After a bitter defeat and a road trip, the greatly frustrated Knicks returned to the home team and ushered in the challenge of the Spurs during the two-game losing streak.
On the Knicks side, Fournier returned with an injury line, trying to bring more help to Randall + Barrett, leading the Knicks to defend the home and save face.
On the spurs side, Kelden Johnson + Derrick White and many other main players are absent at the same time, and this Murray single-core team can be said to be both an opportunity and a challenge!
However, after 4 quarters of competition, with the excellent performance of Barrett + Burks, the Knicks, who played at home, easily suppressed the Spurs in the first half and occupied the initiative on the field.
Coupled with the return of the second half, Barrett + Fourniers in the third quarter ushered in an outbreak at the same time, leading the Knicks to take advantage of the chase and continue to widen the score gap on the court.
With the Knicks in full swing in the last quarter, the multi-point blossom played a wave of 18-2 scoring climax, and the three-point rain locked up the victory in one fell swoop.
In the end, the Knicks also won 111-96 at home to the Spurs, achieving a 15-point victory and giving the opponent Spurs a 3-game losing streak!
Returning to the home court in this game, facing the familiar basket and venue, the Knicks will be able to sweep away the previous downturn and play a team performance of 5 people scoring in double figures and all the staff.
In the case of Burks + Mitchell Robinson + Quickley and other main players, each performing their duties, the core defender Barrett, and the play of Tiger General Fournier are particularly critical!
In this game, Barrett ushered in the outbreak, the first 29 minutes, 20 shots 12 shots reached 60%, not to mention, but also bombed the game-high 31 points, plus 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block of the all-around performance.
And his heroic performance of scoring 17 points alone in the entire second half not only helped the Knicks take away the game in a wave, but also became an invincible presence for the Spurs!
In addition, in the case of Randle's poor hand in only 1 of the 7 shots in the whole game, the play of Fournier, who came back from the line of fire, can be described as a crucial role.
In this game, Fournier lived up to expectations, shooting 4 three-pointers and contributing 18 points, 5 rebounds , 2 assists + 2 steals, providing the team with strong outside firepower.
Among them, Fournier scored 10 points in the third quarter, a key performance of 6 minutes, which also completely disrupted the Spurs' defensive rhythm and deployment, and became the key to the Knicks' ability to smoothly open the score gap!
On the other hand, on the Spurs side, although the team suffered 15 points of defeat + 3 consecutive losses in this game, rationally speaking, the Spurs are not completely without highlights in this battle.
After all, in the absence of a major general in the team, as the young core of the team, the performance of Dejuntai Murray, who led the team in this game, is indeed remarkable!
Although Murray lost the target on 1 of 5 three-pointers from the outside, with a stable mid-range and the spirit of daring to fight, Murray still handed over a comprehensive performance of 24 points + 4 rebounds + 5 assists + 2 steals + 1 block.
Although it failed to help the Spurs end the losing streak, there is one thing to say, Murray's excellent performance at both ends of the attack and defense has indeed caused considerable trouble and trouble to the Knicks, and it can be said that although the defeat is still glorious!
In this regard, as the head coach of the team, Popovich also couldn't help but praise Murray in an interview after the game: "Murray tried to set an example with his performance, won respect as an excellent teammate, and focused on stable progress, improving leadership ability, and played an All-Star level this season!" ”
Of course, the reality is that we can really see Murray's visible improvement this season, and we can only wait and see if he can win a place in the All-Star selection.