Tony Parker scored 32 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 118-105 NBA victory over New York on Wednesday, dealing the Knicks their third straight defeat.
Tim Duncan added 17 points for the Spurs, who also got 17 from Manu Ginobili in the Argentine’s second game back after two weeks out with an abdominal strain.
Carmelo Anthony scored 27 points for the Knicks, who were without injured center Tyson Chandler, as well as backup center Jared Jeffries.
Photo: EPA
Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni opted to shuffle the players he had, starting Iman Shumpert in place of Landry Fields, but the new-look Knicks lineup showed little of the flair that saw them surge before the All-Star break with the emergence of point guard Jeremy Lin.
Lin became a global sensation last month for the Knicks, coming off the bench to spark the Knicks to a seven-game win streak with big-scoring, clutch shooting and inspired passing.
However, the Knicks have since gone 3-6 and Anthony complained after a defeat in Dallas on -Tuesday that he was not getting enough chances to score.
He had his opportunities on Wednesday, but the Knicks were hurt by the absence of Chandler on the defensive end.
Lin scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half.
Amare Stoudemire had 18 points and 11 rebounds, while D’Antoni said the Knicks need to set aside their frustrations and find a way to win.
“I understand the frustration,” D’Antoni said. “We’ve just got to work through it. It’s a combination of everything. We, as a team, have to find better spots for people. People that have the spots have to play better. I think everybody is a little frustrated ... It’s OK for frustration to set in, but at the same time, let’s get it worked out, let’s figure it out and let’s win some games.”
France’s Parker gave the Knicks little time to figure anything out.
He scored 23 points in the first half as the hot-shooting Spurs built a 58-41 halftime lead. San Antonio led by as many as 24 before the Knicks put together a 14-2 run, a rally that proved too little, too late.
The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up a brief visit to Brazil on Friday with a season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, but despite the defeat, the team outshone their divisional rivals in the fight for the hearts and minds of Brazilian fans. In Sao Paulo for just the second-ever NFL game in the city, Chiefs players — especially quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce — were treated as major celebrities throughout their stay, turning Corinthians Arena into a scene reminiscent of the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium. Before kickoff, crowds of fans gathered around the Chiefs’ tunnel, eager to catch a
New Zealand stayed firm at their Eden Park fortress to claim an attritional 24-17 win over South Africa in a heavyweight clash between the world’s top two rugby sides yesterday. Under pressure after conceding a first-ever defeat on Argentine soil against the Pumas two weeks ago, the All Blacks responded with a performance of grit and discipline to stretch their unbeaten run at their Auckland stronghold to 51 matches. Two well-taken tries by Emoni Narawa and Will Jordan set up a 14-3 lead at halftime before Quinn Tupaea grabbed a third five-pointer for the hosts 13 minutes from time. Well-held for most of
The Wallabies trusted their instincts to keep pushing for a late try instead of a potential equalizing penalty goal late in their Rugby Championship Test match yesterday against Argentina, with prop Angus Bell scoring the clinching try in the sixth minute of added time to give Australia a comeback 28-24 win. The Wallabies were awarded three kickable penalties after the 80th minute, but kept pushing in search of the match-winning try, which was finally delivered by an unlikely hero in reserve prop Bell. “It’s just relieving,” Bell said. “It’s just awesome we could get the win in the end; not go for
Mikel Merino on Sunday scored a hat-trick as a majestic Spain thumped Turkey 6-0 away in World Cup qualifying, while a brilliant Florian Wirtz free-kick helped Germany beat Northern Ireland 3-1 to get their bid up and running. European champions Spain were in unstoppable form in the central Turkish city of Konya, claiming their second biggest-ever away win in World Cup qualifying as Arsenal midfielder Merino scored his first professional hat-trick. Barcelona playmaker Pedri Gonzalez opened the scoring inside six minutes and later completed the scoring, with Ferran Torres netting the visitors’ other goal. The quality of Merino’s strikes was remarkable, with his
RSS