After perhaps their most satisfying victory in years — a win over the defending champion Thunder to get to the NBA Cup Finals — the Spurs had one more hurdle in their way of some hardware: the New York Knicks. The two teams have put out a couple of entertaining match-ups over the last couple of seasons, and this one was no different. For 34 minutes, it looked like the Spurs were on their way to a win with clean, fluid offense and doing just enough to keep the Knicks at arm’s length on defense. Unfortunately, good things don’t last forever. The dam finally broke late in the third quarter, and the Spurs completely collapsed as the Knicks ran away with the victory. There was as least no slow start for the Spurs tonight, with Stephon Castle inserting his will on offense early by getting in the paint and finding his teammates without turning the ball over, and the Spurs quickly found themselves up 17-12. Wemby still came off the bench in this game, entering the game five minutes in instead of waiting until the second quarter, but his shot was off at first, and the Knicks responded with a 9-2 run, eventually getting the lead as high as three. However, the Spurs regrouped, and a three from Keldon Johnson and free throws from De’Aaron Fox gave them a 30-28 lead after 12 minutes. Dylan Harper and Julian Champagnie combined to hit 3 threes to open the second quarter, and the Spurs slowly built on their lead. Back-to-back poster dunks from Devin Vassell and Castle got them ahead 50-43, forcing another Knicks timeout. After OG Anunoby had almost single-handedly keeping New York in the game offensively with 20 points in the half, his teammates started to catch up. They chipped away, tying the game at 59 apiece off a steal with 27 seconds left, but Fox calmly responded has he always does with a mid-range jumper to give the Spurs a 61-59 halftime lead. Fox then hit consecutive threes to open the third quarter, and an alley-oop from Castle to Luke Kornet had them on an 8-2 run. The Knicks initially had a bit of a response and cut the lead back to 4, but the Spurs fought right back. Dylan Harper got the lead to double figures a couple of times, including on a four-point play where he hit a three while Castle was being flung to the floor in the post. Wemby finally got going on offense with a couple of threes, and two alley-oops and a mid-range. His second three had the Spurs up 92-81 with two minutes left in the quarter and seemingly all the momentum on their side, but everything would fall apart from there. Across the final 14 minutes of the game, the Spurs were outscored 43-21. They couldn’t keep the Knicks, especially Mitchell Robinson, off the offensive glass as they opened the fourth quarter on an 11-2 run, with all their points coming off offensive rebounds, and there was suddenly a lid on the basket on the other end. Bad habits like turnovers and rushed shots replaced the wonderful offense the Spurs had displayed before, and any thoughts they had about making a final run were quickly stymied by a Knicks response, and things ended in a 113-124 loss. In the end, the Spurs couldn’t win the Cup, but that shouldn’t stop them from being extremely proud for getting there amidst all the injuries and scheduling challenges they’ve been through so far. They still get a hefty participation bonus (hopefully $230k is enough for Keldon Johnson’s llama), and they got some valuable experience playing in games with something on the line as they look to make the playoffs for the first time since 2019. There is nothing for them to hang their heads about. (Also, this game doesn’t count as a loss in the standings, so there’s that.) Game notes Although the shooting numbers were unimpressive (5-15 on the night), it’s possible Castle was headed for a Cup MVP night based on everything else he was doing. (Maybe not because it technically goes to the best player of the whole tournament, but I digress). His presence in the paint was throwing the entire Knicks defense off most of the game, and he did a good job at finding his teammates with clean passes instead of getting caught in the air and throwing it away. He finished the game with 12 assists to just 2 turnovers, both of which came in panic time at the end. There was also his usual solid defense, and for the second straight game, he avoided sending a known foul merchant to the free throw line (this time Jalen Brunson, who shot just three free throws all game). Harrison Barnes had another 0-fer night from three in Vegas, going 0-4, making him 0-12 in the last two games (although he was 4-5 inside the arc and 3-3 from the line for 11 points). None of the Spurs snipers had good games from three, with Fox and Devin Vassell combining to go 4-13 and Julian Champagnie hitting 1-4. (Although he should have had a second, more on that below.) The only one who had a good night from three was Harper, who hit 5-7. The Champagnie three that was waived off in the fourth quarter really hurt. It was while the Spurs were trying to recover from the Knicks’ initial run, and it would have gotten them within 4 points with some momentum on their side. The refs had initially waived it off and called a charge on Kornet on the screen. Mitch Johnson challenged the call, and it was changed to a blocking foul, but the refs did not count Champagnie’s three even though he shot it before the whistle, presumably because the foul occurred before the shot. I guess they would have had to change it to a no call for the shot to have counted. Regardless, even though it got the ball back for the Spurs and they got a bucket out of it, it felt like that three would have been much more meaningful and impactful. Instead, the Knicks got to use the review timeout to regroup, and the momentum was right back on their side. It had already been noted that the Cup playoffs would probably not return to Vegas next season because it wasn’t producing the turnout that was expected (not too surprising considering it’s short notice and extra travel that not every fan can afford or has time for). Then, before the game, Adam Silver said they would consider options such as historical college locations for the Cup Finals. I’m sorry, doesn’t that just create the same problem as Vegas? I honestly don’t get it. If turnout is the issue, the best solution to just play at the home team’s venue, not a neutral site. I just don’t think there’s that much excitement for the Cup beyond the fan bases of the two teams playing for it, and neutral site games aren’t something NBA fans are used to traveling or planning for. Up next: Thursday vs. Washington Wizards ...read more read less