The Golden State Warriors seemed like they'd be dead in the water before the ref even tossed up the opening tipoff on Sunday evening. With a staggering 8 players ruled out, the Warriors had just 10 healthy bodies, four of which were players on two-way contracts. That included the newest signing, big man Omer Yurtseven, who was in Greece and in the G League earlier this year.

With the New York Knicks largely healthy, it seemed like it would be a wash from the start. But as the Warriors have shown a couple of times this season, they can be a surprising team. The Dubs jumped out to an incredible start in the first quarter and led by as many as 21 points early in the second quarter. Alas, the good times couldn't last forever as the Warriors scored just 19 points in the second and the Knicks dropped 38 in the third to eventually win, 110-107, but it was a valiant effort from a disastrously shorthanded Warriors team nonetheless.

After the game, Steve Kerr made sure to praise the Warriors for their effort, even if the result wasn't what they had hoped.

"The guys were amazing, really the whole game. We had some hiccups in the second quarter ... but could not ask for anything more. These guys are so fun to coach, they're playing so hard together. I just want them to be rewarded for their efforts. We've lost a few of these but we're going to keep fighting and keep getting better."

Kerr also gave an inside look at how the locker room was feeling amidst both the loss and the rampant injuries.

"Everybody's down, but we're always down if we lose a game. I'm just blown away by these guys for their effort, their intensity, their connection. It's really beautiful to watch. We're going to get rewarded for this, we're going to stay with it, and continue to get better, and we're going to start winning some of these and get some guys healthy. It's a really good connected team, they compete, they play hard. Beaten up right now and shorthanded, but they keep giving themselves a chance to win night after night. It's beautiful to watch."

The Warriors have had many games where multiple players score in double figures, as is the nature of these types of injury games, where it turns into a bit of a free-for-all on offense with people filling roles they may not be suited for, but Sunday's game leapt over the bar that's been set.

Typically, those double-digit point totals are in the low or mid-teens — the 12 or 14-point performances. In this game against the Knicks, though, the Warriors had three players score 20 or more.

They were led by Brandin Podziemski, who continued his excellent play from the past few games as he put up 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists on 8-15 shooting from the field. He also led the team in minutes, playing 37 of them, making his availability even more valuable.

Podziemski was closely followed by Quinten Post, who dropped a career-high 22 points. He shot 9-16 from the field and splashed four triples to go with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks. Post has really come into his own this season, even with all the shifting in the big man rotation, and he's showing off what he can really do with big minutes.

The final player with 20+ was Gui Santos, who has just been excellent over the past month-plus. He had a well-rounded 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists while also being an efficient 7-12 from the field.

Gary Payton II was also close, scoring 19 points and shooting 8-13 from the field with three triples.

Ultimately, though it wasn't enough for the win, the effort from these four Warriors and the undermanned team as a whole was admirable, and perhaps can be taken into their next bout less than 24 hours later against the Wizards on Monday.