Home court is sweet indeed. The Spurs ride an epic 4th quarter comeback to win by 3 in Texas. This may be the first game all playoffs that they got balanced scoring out of all 5 starters and a bench player. 6 players scoring in double figures, with Joel Embiid the high scorer at 21. I think I called it yesterday saying the team needed Embiid to score 20+ points to win. So, what changed from New York to Texas?
For starters, the free throw difference from the first two games was gone. The Spurs got 2 more foul shots than the Knicks, and even though they didn’t knock them down very well, shooting only 60% from the line, this gave them a much better chance in the game.
The Knicks played well, just didn’t execute down the stretch, shooting poorly for the game though. This has to be one that Dunadan feels like slipped through his fingers. We’ve all been there watching your team blow a 4thquarter lead in 2k.
Both Zach Randolph and Bobby Portis showed up for the Knicks, but Will Barton was the savior off the bench for the Spurs, scoring 11 points on an efficient 5-7 shooting. He missed all 4 of his free throws though, which is odd for a decent free throw shooter. Embiid is really the guy that turned it around though, going for 21/17 and outscoring Anthony Davis, who had a bad game. If you had asked me before the game if Davis shot 6-17, who was going to win, I’d tell you Knicks by 20, so it’s awesome that they pulled it out.
Conley regressed to the mean in the game shooting 4-15 and only scoring 12 points. He and Beverley played good defense down the stretch though, limiting the Knicks scorers to a measly 19 points in the 4th quarter after averaging almost 30 a quarter earlier. Beverley looks like he will be a mainstay in the starting lineup if he plays like that again.
So, the series is 2-1, Knicks. If the Spurs can pull off another home victory, we may just have a series!
