Knicks unable to overcome poor first half in 120-105 loss to Spurs

The Knicks had a first half to forget, and could not complete an improbable comeback as they fell to the short-handed Spurs, 120-105, on Wednesday night in San Antonio.

New York was down by as much as 28 points but could not get any closer than eight points in the second half as they fell to 43-25 on the season.

The Spurs were losers of 20 of their last 29 games entering Wednesday, and were without Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox.

Here are the takeaways…

-Towns scored the Knicks’ first nine points, making his first four shots as New York exploited the lack of rim protection with Wembanyama out for the season. However, the Knicks could not stop the Spurs from scoring. San Antonio made five of their first seven shots to take a 13-9 lead.

San Antonio kept pushing the pace and went out to a 16-1 run, which included 14 straight missed field goals when coach Tom Thibodeau called a timeout. The Knicks could not buy a bucket. The Knicks went big, bringing in Mitchell Robinson who contributed right away with two tip-ins. But overall, the first quarter was a nightmare for the Knicks who shot just 28 percent (8-29) to the Spurs’ 44 percent.

Towns scored 13 points while Robinson (4), OG Anunoby (1) and Mikal Bridges (2) accounted for the other Knicks’ points. Josh Hart didn’t even attempt a shot. Veterans Harrison Barnes and Chris Paul each scored 10 points in the opening frame.

-The Knicks came out in the second quarter much better, cutting their deficit to just four points, but the Spurs used screens and dribble penetration to get any shot they wanted. This was coupled with the Knicks, once again, shooting poorly, especially from three.

With about six minutes remaining, the Knicks were down 22 and to make things worse, Towns appeared to injure his left thumb on a shot. After a timeout, Towns went to the back but was on the bench when the game restarted. The Spurs would increase their lead to 67-43 at halftime, ending one of the worst first halves of the season for the Knicks.

In the first half, the Knicks shot 31 percent (16-51) including 4-for-21 from three. Miles McBride and Bridges were the only starters not named Towns to make a field goal in the first two quarters, and those two only made one field goal each. Hart was left scoreless after missing his only three shots attempted.

On the defensive end, the Spurs shot 51 percent from the field, 8-for-21 from three, in the first half.

-Whatever Thibodeau said to his team at halftime, must have lit a fire under the Knicks as their defensive intensity was better. New York’s defense caused turnovers and bad shots to help them go on a 22-3 run to cut the Spurs’ lead to 73-65 with 6:25 remaining in the third.

The Spurs would find their offense, capitalizing on Knicks turnovers and getting to the free-throw line to go out to a 10-0 run. The Knicks pushed back to go into the fourth quarter down 83-72.

-The Knicks eventually cut their deficit to eight points thanks to the lineup that included Towns and Robinson. But the combination of Sandro Mamukelashvili off the bench and putting Robinson on the foul line — which slowed the Knicks offense and forced Thibodeau to bench his center — helped San Antonio push back and they never looked back.

Mamukelashvili had a career night. He had a game-high 34 points off the bench, including 7-for-7 from three in 19:27 on the floor. The Seton Hall product also had nine rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Towns had a team-high 32 points while the other starters could not get 15 on this night. Anunoby (14), Hart (2), Bridges (14) and McBride (11) just could not match Towns’ production. Robinson posted 13 points and came down with 11 rebounds in 17 minutes on the floor.

The difference in this game was the rebounds. Without a true center, the Spurs outrebounded the Knicks 52-44.

Highlights

What’s next

The Knicks are right back at it on Thursday as they travel to Charlotte to take on the Hornets. Tip is set for 7 p.m.

Read the full article here