San Antonio at New York, Final Score: Spurs lit up by Knicks in 126-105 loss

Coming off of a 40-point loss to the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs looked to bounce back under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden. However, it was the Knicks who rose to the occasion, as they blew out the Spurs 126-105. It’s the Spurs second straight 20+ point loss, and their third loss by such a margin this season.

The Knicks were dominant from start to finish, leading by 30 points in the third quarter. The Spurs were once again lit up from the three-point line, as the Knicks shot 45% from three, converting 19 deep balls. San Antonio struggled to contain the Knicks guards, as Jalen Brunson, RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley all scored double-digit points.

Jeremy Sochan led the way for the Spurs, putting up 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Victor Wembanyama struggled against the Knicks physical big men. He had 14 points and 9 rebounds on 4 of 14 shooting.

The Spurs fall to 3-5 on the season. They will face the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first In-Season Tournament game on Friday.

Observations

• The Spurs half court offense struggled against New York. The Knicks took away the paint, and forced the Spurs to hurt them from deep. San Antonio shot just 26.5% from three on Wednesday. It wasn’t until the Spurs got out in transition that they were able to find an offensive rhythm. Tre Jones, Keldon Johnson and Sochan both did a good job pushing the ball on the break and finding open teammates. Johnson ended the game with a team high 8 assists, Jones and Sochan added in 5 assists a piece.
• The Spurs perimeter defense has been breaking a bit over the last three games. They allowed the Raptors to torch them from three in their late-game comeback on Sunday. The Pacers were lights out from three in Monday’s loss. The Knicks got open look after open look from deep in this game. Defensive miscommunications, poor screen navigation and over helping on drives are all parts of the Spurs’ defensive woes. Gregg Popovich has harped on the defense from the start of the season. They will need to see improvements in that department if they want to compete.
• Wembanyama got his first round of “overrated” chants at the Garden. The Knicks were physical with the rookie, not allowing him to get easy looks around the basket. He was relegated to a jump shooter from three, or just inside of the arc. They sent doubles on the low block and the elbows, where Wemby has thrived in past games. After two less-than-stellar games, Wembanyama will have a shot to bounce back against fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert on Friday.