This game really sucked, so I'll recap quickly so we can move forward to today's stories and tonight's game.
You've always wondered if you, an NBA superstar, and 3 of your friends could beat the Knicks in a 48-minute game, and last night we got something close to the answer. The dominant Tim Duncan was joined by a supporting cast of guys like George Hill (who isn't this guy, much to my disappointment) and Anthony Tolliver to completely smoke the Knicks in San Antonio last night. It was a topsy-turvy version of the typical scenario, with New York playing the role of the more talented team that took the game lightly, and the Spurs acting as the lovable underdogs you've never heard of. The Knicks' fast-paced offense was stifled by a Spurs defense that, even at half-staff, is well-coached and stingy. The passing was sloppy, shots were forced and out of rhythm, and everyone but Jamal Crawford (10-21 for 28 points) and David Lee (6-9 for 15 points) had a stinky night from the field. (If my trained number-crunching badgers got their math right, the rest of the team was 14/49 on field goals, which is about 29%. Not good.) In the first half, it wasn't that big a deal, because the Spurs were equally careless with the ball and couldn't hit the back side of the Alamo from the field. In the second half, though, the Knicks stayed ugly and San Antonio started hitting open shots. The margin hit double digits, New York couldn't make timely plays to cut it close, and the Spurs won.
There wasn't much to it. The Spurs stepped up their game. The Knicks didn't it. Tim Duncan dominated. Randolph faltered. Clyde wore burgundy. It was a swift, mild defeat with a clear basis for failure. I'm ready to be done with this one and move on to today's news and tonight's game in Memphis. Shall we?