Knicks win second game in a row against the red hot Spurs

Coach Mike Woodson, before tip-off, called Gregg Popovich’s Spurs “the best team in basketball right now.’’

So what does that make the Knicks after completing a sweep of the Spurs Thursday night in a 100-83 Garden rout in Amar’e Stoudemire’s second game?
It makes them the one team the Spurs would prefer not to see if San Antonio gets to another NBA Finals.
“If you can play that way against the San Antonio Spurs, you can play that way against anybody,” Tyson Chandler said.
Stoudemire didn’t hurt the Knicks’ cause as he did in his debut, and they reverted to their November style of defense to sweep the two-game series for the first time since 2002-003. The Knicks took out San Antonio on Nov. 15 in a sweet road victory that first stamped them legit title contenders.
http://www.nypost.com/rw/nypost/2013...C--300x300.jpg Paul J. Bereswill

PASS PERFECT: Pablo Prigioni, who had a season-high nine assists, gets a hug from J.R. Smith after Prigioni found Smith for a highlight-reel alley-oop.


“We beat a damn good ballclub,’’ Woodson said. “We played great tonight.’’
“They played well and kicked our butt,’’ Popovich said.
Stoudemire had a second straight ineffective performance with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting and two rebounds. Many of his inside attempts were rejected as he hasn’t regained his explosiveness. He played 20 minutes, 57 seconds — going in during garbage time and going over the team’s plan to limit him to 16 minutes.
But the Knicks didn’t need him to dominate. That’s the beauty. They blanketed the Spurs, who shot 36.4 percent, all game and pulled away in the second half. No Spurs player scored more than 12 points. The future Hall of Fame trio of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker were held to 30 points total.
“I thought we were slacking [defensively] the last 10 games,’’ Woodson said. “Our defense went the other way. We put a nice feel-good tape together this morning to show our players how we started the season when we were No. 1 on defense and offense. There was major slippage.”
The Knicks (22-10) snapped their two-game skid and ended the Spurs’ seven-game winning streak. San Antonio fell to 26-9 — still with the most wins in the league.
Duncan, who had been a monster recently, was held to 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting. Chandler (10 points, 14 rebounds, four assists) swarmed all over him, and the Spurs were caught off guard by the new starting lineup arrangement that included a second 7-foot center in Marcus Camby.
With starting point guard Raymond Felton out at least another month, backup Pablo Prigioni provided a giant lift off the Knicks bench with nine assists and three steals.
“He did an excellent job of running our ballclub,’’ Woodson said.
Carmelo Anthony added 23 points, and J.R. Smith pumped in another 20 points — his fifth straight 20-point game. Steve Novak also pumped in 15 points, making 5 of 7 3-pointers.
“Everybody contributed something tonight,’’ Anthony said.
The Knicks held San Antonio to just four points in the paint through three quarters.
“It says a lot,’’ Smith said. “Against a championship-caliber team, that was huge.’’
The night was capped by a sensational dunk by Smith, who cut backdoor to the rim, received a low alley-oop pass in midair from Prigioni. In one motion, Smith dunked the ball backwards over his head with 5:36 to play. Anthony and several Knicks hopped off the bench, all but dancing in glee.
“I was like, ‘J.R., really?’ You’re just gonna catch it and dunk it backwards with one hand? Is it that easy?’’ Stoudemire said. “I wish I was 27 again.”
“He’s a freak of nature,” Chandler said.
Smith received a standing ovation moments later when he checked out of the game with 4:35 left.
“I thought he didn’t see me,’’ Smith said. “Teams tend to overplay me. I went backdoor. It was kind of low. I didn’t think I was going to dunk it to be honest with you.’’
The Knicks were on a different level in the second half. Leading 67-60 entering the fourth, they ripped off a 10-0 run to blow the Spurs out.
“The Knicks have obviously changed a bit,’’ Duncan said. “They’re more defensive-minded.’’
Regarding Stoudemire’s outing, Woodson said, “Another step tonight. It will come.’’
Stoudemire entered with 6:30 left in the first quarter to another nice ovation. His low moment came when he was blocked on two straight layup attempts by Spurs big man Tiago Splitter — not showing the explosive lift of his prime. But that almost seemed an afterthought on a night like this.

NYPOST