Spurs rebuff Knicks
SAN ANTONIO -- Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points, and LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol collected double-doubles as the San Antonio Spurs dispatched the New York Knicks 106-98 on Saturday as the AT&T Center.
The Spurs (56-16) won their fourth straight game but had to work harder for this one than they wanted to, especially after forging a 20-point lead in the second quarter.
New York did little in the first half and trailed by 18 points at intermission before rushing back into the game by outscoring San Antonio 31-17 in the third quarter. The Spurs hit only eight of their 27 shots in the period.
San Antonio put away the Knicks in the middle of the fourth quarter with a 11-4 run highlighted by 3-pointers from Patty Mills and Leonard. New York never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Gasol recorded 19 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs while Aldridge hit for 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Tony Parker and Mills added 10 points apiece, and Dewayne Dedmon pulled down 13 rebounds for San Antonio, which crawled back to within two games of idle Golden State for the best record in the NBA and the Western Conference.
New York (27-46) was led by Willy Hernangomez's 24 points and 13 rebounds. Derrick Rose also scored 24 points, Mindaugas Kuzminskas hit for 19 and Kristaps Porzingis added 12 points for the Knicks, which lost five straight games and eight of their past nine contests.
The Spurs set the pace early, jumping out to as much as a 15-point lead before settling for a 33-23 advantage at the end of the first quarter. San Antonio outshot the Knicks 66.7 percent to 40 percent in the period and New York was only as close as it was because of a 5 for 5 showing from the floor and 13 points by Kuzminskas.
The Knicks had no better answer for San Antonio in the second quarter as the Spurs used a workmanlike efficiency to build a 61-43 lead at halftime. Leonard poured in 18 points in the half on 7 of 9 shooting from the floor while Gasol hit for 12 and Aldridge added 11 points.
Kuzminskas didn't score in the second quarter but still led New York with 13 points in the half, with Rose adding 10. San Antonio and the Knicks both took 45 shots in the half, but the Spurs made 26 and New York only hit 17.
San Antonio played the majority the third quarter with the same level of lethargy New York showed for most of the first half. That allowed the Knicks to cut San Antonio's lead to 76-72 on back-to-back baskets by Hernangomez (the second with 35.3 seconds remaining) before Ron Baker's driving layup with 5.9 seconds left sent New York to the fourth quarter down by only four points and the game well within reach.
NOTES: On Saturday, the NBA suspended injured Knicks C Joakim Noah for 20 games for violating the league's anti-drug policy. The suspension will start when Noah, who has been out since Feb. 4 and had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Feb. 27, is "eligible and physically able to play" in either a regular season or playoff game, the league said. The suspension would then continue into the 2017-18 season. ... The Spurs held out Danny Green for rest. ... San Antonio G Dejounte Murray missed his eighth straight game with a left groin injury. ... New York was without F Carmelo Anthony, who did not play for his second straight game because of a sore left knee. ... Next up for the Knicks is Monday's home game versus Detroit while San Antonio hosts Cleveland on Monday.