NBA: Knicks rip Spurs, now half a game back of Heat

The New York Knicks snapped a two-game slide at the expense of the San Antonio Spurs' seven-game streak, beating the Western Conference semifinalists 100-83, Thursday (Friday, PHL time) at Madison Square Garden. 

 

The Knicks improved to 22-10, half a game behind the Miami Heat, while the Spurs moved down to 26-9, to trail the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

[Related: Heat win second overtime game in a row, drop Dallas Mavericks]
 

A three-pointer by Danny Green put the Spurs within six points, 66-60, with 29 seconds left in the third period, before Amare Stoudemire closed out the quarter with a free throw. The Knicks then proceeded to blow the game wide open with 10 straight points to open the fourth quarter, giving them a 77-60 lead that the Spurs were hard-pressed to overcome until the final buzzer. 

 

The first quarter was actually tightly-fought, with five ties and six lead changes. But after a Manu Ginobili triple put the Spurs ahead by three, 17-14, back-to-back triples by Carmelo Anthony gave his side the lead for good, with an alley-oop dunk by Tyson Chandler adding an exclamation point, 22-17. 

 

Near the end of the first half, a free throw and a jumper by Tim Duncan sliced their deficit to two points, 42-40 at the break. In the third, the Knicks posted a double-digit advantage, courtesy of Stoudemire, but Ginobili, followed by Green's triple, made it more manageable before the decisive final period. 

 

Carmelo Anthony led all scorers with 23-points but needed 20 field goal attempts to get there. JR Smith came off the bench with 20, while Steve Novak poured in 15 on a 5-of-7 clip from downtown. Amare Stoudemire, in his second game back with New York, and Tyson Chandler each added 10 points. 

 

The Spurs got 12 markers from Gary Neal, while Tony Parker and Tim Duncan each had 11. San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich opted not to field in his "Big Three" of Parker, Duncan and Ginobili in the fourth quarter, with the game out of hand. 

 

The Knicks finished shooting 47.6 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from downtown, with a 26-to-14 lead in the assists category. The Spurs on the other hand were held to just 36.4 percent shooting, 26.5 percent from beyond the arc. 

 

In addition to the hot outside shooting though, the Spurs posted a 36-to-12 edge in points in the paint. - AMD, GMA News