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He Knicks went toe-to-toe with the struggling San Antonio Spurs and ultimately took the win, 117-114, in a very entertaining matchup on Christmas Day.
Here are the conclusions…
-He goes with his usual starting lineup of Jalen Brunson, jose hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunobi and Karl-Anthony Towns New York, which has seen more minutes on the court together than any other starting five in the league this season, got off to a good start and made its first four shots of the day.
-Making its debut on Christmas Day, Victor Wembanyama He came out firing early but couldn’t find his stroke from beyond the arc and missed his first four 3-pointers. However, the 7-foot-3 phenom made an impact in other ways, grabbing four rebounds in the first quarter, along with two assists and two blocks, finishing with 10 points after hitting consecutive 3-pointers before the quarter expired.
-The three-pointer was not to the liking of both teams, especially the Knicks, but it was not for lack of trying since the pace was at full speed from the jump. Bridges was the biggest contributor offensively, scoring nine points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the field (1-of-1 from deep).
-Meanwhile, fresh off his big game against the Toronto Raptors, Anunoby had trouble getting going and finished the first quarter going 1-of-6 from the field. However, he helped on the glass with five rebounds (three offensive), tied with Hart for the most rebounds on the team, as Towns, against Wembanyama, was mostly controlled in the first quarter (eight points, two rebounds). .
-Down 28-27 entering the second quarter, San Antonio began to heat up and outscored New York 12-4, including an 8-0 run, to take a 39-32 lead that caused head coach Tom Thibodeau ask for a timeout. After trailing by as many as nine points, the Knicks went on a 17-6 run that saw them take a two-point lead at 49-47 with 3:22 left in the half. However, the offense stalled from there and the Spurs finished the half on an 11-2 run to enter the locker room up 58-51.
-Despite his slow start, Wembanyama finished the half with 24 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, sparking absolute fits for the Knicks. As for Wemby’s teammates, no other player came into the break with double-digit points.
-In the third quarter, New York screamed with an 8-1 run that turned into a 15-6 run that turned into a 23-13 run that gave the Knicks a three-point lead. During that long run, Towns carried his team and really came to life. From there, it was the duo of Brunson and Bridges, former teammates at Villanova, who exploded offensively and scored 12 of New York’s final 14 points in the quarter.
-The Knicks finished the quarter on a 10-0 run to go from five down to five up and outscored San Antonio 37-25 in the frame. They did it all too, with just three 3-pointers, doing most of the damage inside the paint.
-However, the Spurs, who entered the game as the weakest, showed their strength and responded with an extended 19-9 run at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Wembanyama once again was at the forefront of the scoring barrage and tied the record for most three-pointers made at Madison Square Garden on Christmas Day with six. He finished with 42 points, 18 rebounds and four blocks while the individual show did it all.
-Not to be outdone, Bridges finished with a season-high 41 points, going an impressive 17-of-25 from the field (6-of-9 from deep) and had great success in the final minutes of the game when his team needed him more to preserve the victory.
-Not known as the best offensive rebounding team this season with the loss of Isaiah Hartenstein and michel robinson On the shelf, New York had 17 offensive rebounds to San Antonio’s eight, including one on the final shot of the game that prevented the Spurs from making a potential game-tying shot.
-Towns’ streak of 18 consecutive double-doubles came to an end in this one as the center lacked one rebound to achieve a double-double. He finished with 21 points and nine rebounds. However, the situation recovered elsewhere, with players like Hart (12), Beautiful Achiuwa (10) and even Brunson (seven), all contributing on the glass.
Game MVP: Mikal Bridges
Four points shy of tying his career high in points, Bridges deserves the honor of carrying the Knicks on his back when they needed him most.
Highlights
What’s next?
The Knicks return to the road for a Friday night matchup against the Orlando Magic starting at 7 p.m.