Why do we always randomly beat the Spurs?
Indeed, P&Ter prfella...The Unicorn hath.
The Knicks rounded out their miserable 5-game home stand with a win over the Spurs, who sit in second place in the Western Conference standings, for those of you counting.
For some reason, the Knicks seem to play the Spurs super well, and I have no idea why. The franchise that has been the model for consistency in the NBA struggles with the Knicks. Whatever voodoo is going on behind the scenes to make New York rise up against the Spurs, P&T is here for it and will award it five Clyde blazers out of five.
How did the Knicks, amidst more off court drama and more losing, manage to beat a contender like San Antonio? I think they pulled off the improbable win by bucking a recent trend — hanging in games early on, then letting the game slip away once they fall behind by a couple possessions.
Sunday the Knicks did fall behind big — by as many as 12 points — but managed to find their way out thanks to a strong close to the second quarter and a quick start to the third. They entered the danger zone, and with the point of no return quickly approaching, they were able to stay the hell away from that powerful vortex of L’s.
Carmelo Anthony played well, Kristaps Porzingis looks confident again, Derrick Rose got hot and Willy Hernangomez thanked Jeff Hornacek for the start by turning in a strong performance.
The opponent caveat does apply here, however. The Spurs played uncharacteristically bad ball today. Danny Green shot a paltry 2-13 from the field, Tony Parker was held scoreless and it just felt as though LaMarcus Aldridge didn’t have much of an impact on this game despite his 15 points and 10 boards. But still, they’re the freaking Spurs.
Considering the Knicks turned the ball over 14 times in the first half, I’m sure they’re more than happy to have Houdinied their way into a really nice win. It also doesn't hurt that it was a nationally televised one, too. With all the crap happening in Knicks-land recently, beating a team like the Spurs for everyone to see will, at the very least, ease the public turmoil for a few days. Or maybe not, who knows. These are, after all, the freaking Knicks.