San Antonio Spurs Dominate New York Knicks in Star-less Showdown

The reigning NBA Finals Champions, the San Antonio Spurs, are among the best teams in the NBA this year, and in the past decade. They’re full of players like Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli, who are among the best active players, and then there’s Kawhi Leonard, the reigning Finals MVP. And the New York Knicks had to face … None of them. However, the Knicks were without their lone superstar, Carmelo Anthony, as well. In a matchup of sixth men and backups, the Spurs’ depth was just too much for the Knicks to handle.

Against the New Orleans Pelicans, Amar’e Stoudemire took over the offense with Anthony largely double-teamed. Tonight, however, he disappeared, scoring only eight points without a free throw attempted. Tim Hardaway Jr. picked up the slack for the Knicks on offense, with 23 points but with STAT having a poor night, Iman Shumpert not adding much and Anthony and J.R. Smith on the bench, they just couldn’t keep up. Jason Smith and Cole Aldrich added 14 and 10 points, respectively.

For the Spurs, a plethora of players stepped up, as they had seven players all score in double-digits with two more at nine. Leading the way was Marco Belinelli, who scored 22 with four rebounds and three assists. A more complete team, San Antonio led New York in field goal percentage, three-pointers, free throws made and attempted, steals, blocks and turnovers (they had fewer). The lone bright spot for the Knicks was that they out-rebounded the Spurs – by one. Stereotypically of the teams, the Knicks faltered in the third quarter – as they’ve done very many times this year – and the Spurs stepped up when the pressure was on.

Belinelli, in particular, took the game over in the third quarter. He hit three three-pointers, as San Antonio hit 6-of-8 from behind the arc in the quarter, and shot 85 percent from the field. A 56-52 Spurs lead at the half ballooned to a 94-73 lead after the third quarter. Without a presence in the paint, the Knicks failed to prevent San Antonio from driving, which spread the floor, and they couldn’t retaliate on offense to keep themselves in the game. This is a problem, especially when you notice the Knicks took only 17 free throws compared to 30 by the Spurs. It’s been a trend all season. All of the Knicks’ faults left them a defeat by the Spurs, 109-95.

Games like this have become the norm for the Knicks. They hang in there through halftime, but fall apart soon after. The third quarter is always their weak point, as the opposition is just able to come out more fresh, better prepared and shooting better. The Spurs have proved, and continue to prove, that they can win without their stars. The Knicks, on the other hand, have enough trouble winning with their stars, let alone without them. That was the difference-maker in the game.

Matt Turner is a New York Mets writer for www.RantSports.com. “Like” him on Facebook, follow him  on Twitter @MturnerNY, or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google.