The New York Knicks ensured that 12 consecutive victories would be a Bridge(s) too far for the San Antonio Spurs.
New York put forth an emphatic Sunday statement to close the weekend, severing the surging Spurs’ winning streak to the tune of a 114-89 final at Madison Square Garden.
San Antonio entered Sunday’s game with the longest active winning streak in the Association, but it was no match for the hosting Knicks: camped in his corner, Mikal Bridges (5-of-9 from three) led the way with 25 points, one ahead of collegiate and professional teammate Jalen Brunson.
Karl-Anthony Towns (14 rebounds, 12 points to give him over 16,000 for his NBA career) and Josh Hart (10 points, 10 rebounds) both had double-doubles while Mohamed Diawara further handled outside duties with 14 points off the bench.
The Knicks (39-22) kept the sharpshooting Spurs to a brutal 9-of-34 from three-point range, leading to a season-low scoring output for the visitors.
Concerns over the Knicks’ performances against elite competition were ready to be unleashed when San Antonio (43-17) jumped out to a 19-7 lead just before the four-minute mark of the first frame. Clutch antics from Brunson, surfacing in the first this time around, changed the course of the game early on.
After Mitchell Robinson’s rejection of a Keldon Johnson double, Bridges kick-started a run of 22 consecutive Knicks points. Brunson took over to the tune of scoring the last, ironically enough, 11 points of the period of his own, capping things off with a three-pointer that drew the first of several theatric cheers from the Garden crowd.
The serendipitous coincidence continued in the second, as the Knicks built on what became an eternal lead with the first 11 points of the second.
Bullied by metropolitan physicality, the Spurs, beyond Victor Wembanyama, were mostly contained to the top of the key, forced to take uncomfortable three-pointers to counter the Knicks’ sterling shooting.
The mistakes surfaced in multiple ways, including 22 turnovers that yielded 24 points for the home team.
With all that stifling the surge, the Spurs never got closer than eight over the rest of the way, which included a 30-14 run to close out the game in the last 10 minutes. Wembanyama’s return to offensive form.
Moreover, a 7-of-14 output from Devin Vassell was perhaps the only bright spot to the tune of the 25 points, but even his 13 rebounds weren’t enough to prevent a baker’s dozen’s deficit on the boards.
New York, playing six different postseason contenders over the next nine days at the tip of March, certainly hopes their season can be essentially landmarked with thrillers against the Spurs: having defeated San Antonio in the final of the NBA Cup proceedings, the Knicks have hovered around .500 since the Spurs took revenge two weeks after that.
One of the most emphatic wins of the season, however, has the potential to speak volumes, as long as they find a way to immediately capitalize.
With that in mind, the Knicks head north for part two of this saga, which sees the Toronto Raptors play host on Tuesday night (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).
