Last night’s matchup between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs was definitely a shocker considering the fact that the defending champion Spurs lost to the struggling/tanking (whatever you want to call it) Knicks in overtime. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich praised Derek Fisher and the Knicks before ripping into his entire roster about the performance they had:
“It was a pathetic performance and I hope that every player is embarrassed. Not because ‘we are supposed to win the game’ but it is about how you play the game.”
The St. Patrick’s Day win improved the Knicks to 14-53 on the season. The win also led to this interesting statistic, via ESPN Stats & Info:
Knicks: 1st team in NBA history to enter a game with a sub-.200 win pct at least 60 games into season & beat the defending champs (ELIAS)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 18, 2015
A couple of players on New York had career nights. Langston Galloway, who was originally started as a 10 day contract player back in January, dropped a career-high 22 points, leading all scorers. Alexey Shevd, acquired at the trade deadline, also had a great game scoring 21 points including scoring 4 of the 8 points in overtime for New York. Lou Amundson also had a career high in rebounds with 17 lining up against the great Tim Duncan. While it may not turn around the Knicks season, it was definitely a positive to look at when the season comes to an end for them. Coach Derek Fisher had this to say:
“I think it does symbolize that we are growing & heading in the right direction.” @derekfisher on the #Knicks win over Spurs
— NBA New York Knicks (@nyknicks) March 18, 2015
As for the Spurs, they have a chance to redeem themselves tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks. They are currently 41-25 dropping down to the 7th seed.