Shorthanded Knicks make a statement with convincing win over Warriors, now 3-0 on road trip

These are the kinds of wins that give a fan base hope.

The kinds of performances leading the Mecca of basketball to believe things might just be alright once there’s a clean bill of health at Madison Square Garden.

Down three starters in the third stop of a four-game road trip, the Knicks marched into San Francisco’s Chase Center and defeated the Golden State Warriors, 119-112, late Monday night.

The victory extended the Knicks’ winning streak to four games, including three straight on the road with a fourth and final stop in the Mile High City against the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets on Thursday.

It also marked a turn in the tide for a Knicks team previously struggling to hang with the NBA’s elite.

The Knicks have won five of their last six games against opponents with records above-.500. They were 12-24 against teams with winning records previous to this stretch.

Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 34 points on 12-of-25 shooting from the field, and Miles McBride — getting the start for OG Anunoby (right elbow surgery maintenance) — scored a career-high 29 points and hit six threes on the night.

McBride also played an integral role on the defensive end, hounding Warriors star Stephen Curry, who shot just 8-of-20 from the field and 4-of-13 from downtown for 27 points in 33 minutes.

The third-year guard logged 47 of a possible 48 minutes late Tuesday night.

Josh Hart never rested a second on the bench. Hart played the entire game and logged his fifth career triple double — all coming after the Anunoby trade with the Toronto Raptors — finishing with 10 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists on the night.

Hart continues to lead the NBA in minutes played per game since the mid-February All-Star break (42.8), leading the league’s second leader on the minutes chart, Charlotte’s Miles Bridges, by more than three minutes per game.

The 6-4 forward is averaging 12.2 rebounds per game since the break, good for seventh-best in all of basketball.

For reference, the 7-4 San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama ranks eighth and is averaging 11.8 rebounds per game during the same stretch.

The Knicks never trailed and built a lead as large as 15 before sustaining a fourth-quarter Warriors rally.

New York took a 30-22 lead into the second quarter. The victory improved the Knicks to 29-5 in games they led at the end of the first quarter, a league-best.

With the victory, the Knicks remain in sole ownership of the Eastern Conference’s No. 4 seed. And with 14 games left on the schedule, climbing further up the standings remains in play.

The Knicks trail the No. 3 Cleveland Cavaliers by two games and the No. 2 Milwaukee Bucks by three games. They are a game ahead of the fifth-seeded Orlando Magic, three games ahead of the No. 6 Philadelphia 76ers, 3.5 games ahead of the seventh-place Indiana Pacers and four games in front of the No. 8 Miami Heat.

The victory against a desperate Warriors team falling to 10th in the West with the loss cements a trend defining the Knicks in the second half of the season.

Many teams talk the “next man up” talk, but few walk the walk the way an injury-riddled Knicks team has this season.

Which makes the coming weeks even more critical with the playoffs slated to begin on April 20.

If the Knicks have retained their status as a top-four seed largely without their entire starting front court available, what’s on the table when there’s a clean bill of health?

Mitchell Robinson is progressing faster than expected after December left ankle surgery. His return appears to be on the horizon.

Anunoby’s status needs monitoring after aggravating his surgically-repaired right elbow twice after returning to the floor. He is expected to miss Thursday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets.

And there’s no word yet on Randle, who dislocated his right shoulder on Jan. 27 and hasn’t yet found his way to taking full-on contact on the court in drills. His return timeline remains unclear.

What’s clear is this Knicks team doesn’t care who’s off the court. They’re going to step out there with whatever they have — because they believe what they have is more than enough.

On Monday night, the shorthanded Knicks were more than enough for Curry’s Warriors.

And when the Knicks get whole — if they can get whole — a victory over the West’s 10th seed could pale in comparison to what can be accomplished at The Garden in the playoffs.