San Antonio Spurs: Player Grades in Win Over New York Knicks

San Antonio Spurs. CORY JOSEPH. B. Cory Joseph picked up another start on Wednesday night and put it to good use. Joseph finished the game with nine points on 4-of-9 shooting along with six assists and five rebounds. His defense was also solid as he helped limit the Knicks point guards. Another positive for Joseph was his work in the turnover department. The former University of Texas standout only committed one giveaway in the game. All in all, it was a solid performance for CoJo.. PG

San Antonio Spurs. DANNY GREEN. C+. Danny Green was the second leading scorer on the Spurs team with 13, but, that’s pretty much all that was notable for him tonight. Green may have scored 13, but, it was a very inefficient 13 as he shot 3-of-10 from the field, connecting on only 1-of-6 three-pointers. The somewhat good news is that Green was able to counter his troubles by converting 6-of-7 free throws. He also had two steals, but, in terms of box score stand out stats that was pretty much it. His defense was decent, however, it can’t be adequately graded as the Knicks two best shooters, Carmelo and J.R. Smith, were out for this game.. SG

A+. Kyle Anderson easily had his best game of his rookie season so, for that reason alone, he gets an “A+”. After sparsely appearing in previous Spurs games, head coach Gregg Popovich elected to give Anderson the start against the Knicks while may of his stars were resting. Although Anderson’s final line, a career high nine points on 4-of-5 shooting and five rebounds, isn’t something to brag about, it is progress. He played the second most minutes he has played all season and played them efficiently, unlike his 31 minutes against Houston earlier in the season. Anderson also picked up three assists and two steals. Great game for the rookie who is struggling to receive consistent playing time.. SF. San Antonio Spurs. KYLE ANDERSON

B. Matt Bonner, like many of the Spurs tonight, was solid. Bonner played almost 22 minutes and finished the game with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, connecting on a three-pointer as well. Although Bonner did not really get it done on the boards, one rebound, and on defense, we have come to expect that he will struggle in those areas. On a night where other Spurs can pick up that defensive slack, it’s basically a non-issue. Wednesday night was one of those nights.. PF. San Antonio Spurs. MATT BONNER

B-. Aron Baynes did what Aron Baynes usually does when he gets floor time on Wednesday, which is bang with the opponents big man. Baynes picked up five fouls tonight, but, that was not the only damage he did. He also did some positive damage, contributing 10 points and five rebounds. Baynes also willed himself to the line, getting eight, and making all eight, attempts at the charity stripe. While we would have liked to see Baynes pick up a double-double in an increased role in with so many Spurs starters out, it was still a good game for the Australian big man.. C. San Antonio Spurs. ARON BAYNES

A+. The San Antonio Spurs were 7-1 heading into this game this season when the bench scored over 40 points. You can make that 8-1 now as it was another stellar effort by the Spurs reserves. San Antonio’s bench had one of its best games of the season with the reserves combining for 58 points, led by Marco Belinelli’s team leading 22. Additionally, four of the five bench players who received playing time tonight finished in double figures scoring. The only player who did not was Tiago Splitter, who made his return to the floor tonight after sitting out every game this season other than the home opener. I’m pretty sure Spurs fans will be fine with Splitter not scoring double figures and with tonight’s result.. . . SAN ANTONIO SPURS BENCH