The Spurs have bounced back and shown their resiliency all season long, and that was no different Monday night, resulting in a 115-111 victory to cut the Knicks’ series lead down to 2-1.
The good guys were on fire to start. They prioritized paint touches and got Wemby going early, throwing him lobs and opening up the lane for drives. There was always an extra pass to find the open man, resulting in an early 7-0 run that soon turned into a double-digit lead. Defensively, San Antonio threw different
coverages at the Knicks, sometimes matching Wemby up with KAT and at other times allowing him to roam off of Josh Hart. As a result, New York struggled to get anything going, turning the ball over and forcing up bad shots.
Similar to games 1 and 2, though, the Knicks mounted a comeback — using their bench no less, in the non-Brunson minutes. New York finally started running their offense more through KAT, who overpowered every Spur not named Wemby. Clarkson, Alvarado, and Shamet energized the crowd and the home team through their relentless effort, helping them knock down shots while the Spurs went cold. Steph Castle was the only one consistently scoring for the good guys, capitalizing on turnovers and attacking the basket fearlessly.
Then, things went from bad to worse in the blink of an eye for San Antonio. Josh Hart made a number of wide-open threes, and the Knicks’ ball movement was always one step ahead of the visiting team. After a slow start, Brunson started knocking down shots too, and New York suddenly turned a deficit into a 7-point lead going into halftime, outscoring the Spurs 42-24 in the second.
As has been the case all season long, the Spurs wouldn’t give up. They played methodically to start the third, regaining the lead. Wemby found his stroke from deep, making two threes that quieted the raucous MSG crowd. The bench logged key minutes too, keeping San Antonio above water while giving Wemby a breather. Then, both teams tightened up, playing some sloppy basketball at both ends. The Spurs started throwing the ball all over the gym while New York rushed shots, and the scoring dried up.
Then, the biggest play of the game happened. Up seven with eight minutes left, Wemby made a deep three that included a foul on Mitchell Robinson, potentially leading to a four-point play. However, the Knicks won a challenge to overturn the call after noticing that Keldon Johnson had pushed Robinson into the Alien. What could’ve been an 11-point lead was then cut down to five after Brunson made a quick bucket on the very next play, setting up another exciting finish.
Fortunately, that did not disrupt the Spurs’ focus. San Antonio continued to play good defense and capitalize on their chances at the other end, maintaining a two-possession lead until the final minute. Then, the Knicks’ magic surfaced again, but it didn’t last (for once). Brunson and Anunoby hit two straight threes (with a Fox bucket in between) to cut it down to a one-possession game, before Castle iced the game with two clutch free throws.
Game notes
- The Carter Bryant minutes remain a mystery to all of us at PtR. He’s had flashes of brilliance, even in this game, but it’s not a coincidence that the Knicks have made comebacks in all three games starting in the second, when he usually checks in. It’s absolutely baffling that Mitch insists on playing him against a veteran New York team that feasts on inexperience, when there are more minutes to be given to a guy like Harper.
- Another thing I don’t understand? The hesitancy to tweak the starting lineup and play Harper over Champagnie. The rookie has arguably been the best Brunson defender, while Jules is his favorite target to attack. Yes, the Spurs will be giving up shooting, but that’ll be offset by the added defense and ballhandling, and Harper hunting Brunson was one of the catalysts of San Antonio’s comeback in game 2.
- The Spurs changed their coverage on KAT: Wemby played him straight up at times, and he was guarded by smaller players on other possessions. It effectively shut down Big Purr, who had 11 points on 10 attempts, but it allowed Hart to go 4-7 from deep and score 16 points. If this scheme can limit KAT that much, I’m willing to bet on Hart’s shooting falling back down to earth. That’s a big if, though.
- Wemby had by far his best game of the series. He finished with 32/8/6 on 11-18 shooting and was aggressive from the tip, setting the tone for the rest of the team. We’ll need to see a similar performance in game 4 if this series is going back to San Antonio tied at 2.
Play of the game
More Fox-Wemby two man game, please!
Next game: @ New York on Wednesday
The Spurs will look to even the series on Wednesday at 5:30 central time.
