Gregg Popovich made it a point to tell his players before the game that this would be a very different Knicks team than the one they beat last week in San Antonio.
Jalen Brunson, he pointed out, would be on the floor this time.
“He wasn’t there last time,” said the Spurs manager. ‘It’s a monster. He has so much tenacity about him.
The latest example was Wednesday night. In his second game off a hip injury, Brunson made sure the Knicks wouldn’t be wiped out by the rebuilding Spurs. He had a career-high 38 points, including 11 in the final quarter, as the Knicks outlasted a troublesome Spurs, 117–114, at the Garden to win their third straight game.
Buoyed by an 18–7 run, Spurs took the lead 5:51 on two free throws from Tre Jones with 4:21 over. The Knicks (21-18) responded immediately, Brunson found Quentin Grimes for a 3-pointer, and on the ensuing possession converted a drive to give the Knicks the lead for good. He then added a jump back that extended the differential to four with 56.0 seconds left.
Brunson’s heroism saved the Knicks from a dismal loss on a bad night on defense. Spurs (12-26) effectively shot 50% from the field and hit 11 3-pointers. The Knicks defended when it mattered, limited San Antonio to five points in the Finals 4:21, and forced a five-second offense with 5.7 seconds left and the Spurs just two. Spurs had one last chance to force extra time, but couldn’t shake a three-point tie.
On a no-shooting night, Julius Randle (9 of 26) again topped the stats with 25 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks, three assists and three steals, and Immanuel Quickley added 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists in his fifth straight contest. get started. Keldon Johnson scored 26 points for Spurs and Josh Richardson followed with 20.
The first half had some good (Randle and Brunson’s offensive play, second chance chances) and some bad (3-point defense, the second unit). The result was a lackluster 24-minute opening that saw the Knicks lead by seven to the Spurs’ 12 wins.
The Knicks played a strong first quarter with 39 points, including 22 from Randle and Brunson. The second unit did not benefit from this momentum. A 3:50 goal drought put Spurs ahead 13-0. The Knicks scored the final seven points of the half, all from Randle and Brunson, which was fitting. They had 35 in the first half; no other Knick had more than seven.
Randle made the first half, a chase block from Richardson that nullified a layup and led to two Quickley free throws. The Garden acknowledged the commotion game and gave Randle a nice standing ovation after sprinting to clean the easy basket.
After missing six consecutive shots, Randle came alive late in the third quarter as he entered the lane. He hit four of five tries, including a honked back jump that gave the Knicks a five-point lead going into the final stanza. The Knicks, unable to tuck away the pesky Spurs, needed it. They led 12 at one point in the third quarter, but their inability to get saves – Spurs shot 66% in the quarter – kept San Antonio close.
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