Knicks at Spurs
THE STORY: Having dropped two straight on their current four-game road trip, the New York Knicks will have to end a nine-year losing streak to avoid a third straight defeat when they visit the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night. The Knicks haven't won in San Antonio since March 2003, dropping eight straight decisions in that time. The Spurs were off to a league-best 13-1 start at home, but they have lost two of the last three at the AT&T Center.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, MSG, FSSW
ABOUT THE KNICKS (18-20): Carmelo Anthony and Jeremy Lin remain a work in progress together. Anthony played superbly down the stretch in Sunday's overtime loss at Boston, although he disappeared for long stretches. It was more of the latter in Tuesday's defeat at Dallas, as Anthony scored only six points on 2-of-12 shooting. Anthony, along with Lin, was on the bench Tuesday when the Knicks reeled off 15 straight fourth-quarter points to go ahead. He entered the game shortly after Dallas started a decisive 14-0 run.
ABOUT THE SPURS (25-12): Manu Ginobili (oblique) returned from a five-game absence to register eight points and five assists in Sunday's loss to Denver. It was only the 10th game of the season for Ginobili, who was sidelined for more than a month with a broken hand. He had scored at least 23 points in three of the first four games this season before suffering the hand injury. Tim Duncan is averaging 16 points and nine rebounds in his last four despite dealing with a stomach ailment in Sunday's loss to Denver.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Spurs PG and leading scorer Tony Parker averaged 23.5 points in two meetings with the Knicks last season.
2. Knicks F Steve Novak continues to light it up from outside, hitting at least four 3-pointers in five straight games.
3. Lin has failed to reach 20 points in five games. He had scored at least 20 in nine of his previous 10.