Knicks rally past Spurs, 104-100, to stay perfect

Nov 15, 2012; San Antonio, TX, USA; New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith (8) drives to the basket as San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) defends during the second half at the AT

History caught up with San Antonio, and it finally happened. Not only did the Knicks stay undefeated, but they broke their nine-game losing streak at the AT&T Center.

They did it behind a fourth quarter rally, which ended in a 104-100 victory for New York.

San Antonio played a competitive game, and the box score definitely reflects that. However, the Knicks grinded out this victory and earned a tough one on the road.

The Spurs gave up a 12-point lead in the fourth, and allowed the Knicks to end their bad luck in the Alamo City. There was definitely a reason this New York team was able to do what a Knicks team hasn’t done in nine years.

The Knicks had phenomenal guard play from Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd, who combined for 39 points. They opened it up for the Knicks offense, which seemed to click for most of the night.

New York struggled toward the last half of the third quarter through the beginning of the fourth. They fought back, though, and that is a good sign for Mike Woodson’s ball club.

They did it with the help of Tyson Chandler, who posted a double-double in San Antonio, and a Knicks defense that took control of a hot shooting Spurs team in the final quarter.

After going down 12, the Knicks outscored the Spurs 27-11 to close the game and that was the difference.

Kawhi Leonard did lead the Spurs with 16 points, and was among six San Antonio players in double figures. Also, Tim Duncan had a game-high 14 rebounds and Tony Parker with a game-high of 12 assists.

The loss drops the Spurs to 7-2 on the year and now look to a Saturday night match-up with the Denver Nugget at home. Tip-off is set for 7:30 pm CST and will be televised locally, as well as NBA League Pass.