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If you thought the shorthanded San Antonio Spurs were going to arrive tonight exhausted by their admirable but unsuccessful comeback attempt against the Brooklyn Nets last night (like me), you thought wrong. After a somewhat slow start, the Spurs caught fire in the second half, hitting 18 threes on the night and achieving the rare blowout against the improved New York Knicks, 119-93.
Trey Lyles led Spurs with 18 points from four threes, making him the 9th league-leading Spur to lead the team in scoring this season. Dejounte Murray had his 17 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, and Patty Mills and Luka Samanic both provided 14 points off the bench. Immanuel Quickley led the Knicks with 26 points and 6 threes.
Observations
- LaMarcus Aldridge missed this one with a stomach bug, but Spurs have welcomed Keldon Johnson from COVID-19 protocols. He came off the bench and only played 10 minutes in the first half as he continues to get back into shape, but it was just good to get him back with his energy. He seemed to be really having a good time, even on the bench where he was always the first to celebrate (and even play aerial guitar) his teammates.
- The first quarter was a festival of offensive wrestling, with both teams shooting under 40%. The Spurs bench used a 7-0 run to recover 24-14, but just as quickly gave it up, allowing a 13-1 Knicks run covering the first and second quarters with poor defense transition and New York hit three consecutive three to close. the first trimester.
- Whatever you think of fans returning to the game, at least that hopefully means the end of man-made fan noise. It’s too wrong, often off-beat from a timing standpoint, and sometimes I’m not even sure they always choose the right “reaction” every time. (Plus, I won’t lie: I can’t wait for a real hoot to tell the umpires when they’re wrong. It wasn’t really necessary in this game, but they could have used it against the Nets.)
- Tom Thibodeau has done an incredible job transforming this Knicks team, and it’s about leveraging his strengths as a coach: defense. Who ever thought they would be the best defensive team in the league? They are extremely disciplined for this purpose with solid rotations, timely doubles teams and are not easy to take down. Fortunately, Spurs did it last night.
- One thing Spurs struggled with in this one was ending in threes. Whether it was staff, lack of discipline or the exhaustion from the night before, the Knicks managed 7 of their last 10 first-half lines after missing their first eight (and 15 overall for the game), which left Spurs playing. catching up most of the second trimester. However, they closed in a 10-4 run to take a 51-47 lead at halftime, punctuated by a three-buzzed Mills corner that came after the referees called half-time, but the video replay showed the ball went out of bounds with 0.7. dry remaining, allowing additional possession.
- I’m just going to go on and say it: Luka is ready for the NBA. He seems more and more comfortable on both sides of the field, doesn’t hesitate to shoot, and is generally in a defensive position. Of course he’s still learning – he erased two layups for being a little too aggressive and making accusations, and while he did an admirable job in defense, Julius Randle still taught him a lesson or two seems to have officially made the leap. He can still return to the G League when Spurs are healthy to continue developing, but he should be a rotation player by next season at the latest.
- Usually it’s the second and fourth quarters where Spurs work their magic, but tonight was the third, where they beat the Knicks 36-21 to take a 19-point lead, mostly getting hot from three to three. seven in the quarter. They maintained that lead or more for most of the fourth quarter, and the Spurs walked away with their first win over a SEGABABA this season. 11 more arrive in the second half, so brace yourselves.
For the Knicks fan perspective, visit Post and Grill.
The Spurs will close the first half of the season Thursday at home while seeking revenge against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The tipoff will be at 8:00 p.m. CT on FSSW.
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