Mar 19, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; New York Knicks forward Mikal Bridges (25) and San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) battle for a loose ball during the first half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
With the New York Knicks in town, the San Antonip Spurs partied like it was 1999.
Another rematch of the that season’s NBA Finals landed in the hosting Spurs favor as they took the Knicks to task by a 120-105 final at Frost Bank Center. San Antonio led by as much as 28 points in the dominant victory, denying the Knicks a season sweep in the yearly couple for the first time since 2021-22.
With both Jalen Brunson and Victor Wembanyama sidelined by injuries after last year’s epic Texas tilt, Sandro Mamukelashvili enjoyed a Lone Star State-sized breakout: the Seton Hall alum put in a career-best 34 points off the bench, hitting all seven of his attempts from three-point range on a 13-of-14 output overall.
Mamukelashvili fell one rebound short of a double-double but that was perhaps his lone shortcoming. He accomplished all he did in but 19 minutes of action, putting forth the best scoring effort with less than 20 minutes to his name in NBA history. Mamukelashvili also becomes the fourth Knicks opponents to have a perfect night from deep on a minimum of seven attepts, joining Taurean Prince (8), Sasha Danilovic, and Bryn Forbes.
The good news for the Knicks is that they won’t have to wait long to atone for Wednesday’s disaster, as they’ll immediately return to action on Thursday night in Charlotte (7 p.m. ET, MSG).
