The New York Knicks drop yet another game on the road. This time it comes at the hands of a San Antonio Spurs team without Kawhi Leonard.
- New York Knicks 107 (17-18)
- San Antonio Spurs 119 (25-11)
- NBA, Final, Box Score
- AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX
Tim Hardaway Jr., if you’re reading this, it’s not too late. The New York Knicks seem to be desperately missing their starting shooting guard as they are 6-7 since he went down with a leg injury.
New York lost their fourth straight game on Thursday night which put them under .500 for the first time since December 4th. The Spurs dominated the game from start to finish without their superstar, Kawhi Leonard. The Knicks sole lead came early in the third quarter when a Courtney Lee jumper put them up 55-54. It was all downhill from there.
The Knicks continue their road woes as their road record drops to 2-12. New York is tied with the Hornets for the worst road record in the NBA. This matchup was going to be a tough one with or without Leonard in the lineup. The Spurs have been the most dominant franchise in the NBA since 2000. According to MSG, the Spurs have had only 48 days with a losing record since 2000. The next closest is the Mavericks with 826 days. Absolutely mind-boggling.
Kristaps Porzingis’ struggles continued tonight as he was only able to drop 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting. KP was dominated by LaMarcus Aldridge all night long. Aldridge scored 25 points on 8-of-19 shooting and forced Porzingis to commit his sixth foul with 2:30 left in the game.
After recording only 22 minutes the night before, Kanter recorded only 17 minutes in this one. He was efficient as he was 5-of-10 from the field en route to scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds. However, he was not able to guard Aldridge down low or Pau Gasol out on the perimeter which was the probable reason for his minimal playing time.
Frank Ntilikina got the chance to play against his idol, Tony Parker, in this matchup and the rookie played very well. Ntilikina scored nine points and dished out 11 assists. The Frenchman added four steals and only turned over the ball once on Thursday night. He was the only Knicks player to record a positive plus/minus in this contest.
Before the game, Tony Parker had praised Ntilikina saying, “I think he’s got the right stuff. I don’t know if New York will be patient.” For Ntilikina, hearing that from his idol had to be words of encouragement.
The star for New York tonight was none other than Michael Beasley. Beasley led the Knicks in points and rebounds tonight. He recorded 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting while snatching 13 boards. “Bees” also added four assists, two steals, and one block to put together a solid all-around performance.
The Knicks now look ahead to Saturday night when they travel to New Orleans to take on Anthony Davis and the Pelicans. New Orleans has a 9-7 record at home and has won three straight heading into Friday night. Hopefully, the Knicks could find a way to fix their road woes and get a win on Saturday. A road win will be a huge boost for their confidence.