The New York Knicks welcomed Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night for his first NBA game in the World’s Most Famous Arena. It was a rude welcoming for Wembanyama and the Spurs as the Knicks blitzed them early and never looked back.
New York jumped out to a 13-0 lead and the closest the game ever got after that was an 11-point deficit. The young San Antonio roster was overwhelmed by the physicality that the Knicks played with, combining that with red-hot shooting from the field, resulting in a 126-105 wire-to-wire blowout.
Through the first seven games of the season, the Knicks have been struggling mightily with their efficiency on offense. But, they got things going against a porous Spurs defense, making 46 percent of their shots overall and 45.2 percent from 3-point range.
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Ball movement and ball security were also key for the Knicks. They don’t normally rack up big assists totals given their style of play, but they had 28 against the Spurs. A comeback was tough to mount as New York took care of the ball, turning it over only three times as well.
The Knicks had three players score at least 23 points in the game, as their Big 3 of Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle and RJ Barett all found success. Brunson bounced back after a seven-point game on Monday night against the LA Clippers, scoring a team-high 25 with six assists and two rebounds.
Barrett continued his hot start, scoring 24 points with six assists and two rebounds himself. Randle scored 23 points with 16 rebounds and five assists, dominating on the interior and starting to find his rhythm offensively.
Off the bench, New York had two more players score in double-figures. Immanuel Quickley poured in 19 with five assists and one steal as he builds his case to take home the Sixth Man of the Year award this season after finishing second last season. Isaiah Hartenstein scored 13 points with three rebounds and two steals in only 15 minutes.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, Jalen Brunson, Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks Updates
He and Mitchell Robinson are combining to be the most dominant center duo in the NBA. Robinson had eight points and 12 rebounds. Both made life difficult for Wembanyama, who struggled to get on track against the Knicks. He finished the game with 14 points and nine rebounds.
This is the kind of performance you want to see from the Knicks. They have played the toughest schedule in the NBA to this point and needed a get-right game. The young Spurs provided that, as New York did to them what good teams are expected to do to lesser ones.
San Antonio had six players score in double-figures, but it was not enough to keep up with New York on this night. Their record dropped to 3-5 with the loss, while the Knicks climbed back to the .500 mark with a 4-4 record.
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