Spurs brutal loss to Knicks draws warning from analyst

As the NBA world reacts to the New York Knicks snapping Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs’ 11-game win streak, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst considers it a warning for fans. Wembanyama and the Spurs’ 114-89 blowout loss to the Knicks ended a long win streak, but also put San Antonio’s weaknesses on full display.

The Spurs never recovered from a 19-0 Knicks run in the second quarter, which reminded some of their inexperience, Windhorst said, per ESPN’s First Take.

“I’m not going to overreact to a noon game at the Garden. If you’re creating a case for why the Spurs aren’t going to win, you saw it yesterday,” Windhorst said. “They didn’t handle it when the Knicks threw some punches at them. It was a 19-0 run in the second quarter. You’re not going to win a playoff game when you give up a 19-0 run on the road. So, you see stuff like that.”

The Spurs also finished 9-for-34 from beyond the 3-point arc (26.5%) against the Knicks.

“They are still, as a team, inconsistent on 3-point shots. When they get to the playoffs, the opposing teams, when they get to do game plans that are fully set up for a playoff series, they’re going to force them into taking threes. And they’re going to want Victor Wembanyama to take threes. They are still a bottom-10 3-point percentage shooting team. Whether you like it or not, the NBA is still very much a 3-point league.”