OAKLAND, Calif. — In the Warriors’ last meeting with the Knicks, at the Garden in January, Stephen Curry left with just 13 points and a bloody scratch on his forehead — courtesy of a misplaced hand-check from Carmelo Anthony. Golden State’s 3-point shooting machine admitted to being angry at Anthony over the incident.
Since then, Knicks president Phil Jackson issued an insulting tweet in which he compared Curry to underachiever Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. Jackson did not made the trip here, but the NBA’s most glamorous player may be inclined to stick it to Jackson’s Knicks at Oracle Arena Wednesday night.
“I would’ve been angry too — if someone had scratched me in the face like that,’’ Anthony admitted. “I would’ve been angry. But it wasn’t on purpose. He doesn’t wear headbands.’’
Curry, who did not speak at practice Tuesday, has replaced LeBron James as the game’s best player. He is on the verge of winning a second straight MVP Award and his Warriors are favorites to win the NBA title. At 60-6, the Warriors still have a shot at surpassing the best record of all time — the 72-10 clip accomplished by Jackson’s 1995-96 Bulls. The Knicks, meanwhile, won’t reach a combined 60 wins in the past two seasons.
“He’s there. He’s definitely the top player in the league,’’ Anthony said of Curry. “I’m not big on making comparisons. What’s he’s doing right now this season, nobody has never done. You haven’t seen that type of player, even when AI [Allen Iverson] was on a roll. It wasn’t the same type of game. Not many people have same the type of game as Steph. He might be the only one who has the type of game.”
The Knicks’ history could have changed dramatically had Curry dropped just one more spot in the 2009 NBA Draft — to No. 8 overall. It was highly publicized the Knicks would have taken Curry if he fell, and the Warriors initially were leaning toward Jordan Hill.
“This just didn’t start,’’ Anthony said. “I watched him in college playing the same way. Right now, he’s taking it to another level. It’s a video game. Things he does on the court where he shoots from. When he’s in the rhythm and flow of offense, it’s hard to guard somebody like that.’’
Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis said his team’s defense wasn’t all that special versus the Warriors guard.
“Curry held himself to 13 points, [but] we want to try to make him work at both ends,’’ Rambis said.
Luke Walton, a potential Knicks coaching candidate, was back as head coach of Golden State on Tuesday, running the Warriors’ practice as Steve Kerr took a sick day to see a doctor. Walton led the Warriors to a 39-4 record while Kerr recuperated from back surgery early this season.
“It’s been fine,’’ Walton said Tuesday of the adjustment. “We have a group of guys who know our jobs and responsibilities. It’s been easy to slide back down and get back into the role as assistant coach. I enjoy that too. There’s more times with players on court. It wasn’t tough.’’
The Post reported last month Walton could consider staying on with the Warriors as an assistant if the right job doesn’t come along. However, if the Lakers job opens up with their young talent and cap space, Walton likely would want to join his former team rather than go East. He already turned down an assistant’s job with former Knicks coach Derek Fisher.
“Two different jobs,’’ Walton said. “My responsibility now is getting players ready, being out there on court, mixing it up and giving Steve suggestions and taking notes during the game and providing it so he can make the decisions. As head coach they’re doing that for me.’’
