If you thought that the San Antonio Spurs with few players would arrive tonight exhausted from your admirable, but in vain, attempt to return against the Brooklyn Nets last night (like me), you thought wrong. After a slightly slow start, the Spurs caught fire in the second half, hitting 18 threes in the night and getting the rare hit against the 119-93 New York Knicks.
Trey Lyles led Spurs with 18 points from four trios, becoming the 9th league leader Spur to lead the team in goals this season. Dejounte Murray had his usual 17 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, and Patty Mills and Luka Samanic provided 14 points off the bench. Immanuel Quickley led the Knicks with 26 points and 6 trios.
Comments
- LaMarcus Aldridge missed this with a stomach problem, but Spurs welcomed Keldon Johnson from the COVID-19 protocols. He got off the bench and played just 10 minutes in the first half, continuing to recover his form, but it was good to have him back with his energy. He genuinely seemed to be having a great time, even on the bench where he was always the first to celebrate (and even play guitar) his teammates.
- The first quarter was an offensive fighting festival, with both teams reaching less than 40 percent. The Spurs bench used a 7-0 run to reach 24-14, but just as quickly gave up, allowing a Knicks 13-1 run during the first and second quarters with poor transition defense and New York hitting three consecutive threes to close the first quarter.
- Whatever you think about the fans coming back into the game, at least that means the end of the fan’s artificial noise. It is very false, usually out of step from a time perspective, and sometimes I am not even sure if they always choose the right “reaction” every time. (Besides, I’m not going to lie: I can’t wait for some genuine boos to tell the referees when they make a mistake. It wasn’t really necessary in this game, but they could have used it against the Nets.)
- Tom Thibodeau did an incredible job turning this team around to the Knicks, and it all comes down to playing with your strengths as a coach: defense. Who ever thought it would be the best defensive team in the league? They are extremely disciplined with solid spins, timely double teams and are not easy to break. Fortunately, Spurs did it tonight.
- One thing the Spurs had a problem with here was closing to three. Whether due to staff, lack of discipline or exhaustion from the previous night, the Knicks had 7 of the last 10 trios in the first half after losing their first eight (and 15 overall for the game), which left Spurs playing to regain the greatest part of the second quarter. However, they closed with a 10-4 run to gain a 51-47 lead at halftime, punctuated by a corner kick of three Mills on the buzzer that came after the referees called the break, but the replay of the video showed that the the ball had left the field with 0.7 seconds remaining, allowing extra possession.
- I’ll just go on and say, Luka is ready for the NBA. He’s looking more and more comfortable at both ends of the court, doesn’t hesitate to shoot anymore and is usually in a defensive position. Of course, he is still learning – he has had two layouts erased for being a bit aggressive and making accusations, and although he has done admirable work in defense, Julius Randle still taught him a lesson or two in that regard – but it looks like he officially took the leap. He can still return to League G when the Spurs are healthy to continue developing, but he should be a rotating player next season at the latest.
- It is usually the second and fourth quarters where the Spurs work their magic, but tonight was the third, where they overcame the Knicks by 36-21 to gain a 19 point lead, mostly getting hot from three to seven in the fourth. They maintained that lead or more for most of the fourth period, and the Spurs left with their first victory in a SEGABABA this season. 11 more are coming in the second half, so get ready.
To see the perspective of Knicks fans, visit Post and freebie.
The Spurs will end the first half of the season on Thursday at home, while seeking revenge on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Delivery will be at 20:00 CT in FSSW.