The Knicks host the red-hot San Antonio Spurs at the Garden in a game that is totally the rubber match of their season matchup with the Spurs, but will go in the books as “only” being a season tie if the Knicks win today, since their defeat of the Spurs in the NBA Cup Final doesn’t count towards the standings.
The Knicks don’t need this game, but boy, it would sure be nice to kick another good team’s ass on national television, right?
Maybe Sochan could have some revenge on the team that cut him!
Let’s go, Knicks!
58 is still theoretically possible, which is great!
127 replies on “2025-26 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Spurs – We All Know This is a Rubber Match”
Only team I hate more than SA is Indiana. Let’s GO!
My hate-o-meter tends more to the Heat, the Celtics and the Lakers (i hate them for being spoiled brats, Luka being the last superstar gifted to them).
PS: But i’m not a person to give much thinking to hate, i just want the Knicks to win!
Let’s gooooo Knicks! 🧡💙
don’t you just hate hate…
I just hate the Celtics
This is an interesting question. I don’t hate SA as much as I am jealous of them always winning the lottery.
I would think Boston is the most hated team to Knicks fans, with the Heath second, and the Pacers a close third.
Of the Western teams, the Lakers are clearly hatable. I guess Houston somewhat. I’ve always hated Dallas but appreciate them gifting us Brunson.
feels like a big ol’ hate boner is just right around the corner ready to pop out…
Top 10 MVP candidates as of February 28:
1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
2. Cade Cunningham
3. Victor Wembanyama
4. Chet Holmgren
5. Jalen Brunson
6. De’Aaron Fox
7. Kevin Durant
8. Austin Reaves
9. Nikola Jokic
10. Donovan Mitchell
Top 6 Knicks as of February 28:
1. Jalen Brunson
2. Karl-Anthony Towns
3. OG Anunoby
4. Mikal Bridges
5. Josh Hart
6. Mitchell Robinson
Top 6 Knick-Killers as of February 28:
1. Tyrese Maxey
2. Cade Cunningham
3. Franz Wagner
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo
5. Josh Giddey
6. Jaylen Brown
Top 10 teams as of February 28:
1. Thunder
2. Pistons
3. Celtics
4. Spurs
5. Knicks
6. Rockets
7. Nuggets
8. Wolves
9. Cavaliers
10. Hornets
Bottom 5 teams as of February 28:
1. Wizards
2. Kings
3. Nets
4. Jazz
5. Pacers
I don’t hate the Spurs—I actually find them to be pretty root-able. Wemby seems like a good kid, and Harper and Castle also seem pretty OK. (All that said, I hope we grind them into dust today.)
If I’m going to bother to hate a team from the West, it would be Phoenix. Having either Dillon Brooks or Grayson Allen on your squad immediately puts you into the “hate-able” category, but having both of them cements it.
Don’t hate the Spurs, just jealous. Hate the Celtics, Lakers, Heat, in that order, and more lately the Pacers (although I really liked Tyrese coming into the league, despite his funky shot, so I feel conflicted).
Definitely hoping I can feel less jealous of the Spurs with a Knicks win.
Jose Jose!
OG just went 10/11 from three on my son’s NBA 2K team, so let’s GO!!
KAT has to put his body on Wemby before he gets the ball.
Playing well so far, but missing open shots…
Missing some shots we normally make.
Feels like every start to the game recently I’m saying we need to have a conversation about replacing Hart in the starting lineup…
Shooting 18% from the field is no good…
Okay, up to 22%…
Whoo hoo, 26%! LFGK!
May this game be the end of the Hart as a starter experiment. It’s hard to believe two different coaches thought it was a good idea.
I started at 19-9 so i’m going to have a better +/- 😛
Brunson taking over
Not a bad first quarter. We are just way too dense on offense and miss easy shots. I hope we will settle down as the game goes on.
The Spurs have improved quite a bit since December.
Have to thank the refs for that insane flagrant call that got us back into it
Up to 35% and the lead. That was a nice last 5 minutes or so…
The Josh Hart experience not shockingly will get exposed by very good teams . It keeps Towns grounded. It’s up to Mike Brown to figure that out.
This. You can get away with it against lesser teams but against the better ones, they will continue to run the “leave Hart alone” defense and we have yet to counter it effectively.
Defense so far has been good. And besides missing wide open shots and silly turnovers, offense execution has been ok.
Nice bounce back after it looked like they would run away with it
MO!
MO-mentum!!
Knicks Top 10 defense is legit!
Our D had been pretty good! (BBA beat me to it!)
ISM decided to show up. Thank you.
Honestly, this team is good when they don’t sabotage themselves.
Probably just being a fan, but it seems impossible we have one less turnover than the Spurs have (4-5). It feels like ours are so embarrassingly egregious that they should each count as two.
Maybe Mo should start…
Okay, I am starting to worry about the cost of bringing Mo back
It’s sexy
Wow, that Alvarado-Bridges play almost caused MY nose to bleed!
I love Landry.
KAT got a foul call!!!!
Josh is mad at you guys 😛
Up to 46%… I guess I can stop keeping track…
Wemby shouldn’t be allowed to shoot 3P to somehow level his advantage 😀
I love the guy, but he shouldn’t play with the starters.
The defensive impact of swapping out Yabu, Kolek, and Clarkson for Alvo, Shamet, and Mo is hard to quantify.
And we still have a Deuce in the hole!
Can’t believe we are up 15. We were getting smoked when I turned it off….
Court looks funny. I wish Clyde was on the call.
Hart is a major liability right now
OG being able to guard Castle and Wemby is truly insane.
I’m dreading the early 3rd quarter mins…
This was one of the best defensive halves we have seen all season. Probably the best. We played very good defense throughout, even when our shots weren’t falling to start the game. This is the point! Up by 10 is too little. Should have been more.
Yeah, he followed it with some awful plays
Not a fan of the way we finished the half, but whatever…
Not a great finish. Again, offense bogged down with Hart. OG overhelping in the last corner 3. Totally unnecessary.
I hate to keep ragging on the guy but Hart is detrimental to our offense. That last minute is everything the Spurs want…Hart taking shots when keeping the ball out of everyone else’s hands.
I think I saw several OG jerseys in the stands, so he’s getting the recognition he deserves
You Hart haters make me smile. Guy’s shooting 49% and 39% from three for the season with 7.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists a game. I agree he’s sucked this game, he definitely runs hot and cold. But not quite sure he should be burned at the stake for having a shitty game.
“Don’t ever let ’em put them little Munchkins on you ass, ever!”
3/1/26 Charles Barkley
Watch what Wemby/Kornet do when Hart is on court.
sucked this game? have you been watching the last month or so? the guy is generally afraid to shoot a 3…and I don’t hate him…I just objectively see a guy who the other team doesn’t care if he shoots or not and there is good reason for that….
The leader of offensive fouls back at it
Two imbecilic offensive fouls by KAT
This is what Hart should do, go to the rim
Hart is fourth on the Knicks at three-point shooting. That’s better than Bridges, Brunson, and Towns.
So yeah, he sucks. (And he does this game, I agree!)
You can’t allow Wemby guart Hart and play free safety.
That missed dunk by OG followed by a Spurs 3 was not my favorite sequence…
Welp looks like Hart is trying to shut us up. Hey if it takes bashing him on the internet to raise his level happy to oblige lol.
Was OG fouled on the dunk attempt?
Yeah, the Hart hate is over the top. He’s won many a game for us this year.
Bridges having an excellent game.
Wemby can’t handle Mitch
I love it
“Hanging around.”
Knicks can’t rebound missed FTs.
It’s strange to watch a team with the leaders in both offensive fouls drawn and committed
Twitter is having some fun with OG’s layups
https://x.com/benritholtznba/status/2025926392861413617?s=46&t=0wqff4cNt-sCGcDs-uMExw
Mo- Town!!!
Unreal his stroke.Keeps going in.
Ordering a 51 jersey
The second one was a fluke. Diawara had the shooter checked and the FT was so bad it was tipped up over Diawara and into Castles hands.
Fuck
Jose’s staying in. Thank goodness.
This unit let them back in the game
Quite an end of quarter play. Thibsian.
Wemby had a good dunk but I still don’t know if I see an inner pantheon guy yet
We were teetering, but managed to stay in double digits.
We are still up by 11 but gave them 8-10 unnecessary cheap points this quarter because of bad fouls, rebounding blunders, and transition. We are in a good position but must keep up our defensive effort and focus throughout.
Max Mo
Diaaaaawara
How was that not a kicked ball? Refs just baffle me sometimes…
I’ve just subscribed the group “Worried about Diawara re-signing”
Well that was a nice little stretch answer.
I liked the announcer dissing Sochan about getting on the court what with Mo doing what he’s doing.
diawara has had maybe 4 threes go in and out today
Is Mo D?
I may just turn it off when Mo is not on the floor
Good one Mikal
Somehow a better dunker than OG
Cue the Bridges “fuck them picks” meme haha
Great, I’m missing the best win of the year apparently (no jinx).
OG has to focus more on building up those calf muscles…
Ok I apologize for my Hart comments earlier. I mean he still can slow down our offense and be a sleeve on D but when he’s on, he’s a game changer
Mikal having one of those “Fuck yeah I’m worth 5 picks!” games…
End of bench time
Edit: Well, except future HoF Diawara, of course! 😀
Statement win
Mo has shot 14 threes in a little over 14 minutes. That might be a per 36 record for the team…
I think this was overall our best game of the season. The effort was impressive and showed from the first seconds. The Spurs came in on fire, but we were equally and even more prepared than them today. Kudos to the coaching staff for that. Our defense had its ups and downs but was overall very-very good and at times extraordinary. The number of open shots we got on offense was insane. This could have easily been a 35+ point differential.
If we show this in the playoffs, I’m in!
Huge win.
Send the Nets another pick.
Nearly a wire to wire blowout win and I was terrified the whole time. Hahaha. Go Knicks!
This is such a weird team man. We looked lifeless against Detroit and Cavs recently, but absolutely annihilated the Spurs (probably my favorite in the West). I think the defense is finally in a good spot so as along as we keep the offense going, I feel good about the momentum going into the playoffs.
Want to see us against OKC, the west equivalent of the Pistons
LOL, that is a funny stat.
Hart played a very good game overall. As long as his effort is there, I don’t think he loses his starting job. He is that good! Now, we know he has a shooting coach this season, but he probably needs to hire a sports psychologist as well. He has to understand that the only thing he can do is shoot himself out of his shooting slump, not lose confidence.
As PT pointed out 4 or 5 of Mo’s misses were in and outs. He is indeed precocious.
Lots of moments to cherish in that game, but one of my faves was discovering that Landry Shamet can dunk. Who knew!
One of the best wins of the season. Maybe we match up well with the spurs? Bridges best two way game of the season. That one play where he sniffed out that screen for Wemby in the paint, and the other when he baited a pass at the three point line might be the two smartest plays I’ve ever seen him make. Towns was mostly focused even if not scoring that much and Brunson had that little hot stretch in the 1st half we needed even though inefficient overall. Really love what Mo is bringing to the table, he needs to work on his drive, and drove and kick game bc he’s going to start to get much harder closeouts.
If Knicks face Spurs in the Finals I like our chances!
I was once again impressed by JB. Not that he had his greatest day this afternoon, but I was paying attention to how the Spurs treated him. Every team does the same these days. He is one of the most studied players in the NBA right now. Opposing teams know his every move. They scheme against him, shadow him every second he is on the court, give him different looks, trap him, double him, push him around, play him physically and sometimes dirty. This takes both a physical as well as psychological toll on him. Still, he manages to score a ton, dish out assists, take defensive charges, shine in clutch moments, and so on. He is the epitome of a superstar.
Shamet was actually a ferocious dunker in the past. He has toned things down post-shoulder.
I take it ppl loved Mo D’s game despite the fact it took him 14 shots to net 14 points?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about the kid too, but was it more his defense and 3pt potential/rate? Are we still sort of wishcasting a perfect 3&D player onto him, or are all the pieces there? I missed it!!
ess, I think the Mo D stuff comes with a large dose of schtick, but there is genuine cause for optimism. The most important reason is how perfectly his “theoretical” self is a fit for what we desperately needed in the bench rotation. The kid is playing with a ton of confidence on both ends, and the shot seems real and repeatable. And as a side benefit, he’s keeping Sochan on the deep bench where he belongs.
There’s the hype about his potential utility in the upcoming playoffs, and separately, the hype about his future as a difference-maker despite his draft position. I’m giddy about both possibilities.
He was running hot from three and then had a great block. Generally looked aggressive and good on offense. Could easily have had 17 points.
All his misses felt close bar one.
And yes, Mo set an NBA record for threes attempted per minute.
Who knows how he ends up but I am loving it. He’s a 6’9 Cam Thomas who tries on defense
I hate the Spurs and enjoyed that game very much.
Hoping for a weird Nets win over the Cavs to happen now. A boy can dream, right?
Would it be fair to say that the Spurs are the Pistons of the West? Both teams led by superstars (obviously Wemby>>Cade) and no real standout #2.
If we ever get to the Finals, I would way prefer facing the Spurs over OKC. The Thunder can carve you up in so many different ways and have bench players who can kill you also.
Knicks Spurs finals is a little over 27-1 on DK ; parlaying them both to win their conference.
Knicks beating the Spurs in an exact outcome is 90-1.
https://x.com/KnicksCentral/status/2028207849159921920?s=20
I was correct, it WAS nice to see the Knicks kick another good team’s ass on national television.
what cool mo d really means to me:
Knicks are 5th in defensive rating over the last month, and played some tough opponents in that stretch. So, maybe this really is a good defensive team we have cooking here?
Lordy I loved this game.
Mo D, Shamet, Mitch, Deuce (when he returns). 24 games to go and we have a BENCH now and it’s a serious group.
And then Kolek and Sochan and Huk and McCullar as the backups to our backups. We are ready for a run if we should be so lucky.
They had the best player on the floor today, maybe even one of the ten best players I will see in my lifetime. But we had a TEAM and that was a TEAM win and a TEAM DEFENSIVE win. I’m happy.
You forgot Alvo
3rd in offense, 8th in defense after this game. The way they’ve been playing, #5 defense is not unthinkable. Offense has slipped a bit from earlier in the season (I’d guess mostly due to the starting lineup, but the arrow is point upwards.
Today was very encouraging. At the end of the day, it takes some of the sting away from losing to Cleveland on the road.
It’s amazing how much better we are when Mikal is doing his thing on both ends.
Lowest score by the Spurs this year, also apparently largest margin of defeat.
I’m really liking this “hold everyone under 100 points” thing.
Interviewed at halftime about his strong offensive performance thus far in the game, Mikal credited his teammates for doing a great job finding him in good spots. Maybe a subtle hint?
Either way, that Alvy pass to him made me fall off my chair. I liked it so much.
I don’t have any emperical evidence but it seems like Mikal raises his game vs elite competition. This is why they trust him in the playoffs.
My unsung hero of the year thus far is Landry Shamet. You can tell from both the way he plays and from his postgame interviews that he’s a super-intelligent player, a consummate pro. He has added a great spark to our bench unit, both physically and mentally.
Most of you aren’t old enough to remember the Willis-Clyde Knicks, but rooting for those teams as a kid has forever imbued me with enormous respect for high b-ball IQ players. Shamet is a throwback to that team.
This was also a plus game for Mike Brown in the Brown-Thibs discussion. He coached his ass off today.
Also, S.A. defended Jalen physically and hard from the outset. Nothing was easy for him. Luckily we had other answers, a really good sign.
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