SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs battled all night at Madison Square Garden, but a slow start and a poor finish cost them in a 117-114 loss to the Knicks.
Keldon Johnson led the way with 26 points and San Antonio got a strong performance from their bench, but it wasn't enough as Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 38.
The Spurs got off to a rocky start at the Mecca, shooting 1-8 out of the gate and falling behind by 10 in the first five minutes. Romeo Langford was starting in place of an injured Devin Vassell, and shook off a tough early stint when Jeremy Sochan set him up with a beautiful dime.
The bench unit chipped away, and after Zach Collins hit a mid-range jumper and a long-range one San Antonio trailed by just four. They cooled off and fouled too much, giving the Knicks control of the game and falling behind by as many as 13.
The Spurs climbed back into it thanks to strong bench play. Josh Richardson and Stanley Johnson combined for 16 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds in their first stint, Zach Collins added 7, fueling a 13-0 run that put San Antonio back in front. Doug McDermott added an exclamation point when he cut backdoor and hammered down a filthy slam over high-flying former Longhorn Jericho Sims.
When the starters returned the Knicks surged in front again. Jakob Poeltl handed it off to Keldon Johnson, who bounced off a defender near the basket for a short shot plus his seventh free throw attempt of the half.
On the next trip he found Josh Richardson for a triple to tie it up at 55. He led San Antonio with 14 at the break, but the Knicks finished with a run to make it 62-55.
The Spurs finished the half with 13 assists but 9 turnovers, and Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson combined for 35 points for New York.
After a choppy start to the second half the Knicks took a 10-point lead. Keldon got another and-1 and drew another foul on a strong drive, but New York challenged successfully.
Trailing by 12, Sochan swiped it in the back court and got it to Keldon who slowed into a eurostep and got another and-1. Langford hit a floater, then Keldon lined up a three and drilled it. Next he drove baseline for a beautiful reverse layup and yet another and-1. The Knicks couldn't stop him, but the Spurs couldn't stop the Knicks either.
Josh Richardson checked in and immediately floated one in, then Tre Jones did the same to cut it to four. Brunson scored, but Jones answered with a pair of layups. Randle scored on a mid-range, and J-Rich responded with his own. Randle scored a few more times inside, and McDermott came back with a layup and a three. Zach Collins drained a corner three. Randle beat the third-quarter buzzer to put the Knicks in front 94-89.
New York extended the lead a bit before Richardson made a sneaky cut for a wide-open jam.
San Antonio fell behind by nine, but Collints moves tipped in a miss and then banged in the post for a hook to make it 7-7 from the floor. McDermott moved off a screen and knocked down a three. Collins went for another shot and got fouled, splitting the free throws. He screened for McDermott who drove in for a bucket. McDermott got more free throws, then Keldon swished a corner three off a feed from Jones to tie it at 107. Jones grabbed an errant pass and took it coast to coast for free throws and San Antonio's first lead of the second half.
Brunson created a three for Quentin Grimes, then Keldon took the lead back with a score in the paint, then Brunson grabbed it back with a layup to match his career high with 34 points.
Collins went up with Randle and won a jump ball, but San Antonio couldn't convert. Brunson stepped back and hit a mid-range jumper over Keldon. Sochan drove under the basket and found Collins who got fouled and hit one to make it 114-112 with 1:32 left. Sochan started on Brunson, but he got switched onto Keldon again and hit him with a stepback again.
Randle elbowed Johnson in the chops and didn't get called for it, but the Knicks turned it over. Keldon came back and eurostepped through him for free throws, hitting both to make it a two-point game with 29 seconds left.
San Antonio sat back and played tough defense for the whole shot clock, and Sochan contested a jumper by Randle to force an air ball. Pop called time with 5 seconds to play.
The inbound took too long to develop, Sochan couldn't make the pass and didn't call time, and the Spurs turned it over. The reliable free throw shooter Evan Fournier went to the line but missed the second, and the Spurs had another crack at tying it. That play didn't develop well either, Keldon couldn't get a deep shot off in time, and San Antonio fell 117-114.
The Spurs fall to 12-26 on the season, and next up they have the Pistons on Friday.
GAME REWIND
The Spurs are coming off a 139-103 road loss versus the Brooklyn Nets.
Keldon Johnson had 22 points and three rebounds to lead the team while Devin Vassell added 14 points. Josh Richardson finished with 11 points and four rebounds while Zach Collins recorded 10 points in the loss.
The Nets held a 27-point halftime lead over the Spurs making it Brooklyn's second-biggest in a half this season.
"They [Nets] were great. There's a reason why they won 11 in a row, that's for sure and they shot the heck out of it," Popovich said. "We played a better second half but I thought our bench guys really moved better than the guys that started. They're [Nets] just better."
LOCKED ON SPURS PREVIEWS SPURS-KNICKS
INJURY REPORT
THE UNIFORMS
The Spurs will be in their Classic Edition jerseys today.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH
1. The Knicks are on a two-game winning streak.
2. The Knicks have connected on more three-point shots than their opponent in four-consecutive games.
3. The Knicks are 0-6 at home when trailing at halftime.
4. The Spurs are on a four-game road losing streak.
5. The Spurs have made fewer three-point shots than their opponents in seven-straight games.
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