The Knicks wrapped up their five-game California road trip on a sour note, falling to the red-hot Golden State Warriors, 97-94, on Saturday night at Chase Center.

Here are the takeaways...

-- The Knicks made a concerted effort to run their offense through Karl-Anthony Towns from the jump, and his aggressiveness in the paint yielded six points and four rebounds within the first three minutes of action. It was a clear message sent to Warriors veteran Draymond Green, who unfairly criticized Towns for missing their first meeting of the season back on March 4.

-- Towns' presence didn't overwhelm Golden State in the first quarter, however. There were a combined 63 points scored, along with 11 lead changes. But the Knicks stressed ball movement down low in the opening period, and wound up tallying twice as many paint points (20-10) as the Warriors.

-- The back-and-forth nature of the first half wasn't devoid of physicality or foul trouble. And much to the Knicks' chargin, defensive miscues restricted Towns' playing time. He committed his third foul with 8:08 left in the second quarter, and before leaving the floor for the remainder of the half, he ignited the crowd by briefly squabbling with Green.

-- It wasn't the least bit surprising to see the Knicks discombobulated with Towns on the bench and captain Jalen Brunson inactive due to a week-to-week ankle injury. They scored just 19 points in the second quarter, compared to 31 in the first, and Mitchell Robinson was visibly gassed on both ends of the court as Towns' replacement. New York simply lacked rhythm.

-- Luckily for the Knicks, persistence from their supporting cast kept the score close. The Warriors were also limited to 19 second-quarter points, despite contributions from all players in their 10-man rotation. If not for nine turnovers that resulted in 10 Warriors points, the Knicks would've entered halftime with the lead. Instead they trailed, 54-40.

-- The second half opened with Towns back on the court, and he wasted no time getting involved. He drained a three from the right wing within the first 30 seconds, and three possessions later, he bumped his points total to 16 with a jumper from the left block. But Towns struggled defending Stephen Curry off pick-and-rolls, which displeased Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau.

-- While the Warriors increased their lead to nine midway through the third, the Knicks didn't relent. They managed to trim their deficit down to three, 75-72, entering the final quarter. At that point, wingers Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby had logged 17 points and 16 points, respectively, and Miles McBride provided a huge boost by contributing 17 points.

-- With gritty momentum on their side, the Warriors opened the fourth quarter with sharper shooting that helped bump their lead back to nine. The Knicks couldn't match early on, as they missed five of six shots by the first media timeout. During the break, cameras near the bench caught Thibodeau arguing with Josh Hart, who stunningly went scoreless in 39 total minutes played.

-- By avoiding further foul trouble, Towns regained dominance with the rock. He scored 11 straight points for the Knicks midway through the fourth, pushing his total to 29 by the 4:39 mark. Moments later, the Knicks knotted the score at 88-88 with a jumper from Bridges. But a driving layup from Moses Moody placed the Warriors ahead again with 2:26 left, and they didn't look back.

-- It was Green who wound up getting the last laugh over Towns. In the final minute, he drained a pair of free throws to push the Warriors lead to four, and after a costly turnover from McBride on the ensuing possession, Green drove to the rim for a layup that bumped the lead up to six, 94-88. New York's attempts at fouling in the closing seconds were ultimatey fruitless.

Game MVP: Stephen Curry

Curry's performance wasn't exactly vintage, but he scored when it mattered most. The first player in NBA history to record 4,000 career threes finished the game with 28 points on 8-of-20 shooting with seven rebounds and five assists. Golden State also improved to a stunning 14-1 since acquiring Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat.

Here are the takeaways...

Game MVP: Stephen Curry

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