The Knicks close out the calendar year with an NBA Cup final rematch and another look at a potential NBA Finals preview.
They travel to San Antonio and face the Spurs for the third and final leg of their road trip Wednesday.
It was just two weeks ago the Knicks toppled the Spurs 124-113 in the NBA Cup final in Las Vegas.
Despite their loss, the Spurs were the hottest team in the NBA after the Cup final, winning their next five games.
Two of those wins came against the Thunder — and they had already beaten Oklahoma City in Vegas in the NBA Cup semifinals.
All of a sudden, the Spurs, not the Thunder, looked like they might be the team to beat in the West.
But they’ve come back down to earth a bit, with back-to-back losses against the Jazz and Cavaliers.
Victor Wembanyama, after missing 12 games with a calf injury, returned for the semifinal and final in Vegas but remains on a minute restriction — he has not played more than 28 minutes since coming back.
Mitchell Robinson, in particular, was effective when guarding Wembanyama during the Cup final. And Wembanyama’s habit of aggressively hunting for blocked shots often left Robinson open to grab offensive rebounds.
After missing the Knicks win over the Pelicans on Monday in New Orleans for load management, though, Robinson is out again for Wednesday’s clash.
Miles McBride returned for the Knicks during Monday’s game after missing eight games with an ankle injury.
He finished with 14 points and was immediately thrust into the closing lineup.
It was his defense on Jordan Poole — navigating a screen and avoiding a foul on Poole, who was trying to bait him into one — that sealed the win in the final seconds.
“I’m always trusting in God and whatever he has planned for me,” McBride said. “He said I needed a little bit of rest, but I just wanted to come out here, do what I need to do to get back right. And get a win with the team.”
The Knicks defense has repeatedly started slowly. Across seven games since their NBA Cup triumph, they’ve allowed opponents to score an average of 34.1 points in the first quarter.
The Pelicans scored 41 in the first quarter Monday.
“We understand how we started was unacceptable,” Jalen Brunson said. “And we got to figure out how to win a game from where we were. So we got a lot of confidence in each other. But we got to start better.”
McBride added: “We just have to come out with more energy and more respect.”
Josh Hart (ankle) and Landry Shamet (shoulder) remain out for the Knicks.
Ariel Hukporti (lip laceration) is questionable. Tyler Kolek (right ankle soreness) is probable.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
