The Knicks wrapped up their 2025 slate on a sour note, squandering several double-digit leads in a frustrating 134-132 loss to the Spurs on Wednesday night at Frost Bank Center.
Here are the takeaways…
— Making his third career start, rookie forward Mohamed Diawara tried his best to set a tone, draining a pair of threes within the first three minutes of action to help push the Knicks out to an early 10-3 lead. But it didn’t take long for the Spurs to find a rhythm, as a quick 11-0 run midway through the first quarter erased their early deficit and made the Knicks burn two timeouts. Much to the delight of head coach Mike Brown, the Knicks maintained a hot stroke from beyond the arc, making a whopping nine threes that contributed to a season-high 45 first-quarter points. It was their 14th opening period with 40-plus points this season — the mark actually matched their total from last season.
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— Just when it looked like the Knicks’ torrid scoring pace was unsustainable — their lead of 12 points was trimmed down to four with 7:02 remaining in the second quarter, due to a few turnovers — another heat check arrived. In a span of three minutes, they rattled off 14 unanswered points, extending their lead to an imposing 71-52 with 3:51 left. However, the inevitable cold spell finally appeared, as the Knicks failed to score a single point in the final 2:54 before halftime. The Spurs took advantage of that lull with a 9-0 run, cutting their deficit to 73-63 at the break.
— Jalen Brunson was naturally the first-half catalyst, delivering 13 points as one of eight — that’s right, eight — Knicks who made a three. But his baker’s dozen, plus 15 from Karl-Anthony Towns, didn’t pack the punch that Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama flaunted. The behemoth youngster led all first-half scorers with 22 points — he was solely responsible for the closing 9-0 run — and the Knicks didn’t feel this presence from him during the NBA Cup final, since the Spurs carefully restricted his court time to 25 minutes then.
— A quick eight points on two threes from Miles McBride pushed the Knicks’ lead back to 14 with 8:43 remaining in the third, but once again, their cushion wasn’t comfortable for long. Wembanyama and Julian Champagnie sparked a monstrous Spurs rally by scoring 19 combined points across four-plus minutes, and suddenly, the game was knotted up at 91-91 with 4:24 left in the quarter. Keldon Johnson then made a floater that gave the Spurs their first lead since the 6:13 mark of the first and reignited the crowd. In spite of the momentum swing, the Knicks recovered on both ends of the floor, producing 11 unanswered points while holding the Spurs scoreless in the final 3:23 to reclaim a nine-point lead, 102-93. No surprise, it was Brunson who added eight points to that energized run.
— The Knicks’ battles with Wembanyama, who logged 31 points through three quarters, abruptly ended within the first 90 seconds of the fourth. After grabbing the rebound on a missed Knicks three attempt, Wembanyama landed awkwardly in the paint and cameras caught his right knee buckle. Wembanyama stayed down for a few moments before hobbling directly to the locker room without any assistance from trainers. While he appeared to mouth, “I’ll be back,” to concerned Spurs fans, the 7-foot-4 threat never checked back in.
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— Somehow, the sudden absence of Wembanyama didn’t crush the Spurs’ spirits. A pair of threes from Champagnie cut their deficit back down to five, 110-105, with 7:29 remaining and prompted a Knicks timeout. While the Knicks bit back, bumping their lead to 116-109 with clutch jumpers from Jordan Clarkson off the bench, the Spurs rallied behind Champagnie, who added another two threes to knot the score at 116-116 and set a new franchise record with 11-made shots from beyond the arc. Call it a career night for Champagnie — he scored a game-changing 36 points. Moments later, De’Aaron Fox made a layup that gave the Spurs another lead, 118-116.
— While the Knicks entered the final minute trailing by just a point, poor defense, foul trouble, and missed shots forced the Spurs to the free-throw line and placed them in a six-point hole with just 10 seconds left. Miraculously, McBride drew a foul on a three-point attempt and made each shot at the charity stripe, cutting the Knicks’ deficit to three. But an ensuing jump-ball claimed by the Spurs resulted in a victory-sealing two more points for the Spurs, and even a buzzer-beating three from Brunson was all for naught. Considering the opponent and NBA Cup rematch buildup, this was no ordinary crumble for the Knicks. They entered the night 19-0 when leading after three quarters, too.
— The Knicks found a new way to lose, as a staggering 22-made threes on 52 attempts somehow weren’t enough. The defensive breakdowns were also apparent in the fourth quarter, as they gave up 41 points in the period and struggled to get in the face of Champagnie and others. Overall, the Knicks were outrebounded, 48-40, and charged with 13 more fouls than the Spurs (30-17).
— Contributions from McBride and Clarkson, who combined for 41 points off the bench on 15 of 29 shooting, were proven essential. Why? OG Anunoby was held to a scant nine points, and Diawara failed to score once after his pair of first-quarter threes. Brunson scored a team-best 29 points with eight assists and four rebounds across 36 minutes, while Towns accounted for 20 points in 33 minutes. Mikal Bridges was also quiet, limited to 13 points over 35 minutes.
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Game MVP: Julian Champagnie
Champagnie deserves rounds of champagne this New Year’s Eve. The St. John’s product’s game-high 36 points on a record-setting 11 threes simply crushed the Knicks.
Highlights
Up next
The Knicks (23-10) will begin the 2026 calendar year at home, with a Friday night matchup against the Atlanta Hawks (7:30 p.m. tip-off).
