing their first home contest after a five-game road trip and even though their last two games were unconvincing wins against lesser opponents, we figured tonight’s tilt against such a short-handed club would be an easy outing. Fat chance. New York spent much of the evening digging a 21-point hole and then clawing their way out. The replacement Warriors fought to the wire, and the Knicks were lucky to escape with a 110-107 win.

Shooting just 32% from the floor and 3-of-15 from deep, the Knicks went down 28-21 by midway through the first. Then it got worse. For Golden State, Quinten Post (22 PTS) sparked the offense with two early triples while Pat Spencer chipped in seven points off the bench. Jalen Brunson (30 PTS, 9 AST) carried nearly all of New York’s scoring load with 13 points and played the entire quarter. The Knicks were sleepy defensively and beaten on the boards. An 11-0 Warriors run, led by Brandin Podziemski (25 PTS, 6 AST), sent Golden State into the second up 35-21.

For New York, Mohamed Diawara hit a first-quarter three-pointer but was quickly pulled in the second after two turnovers. Meanwhile, Podziemski opened the quarter with a step-back three, Gary Payton II (19 PTS, 6 RBS) followed with back-to-back triples, and the Dubs stretched the lead to 21 before the midway point.

The Knicks steadied themselves briefly behind a couple of buckets from Karl-Anthony Towns (17 PTS, 12 RBS), while OG Anunoby (14 PTS, 4 RBS) added a dunk off a Jose Alvarado (4 PTS, 4 AST) dime. Jordan Clarkson (14 PTS), back in the rotation after a strong showing in Utah, came off the bench for a layup and some free throws, while Mitchell Robinson (10 RBS) provided some much-needed assistance on the glass. The Warriors are among the league’s worst for turnovers, and it showed in the first half. Their 13 giveaways became 15 points for the Knicks, who needed all the help they could get. With a little bit of a push, including a Landry Shamet (10 PTS) as time was running out, the Knicks cut the score to 54-45 at halftime.

Through the first half, the Warriors shot 51% from the field and 42% from three (8-of-19), while the Knicks managed 41% overall and just 5-of-21 from deep (24%). Golden State also won the rebounding battle 23-17 and outscored New York in the paint 22-14. Podziemski topped the Golden State column with 14 points, and Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 17 points.

In the third quarter, the game finally regained some sanity. Brunson hit a three early, then fed Towns for a layup and a dunk as the Knicks began chipping away. Josh Hart (12 RBS, 7 PTS, 5 AST) owned the glass during that stretch, extending possessions with a string of rebounds while New York slowly trimmed the deficit.

Golden State countered through Podziemski, who mixed drives with a pull-up jumper and set up Payton for both a three and a reverse layup. Anunoby added a timely three, and by the middle of the period, the Knicks had seized the momentum behind Brunson’s shot creation and Towns’ efforts inside. The hosts kept grinding until they finally nudged ahead, taking an 83-80 lead into the fourth.

The final quarter unfolded as a tight back-and-forth. Gui Santos, inserted into the starting lineup, scored 11 of his 20 points in the period. With 3:30 remaining, Shamet buried a three to stretch New York’s lead to five, but Payton answered with a layup off Santos’ seventh assist. After two empty Knicks possessions, Santos drove for a bucket that cut the margin to one.

Captain Clutch (who broke 30 points for the first time in 12 games) hit a jumper to make it 106-103, only for Podziemski to respond with a drive seconds later. Both guys came up empty on the next trip before a take foul sent Shamet to the line with 16 seconds left. He made both. 108-105.

Coach Mike Brown opted not to foul, and Podziemski again attacked the rim to make it 108-107 with seven seconds remaining. Anunoby was fouled on the inbound, made both free throws, and shut the door on this ugly affair at last. Quoth memitim, “It shouldn’t be this hard.” Ditto, that.

The Indiana Pacers visit the Garden on Tuesday. Rest up, Knickerbockers.

Box Score

* Should be one more, but NBA Cup wins exist in an alternate dimension.