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San Antonio Spurs 99, New York Knicks 81
San Antonio, TX Nov. 16 / Brett Dvorak --
With regards to another Texas sports team with the same moniker, the San Antonio Spurs are forming their own version of the
Killer "B"s. Rookie Beno Udrih and newcomer Brent Barry come off the Spurs bench to score eleven fourth quarter points as
the Spurs pull away and defeat the New York Knicks 99-81.
Although the Houston Astros were the first team to bring the last name initial moniker to our sports lexicon, the Spurs may
be quickly catching up to their baseball namesake because of the play of two of the Spurs reserves.
Holding a precarious nine-point lead, the Spurs were looking for a spark to put the pesky Knicks away on the first of their
three game Texas Triangle. On a fast break Beno Udrih drove into the lane only to be slammed across the face by Michael
Sweetney. The flagrant foul gave Udrih a pair of free throws as well as the ball, which the Spurs converted on a short shot
by Manu Ginobili, igniting a 13-4 run. A Brent Barry three pointer, turning a 78-69 lead into a 91-73 blowout, capped the
run.
"I'm just trying to do my job," Udrih said afterwards. “"It was a time that we did very well moving the ball. We were able
to score some easy baskets on the fast break, which helped us out."
Udrih was right because the fast break did take over and so did Barry who finished the quarter with seven points, including
two of his three from long range. Barry, the tenth year player out of Oregon State was brought over from Seattle to make the
long shot, and tonight he connected on three of five from downtown.
The final score wasn't nearly indicative of how the game was played. New York came out aggressive early as Jamal Crawford
and Nazr Mohammed played the inside-outside scoring game to a tee. Each scored seven points as the Knicks built the early
lead.
Unable to consistently get the ball to Tim Duncan in the low post, Tony Parker and another B, Bruce Bowen combined for
fifteen points in the quarter, but the visitors led 25-23 after twelve minutes. Udrih talked about how effective Duncan was
even though he wasn't scoring; "I think Tim did a great job. He was rebounding and kicking the ball out so we could get a
lot of fast breaks."
The Spurs continued to bomb away as the second quarter began. In fact the Spurs hoisted up twelve three-point attempts in
the first half, making only three, but the Spurs took the lead thanks to the free throw line. The aggressive play of the
Knicks put the Spurs in the bonus early in the quarter. From there the Spurs made fifteen of sixteen free throws, building
their lead to as many as eight points, before settling with a 50-44 lead at the half. New York had to like their position in
the game because Stephon Marbury had as many fouls as points; three of each.
Marbury had a different look as the third quarter began, looking to be more of a factor. Knicks coach Lenny Wilkens
repeatedly posted Marbury up in the post against the smaller Parker looking to either score quickly or force the Spurs big
men to double team him, leaving others free for easy looks. Things seemed to be going their way as Marbury had six points
and New York cut the lead down to three halfway through the quarter, but the Spurs would respond with an assortment of
scorers.
Seven Spurs scored in the quarter, including all five starters during a 13-4 run that gave the Spurs a 67-58 lead, but as
was the case for most of the evening, New York would claw its way back, this time with a three pointer from Crawford.
The Spurs took an uneasy 74-63 lead to the final quarter, but that's when San Antonio got it's first look at the Killer
"B"s.
Parker paced five Spurs in double figures with 18 points and a season high 9 assists. Joining him in the double figure
parade was Duncan (17 points and 10 rebounds), Bowen (13 points), Barry (12 points), and Rasho Nesterovic (10 points). Jamal
Crawford's 16 points led the Knicks while Tim Thomas chipped in 15 points, and Marbury and Mohammed each scored 13.
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