The San Antonio Spurs got off to a hot start against the New York Knicks, but fell short, suffering their first loss of the Rodeo Road Trip.
The San Antonio Spurs lost to the New York Knicks in a marquee mid-day game on Sunday, falling 114-89. The Spurs are now 2-1 unofficially on the season against New York, losing in the NBA Cup championship game, although officially, the series is tied at a game apiece.
The Spurs led by double-digits in the first quarter, although Stephon Castle's defense on Jalen Brunson proved to be temporary, as the All-Star point guard got hot as soon as Castle sat, and Mikal Bridges managed to get going from deep, as well.
The Spurs were plagued by untimely turnovers all game long, with Victor Wembanyama having seven of his own, including multiple in the backcourt.
Wemby Shines, Spurs Fall Short vs. Knicks
Despite his turnover troubles, Wembanyama finished with an impressive 25 points, 14 rebounds, and four blocks. He went only 1-of-7 from 3-point range, settling for some questionable shots when getting to the rim--especially against Mitchell Robinson--proved to be challenging.
In addition to Wemby's solid game, the Spurs enjoyed 18 points from Devin Vassell, although they shot only 27% as a team from 3-point range. Their struggles were best highlighted by the bench, led by eight points from Dylan Haprer. The usually reliable unit struggled against physical defense from New York and the fast-paced offense, which will be an area to address moving forward.
The Knicks, meanwhile, were led by Mikal Bridges, who posted 25 points of his own, 14 of which came in a red-hot third quarter, which helped put the Knicks over the top.
In his first matchup against his old team, Jeremy Sochan played only two minutes, and his spot in the rotation is already in question, as power forward Mohamed Diawara has outplayed him on both ends of the court recently. Diawara finished with 11 points from the bench, making 3-of-10 of his 3-pointers, making sure the Spurs never got a break.
The Spurs went undefeated in February, but got off to a rough start in March. The Spurs will end the Rodeo Road Trip on Tuesday, taking on the Philadelphia 76ers before returning to San Antonio for six games in a row at home, where they can hope to set a tone before their final push to the playoffs.