The Knicks continued to build their reputation as road Warriors on Thursday night against Golden State. 

With their latest defensively responsible victory, a 119-104 win over Stephen Curry and the Warriors, the Knicks evened their overall record at 8-8 and improved to 5-4 on the road this season entering Friday night’s visit to Sacramento at Golden 1 Center. 

“We’re just trying to work hard and grind every day. That’s really what we’re trying to do. We’re really focused, we’ve been giving it our all and we’re going to continue to do that throughout the season,” RJ Barrett said after scoring a career-high 28 points against Golden State. “It’s tough to win on the road, and I just think we’re coming in focused and getting mentally prepared. It’s been good and hope to continue that throughout the rest of the road trip.” 

The four-game Western swing continues Sunday night in Portland and then concludes Tuesday in Utah. The Knicks’ 5-4 start away from Madison Square Garden this season is especially encouraging after they compiled a 54-143 road record over the previous five seasons, including 10-23 last year and even worse (8-33) in 2018-19. 

Perhaps the best explanation — and certainly an aspect of any NBA team that should translate wherever games are played — is the team’s recommitment to defense under first-year coach Tom Thibodeau. The Knicks entered Friday’s game ranked first in the NBA in fewest points allowed (102.8 per game), while holding opponents to the lowest field-goal percentage (43.0 percent) and 3-point percentage (30.7 percent). 

Thibodeau had complained that the Knicks deviated from those defensive principles during the five-game losing streak that preceded their three straight wins through Thursday. 

“There are a number of things you look at. We started to start with building a foundation of getting back and getting our defense set,” Thibodeau said after Thursday’s game. “We always talk about taking care of the ball, the paint, react up, covering the line, finish the defense with a challenge to the shot, and the rebound. It requires multiple effort and everyone tied together. 

“We’re still a work in progress,” he continued. “There’s a lot of things we could do better and we will as time goes on. We need to continue to practice and learn and the challenge is when you’re on the road like this, when you’re playing a lot of games and your practice time is limited, when we do practice, we have to maximize that time and make sure that we are making the corrections and improvements. If we’re doing the right things each and every day, I know that we’ll be playing our best at the end.” 

The Knicks’ team-wide improvement in their own end was on display against the Warriors, who shot just 38.4 percent from the floor and 23.7 percent (9-for-38) from 3-point range distance, including a 5-for-14 night from long distance by Curry. 

Thibodeau praised starting point guard Elfrid Payton for his efforts against the two-time MVP, who committed four turnovers. Nerlens Noel (four), Mitchell Robinson and rookie Obi Toppin (two apiece) recorded eight of the Knicks’ nine blocked shots. 

“You never know what type of team you are until you go out there and play,” Julius Randle said. “We had a good start to training camp, great start to training camp. Guys improved each and every day. We improved as a team each and every day. I think we’ve got a coaching staff and coaches that we believe in. We come out and try to have a good game plan and try to execute the game plan. So I think we have pretty good team confidence, for sure.”