The San Antonio Spurs are without their two best pieces: reigning Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama, and Hall of Fame head coach Gregg Popovich.
So the Knicks‘ road matchup against them on Wednesday should have been a layup for a team gearing up for a deep playoff run as the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed — even if Jalen Brunson (right ankle sprain) is out of the rotation.
A layup it was not.
Instead, the Knicks suffered one of their most embarrassing losses of the season, trailing by as many as 28, then making a furious third-quarter run to cut the deficit to as little as eight before the Spurs (29-39) ran away with a 120-105 victory at the Frost Bank Center on Wednesday.
The Spurs lost 10 of their previous 14 games before stealing one from New York.
It was a loss the likes of which the Knicks (43-25) have not sustained often this season.
New York owned an 18-0 record against the bottom-four seeds in either the Eastern or Western Conference before coughing up what should have been a gimme victory in San Antonio.
Perhaps some road fatigue set in. Wednesday’s matchup in San Antonio marked New York’s sixth on the road in their last seven games, with Thursday’s second leg of a back-to-back in Charlotte against the Hornets making in seven on the road in an eight-game stretch.
The Knicks made it to San Antonio International Airport on time, but the baggage carrying their new-and-improved defense arrived late.
By the time the Knicks locked in on the defensive end, they were staring a near 30-point deficit in the face. Even the highest-powered offenses run out of fuel when attempting to mount a massive comeback.
And San Antonio’s answer to New York’s attempt at a rally? 2021 No. 54 overall pick Sandro Mamukelashvili, the former Seton Hall standout who was born in New York City before moving to Russia, then Italy as a teenager to pursue his basketball career.
Mamukelashvili, a 6-foot-11 stretch five, picked the Knicks’ drop defense apart for 34 points in 19 points off the bench on a perfect seven-of-seven shooting from downtown and 13-of-14 shooting from the field.
He averaged under five points per game this season entering his eruption against the Knicks on Wednesday.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored a team-high 32 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the field to go with nine rebounds and two assists, but injured a finger on his left hand in the first half and was visibly in pain even after getting the finger taped.
Mitchell Robinson continued to return to form after a 10-month layoff due to ankle surgery, logging his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.
But the Knicks got little else from their roster. Cameron Payne scored 11 points off the bench, but Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby each scored 14 points on poor shooting splits, and Josh Hart scored just two points in 35 minutes of play.
Meanwhile, all five Spurs starters scored in double figures, led by rookie point guard Stephon Castle, who logged 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field.
The Spurs remain a well-coached team, even with Popovich on the mend, recovering from a stroke.
“It’s what he means to the entire league, probably all coaches everywhere. He’s been a great ambassador for the game. He’s had an unbelievable impact on all of us coaches, what he means to the NBA, what he means to certainly this city and all the things that he’s done,” Thibodeau said of Popovich ahead of tipoff. “We’re always thinking about him and we wish him well and we know he’s making steady progress. So whatever it is that he decides to do, we’re behind him 100 percent and we wish him the best.”
They aren’t remotely good enough, however, to have stolen a win from a Knicks team hoping to compete for a title.
New York has completed the first leg of its road back-to-back. The Knicks will travel to Charlotte to face the Hornets on Thursday before returning home for a date with the Washington Wizards on Saturday.
Then the Knicks can get comfortable: five of their next six games are at home.