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It’s tempting to think that the Spurs won the cup on Saturday night by defeating the 24-1 Thunder in the biggest upset of the season so far, but that doesn’t give the Knicks the respect they deserve. The Eastern Conference is weaker than the west, but there
are some really good teams at the top. The Knicks, with an 18-7 record that’s identical to the Spurs win/loss totals, are in second place in the east, trailing only the surprising Detroit Pistons. Jason Brunson is possibly the most talented scorer in the league, who uses his physicality to get defenders off balance and create just enough space to get up shots against taller players, which go in more often than not. Karl-Anthony Towns, acquired last year from the Timberwolves, has given them a versatile big that is tough to defend or score on. OG Anonoby can defend anybody, and San Antonio native Jordan Clarkson is another talented scorer for the Big Apple bruisers.
The Spurs roster is at full strength for the second time this season, and that worked out pretty on the first time for the Silver and Black. With Wembanyama not on the injury report for tonight’s game, he could be in the starting lineup, which will avoid the tough start the team encountered in the semifinals where Wemby sat out the entire fourth quarter. The Spur got great performances from almost every player who saw the court on Saturday, except for Harrison Barnes who had a bad offensive game. Look for him to have a bounceback performance tonight, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he got hot on shooting corner threes in the finals. Jeremy Sochan was a DNP-CD in the semifinals, and tonight’s game might be a better opportunity for him to show his value to the team, and I wouldn’t be too surprised to see him log some minutes as a KAT herder. Devin Vassell has had some great games this season, but he’s also been somewhat inconsistent, so it’s going to be interesting to see if he can follow up his solid performance against the Thunder with another winning effort against the Knickerbockers. De’Aaron Fox can make Jalen Brunson work on defense, and that could have an effect at the end of the game, where the Spurs have been very effecting at closing out close games recently.
It’s going to be a fun night. This game won’t count in the regular season standings, and the stats won’t count as regular season numbers, but there is money and a trophy at stake. The players want to win this, and they’re going to play hard. The crowd, as we saw in the semifinals, will be into the game and cheering loudly. It’s great that the Spurs made it this far, but winning that trophy is going to be even more fun, and it will be a confirmation that the team is on the right track towards becoming a contender after a long and somewhat difficult six-year [approximately] rebuilding project. Llamas for everyone! Let’s go Spurs!!
Game Prediction:
Keldon Johnson is ejected from the game when his llama head-butts Jalen Brunson. Nobody knows why the beast was even allowed into the arena.
Bonus prediction:
Flavor Flav and Sandro Mamukelashvili are at the game to commemorate Mamu’s 34 points in 19 minutes game against the Knicks on March 19 of last year, and end up being invited onto the court after the game to share in the trophy celebration with the Spurs.
GO SPURS GOOOO!!!
San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks (NBA Cup finals, Las Vegas)
December 16, 2025 | 7:30 PM CT
Streaming: Prime
TV: Amazon Prime
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