THE Knicks ended its 2025 slate on a sour note, squandering multiple double-digit leads in a frustrating 134-132 loss to the Spurs on Wednesday night at Frost Bank Center.
Here are the points to remember…
— He is making his third career start, rookie forward Mohamed Diawara did its best to set the tone, draining a pair of threes in the first three minutes of action to help the Knicks take an early 10-3 lead. But it didn’t take long for the Spurs to find a rhythm, as a quick 11-0 run midway through the first quarter erased their early deficit and forced the Knicks to burn two timeouts. To the delight of the head coach Mike BrownThe Knicks maintained a hot shot from beyond the arc, making a whopping nine threes that contributed to a season-high 45 points in the first quarter. It was their 14th opening period with 40+ points this season – which actually matches their total from last season.
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— Just when it seemed like the Knicks’ breakneck scoring pace was unsustainable — their 12-point lead was cut to four with 7:02 left in the second quarter, due to a few turnovers — another heat check arrived. In a span of three minutes, they scored 14 unanswered points, extending their lead to a commanding 71-52 with 3:51 to play. However, the inevitable cold spell finally appeared, as the Knicks failed to score a single point in the final 2:54 before halftime. The Spurs took advantage of this lull with a 9-0 run, reducing their deficit to 73-63 at the break.
— Jalen Brunson was understandably the catalyst of the first half, dishing out 13 points among the eight – that’s right, eight – Knicks who made a three. But his baker’s dozen, more than 15 Cities of Karl-Anthonydidn’t have the punch of the Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama poster. The young giant led all scorers in the first half with 22 points – he was solely responsible for the final 9-0 run – and the Knicks didn’t feel that presence from him in the NBA Cup Finals, as the Spurs then carefully limited his playing time to 25 minutes.
— A quick eight points from two threes from Miles McBride pushed the Knicks’ lead back to 14 with 8:43 left in the third, but once again their lead wasn’t comfortable for long. Wembanyama and Julien Champagnie sparked a monstrous Spurs rally by scoring 19 combined points in over four minutes, and suddenly the game was knotted at 91-91 with 4:24 left in the quarter. Keldon Johnson then made a floater that gave the Spurs their first lead since 6:13 of the first and reignited the crowd. Despite the momentum shift, the Knicks clawed back on both ends of the court, producing 11 unanswered points while holding the Spurs scoreless in the final 3:23 to regain a nine-point lead, 102-93. No surprise, it was Brunson who added eight points to this energetic run.
– The Knicks’ battles with Wembanyama, who scored 31 points in three quarters, ended abruptly in the first 90 seconds of the fourth. After grabbing the rebound on a missed third-down attempt by the Knicks, Wembanyama landed awkwardly in the paint and the cameras caught the buckle on his right knee. Wembanyama remained on the ground for a few moments before limping straight to the locker room without any assistance from the coaches. While he seemed to say “I’ll be back” to worried Spurs fans, the 7-foot-4 threat never returned.
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— Somehow, Wembanyama’s sudden absence hasn’t broken Spurs’ morale. A pair of threes from Champagnie cut their deficit to five, 110-105, with 7:29 left and prompted a Knicks timeout. As the Knicks fought back, increasing their lead to 116-109 thanks to clutch jumpers from Jordan Clarkson Off the bench, the Spurs rallied behind Champagnie, who added two more threes to tie the score at 116-116 and set a new franchise record with 11 made shots from beyond the arc. Call it a career night for Champagnie – he scored a game-changing 36 points. A few moments later, De’Aaron Fox made a layup that gave the Spurs another lead, 118-116.
– As the Knicks entered the final minute trailing just one point, poor defense, fouls and missed shots forced the Spurs to the free throw line and put them in a six-point hole with just 10 seconds remaining. Miraculously, McBride fouled a three-point attempt and made every shot on the charity score, cutting the Knicks’ deficit to three. But an ensuing jump ball claimed by the Spurs resulted in a victory, sealing two more points for the Spurs, and even a buzzer-beating triple from Brunson did no good. Considering the opponent and the buildup to the NBA Cup rematch, this was no ordinary collapse for the Knicks. They entered the night 19-0 while also leading after three quarters.
— The Knicks found a new way to lose, as a staggering 22 threes on 52 attempts wasn’t enough. The defensive breakdowns were also apparent in the fourth quarter, as they gave up 41 points in the period and struggled to keep up with Champagnie and others. Overall, the Knicks were outscored, 48-40, and charged with 13 more fouls than the Spurs (30-17).
— The contributions of McBride and Clarkson, who totaled 41 points off the bench on 15 of 29 shooting, proved essential. For what? OG Anunoby was held to just nine points, and Diawara failed to score once after his pair of threes in the first quarter. Brunson scored a team-high 29 points with eight assists and four rebounds in 36 minutes, while Towns scored 20 points in 33 minutes. Mikal Bridges was also calm, limited to 13 points over 35 minutes.
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MVP of the game: Julian Champagnie
Champagnie deserves a round of champagne on New Year’s Eve. The St. John’s product’s 36 points on a game-high 11 threes simply crushed the Knicks.
Highlights
To be continued
The Knicks (23-10) will begin the 2026 calendar year at home, with a game Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks (7:30 p.m.).
