In a tense final minute, a timely offensive rebound and putback by Luke Kornet followed by two free throws on a loose ball foul drawn by Keldon Johnson pushed the Spurs lead to five and fouled out Karl-Anthony Towns in the process. Harrison Barnes’ and Johnson’s free throws provided the margin for San Antonio to claim an inspired victory to close the calendar year. After losing Victor Wembanyama to an undisclosed injury minutes into the fourth quarter, De’Aaron Fox and Julian Champagnie kickstarted
the late comeback for the Spurs.
A slow start by San Antonio allowed New York to claim an early advantage in a first half with an endless stream of points offset by jarring stoppages of play and bouts of questionable officiating. The Spurs ended a memorable December – hitting the highest of highs and ending with a noticeable low (hopefully nothing more than a minor setback for Victor Wembanyama) – compiling a 11-3 record in the process.
Wembanyama (31 points and 13 rebounds) carried the Spurs offense over the first three periods before landing awkwardly moments into the fourth quarter, while Champagnie (36 points and 6 rebounds, 11-for-17 from three) picked an opportune game to have a career-best shooting performance – obliterating Chuck (The Rifleman) Person’s single-game three-pointers record. Champagnie and Fox (26 points and 7 assists) valiantly carried San Antonio over the non-Wemby waning moments. Keldon Johnson (19 points and 8 rebounds) had yet another impactful game as the most productive reserve.
Perennial All-Stars Towns (20 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 fouls) and Jalen Brunson (29 points and 8 assists) paced New York this evening, while Jordan Clarkson (20 points and 6 fouls) and Deuce McBride (21 points) led a spirited bench effort for the Knicks in defeat.
San Antonio came out of the gates sluggishly and fell behind. Brunson had his way on the offfensive end, and received surprise support from Mohamed Diawara (6 points). Fox and Wembanyama helped stabilize the Spurs and they caught New York shortly after. Then Brunson and Towns caught fire later in the period to help the Knicks rip away the lead. The fast-flowing first quarter was halted by two reckless closeouts – first, a Dylan Harper closeout on a Brunson three was ruled a flagrant foul which netted two free throws and a Kevin McCullar Jr three after, and the second, a Champagnie three attempt where he hit his free throws and Fox knocked down a jumper on the next possession. The Knicks’ hot hand from behind the arc was the separating factor and they left the period up nine.
Though New York threatened to run away with it in the second period, some heady-way two-man play by Wembanyama and Castle helped drag San Antonio to within four. Towns was able to get to 15 points by the midway point, and the teams surpassed 110+ points by the 6 minute mark. The Spurs’ shooting touched betrayed them over several agonizing minutes and they were punished severely in transition amidst a deluge of New York scores. Down 19, Wembanyama mounted a closing 9-0 run to make it a ten point game.
The Spurs re-discovered their offensive execution in the third period, and though Wembanyama’s scoring was needed, it was Castle’s steady facilitation that enabled the comeback to start in earnest. A 14-0 run tied the game at 86, and San Antonio pieced together just enough stops to re-claim a slim lead behind Johnson’s bucket. Clarkson nailed a three to get back his team back in the driver’s seat 102-93 after three.
Observations
23-1024-9 heading into 2026 is a really good place to be at (repeating to myself over and over).- A great look into Keldon Johnson’s increasing importance to this year’s squad.
- Teams are really punishing San Antonio after these missed open threes – and after Spurs makes, too.
- New Year’s Resolutions (on behalf of this writer): Champagnie – more makes from above the break, Barnes – “100%“ into 2026, Fox – the best of leg-based recovery technology, Kornet – a Poeltl-like floater inside the restricted area, Wembanyama – 65+ impactful games played, Castle – re-discovering his pre-Christmas swagger, Harper – continued fearlessness , Keldon – a second half of season worthy of a Sixth Man of the Year consideration, Lindy Waters III – a string of solid-shooting games.
- Sequence of the Game #1: Partway through the opening frame, Harrison Barnes looked like he was going to step through into a floater, and instead lofted a soft feed to Wembanyama for a slam. Barnes, shortly after, somehow tossed a prayer over his head on a Brunson reach-in, for a field goal.
- Sequence of the Game #2: Midway through the second quarter, Wembanyama and Castle made up for an unforced turnover by teamming up on a pair of give-and-go seequences to chop New York’s lead in half.
- Sequence of the Game #3: During San Antonio’s third quarter comeback, Harper followed his own miss, fed it crosscourt to Barnes, who spoonfed Champagnie deep in the left corner for a three to make it a one-possession game.
Game Rundown
From the tip, a pair of Diawara threes put New York up seven quickly. Wembanyama did well to draw several fouls in those opening minutes to keep the Knicks’ frontline honest – all while scoring four of the team’s first five. Fox’s driving lay-up and enusing steal and score tied things at 13. Champagnie and Towns traded straightaway threes. Brunson’s corner three then drew the ire of Coach Johnson, but the timeout only delayed two more Knicks threes in succession. Kornet was whacked across the face on a Champagnie catch-and-shoot three and converted his freebie. Johnson persistently attacked the rim (with Mitchell Robinson absent) relentlessly and earned San Antonio a handful of tough points. Kevin McCullar Jr. was the latest unheralded opponent to detonate from three – connecting on two straight. Tyler Kolek’s reckless closeout on Champagnie allowed the Spurs to gain back five points and New York went to the second period up 45-36.
The KAT experience in 90 seconds – knocked down a tough and-1 over Wembanyama and committed a dead-ball foul against Olynyk. Spur-killer Jordan Clarkson made his first jumper, but San Antonio was able to draw two fouls in succession on the San Antonian. A Champagnie wing three concluded a 6-0 Spur run. Towns was rescued by a questionable call and gifted three free throws. Area 51 made back-to-back highlight worthy plays to trim the deficit to four. Anunoby was left open in the halfcourt and in transition for two jams to put New York up ten again. After countless deflating misses from the perimeter, yet another burst from Clarkson put the Knicks up 19. Wembanyama prevented San Antonio from getting blown out, and the Spurs were extremely lucky to get to the break down 63-73.
Towns scootted around Wembanyama for an and-1 to start the third. Castle found Wembanyama in traffic for what Sean Elliott referred to as a ’Nerf Alley-oop.‘ Deuce McBride knocked down three heat-check shots in response to keep the Knicks’ lead in double digits. Castle’s lay-in and Wembanyama’s trio of free throws – both in transition – brought San Antonio within six, and Champagnie’s two straight threes ended a 14-0 run. With several chances to re-take the lead, the Spurs committed turnovers, but Champagnie’s seven three tied things again. San Antonio competed hard to get a hard-earned stop, and Johnson converted a floater to put the Spurs back out front. Clarkson’s three started a closing 11-0 run for New York and they went to the fourth up nine.
For the Knicks fan’s perspective please visit Posting and Toasting.
San Antonio visits Pascal Siakam and the Indiana Pacers Friday night at 6:00 PM CDT.
