SAN ANTONIO — FINAL: Spurs 109, Knicks 83
How 'bout them big apples?
Almost a month after New York surprised San Antonio with 130 points and a win on their home court, the Silver and Black returned the favor, slapping the Knicks around for a 109-83 win, their seventh straight overall.
San Antonio moves to 40-29 on the season after the win. Up next: The homestand continues when the Portland Trail Blazers come to town for a Saturday night faceoff.
---
A lot can happen in five-plus minutes, so forgive us if we're jinxing the Silver and Black, but...revenge, sought?
The Spurs lead by 20 points, one of their largest leads of the night, as the Knicks look like they're beginning to run out of gas.
---
A quick four points by Rudy Gay to begin the fourth quarter, and San Antonio is threatening to go up by 20 as time is running out quick for the Spurs.
Third Quarter: Spurs 82, Knicks 69
The Knicks had their chances at inching closer to the Spurs in the third quarter of Friday night's game, but San Antonio maintains a double-digit lead heading into the final quarter.
Just when the Knicks were about to pull up for a shot, Belinelli stole it right from their hands as time expired.
Aldridge leads all players with 18 points for the Spurs; four San Antonio players have tallied at least 11 points.
---
Halfway through the third period of play, San Antonio isn't allowing New York to close the gap, leading 70-58 with just over three minutes to go.
Second Quarter: Spurs 56, Knicks 41
San Antonio is rockin,' rollin' and well on its way to a seventh straight win if the Spurs continue playing the way they did in the first half.
After 24 minutes of play the home team leads by 15. The Spurs shot 53.3 percent from the floor in the first half while limiting the Knicks to 38.3 percent shooting. They're also outplaying the visiting team on the glass (25-20) and in the assist column (13-9).
Their lead could be even bigger, though; they made only four of their 11 attempts from downtown. If there's a spot in their game the Spurs can improve on to put the Knicks in an even deeper hole, that might just be it.
---
San Antonio continues to lead by double-digits, 46-33, as they march toward halftime. With 3:29 to go in the half, DeRozan and Aldridge have combined for 21 of the Spurs' 46 points as San Antonio grows its lead.
First Quarter: Spurs 31, Knicks 20
Eleven points separate the Spurs and Knicks after one quarter of play at the AT&T center, a Patty Mills three-pointer putting his team up by double-digits for the first time with 15 seconds to go.
The Spurs' leading scorer for the season, DeMar DeRozan, is in familiar territory, leading all players with seven points in the early going as San Antonio leads 31-20.
---
After a pair of DeRozan free throws, the Spurs are up by seven on the Knicks with 3:20 to go in the opening period.They're sinking nearly 53 percent of their attempts from the floor, but are only 1-5 so far from downtown, helping the Knicks stay within striking distance.
---
At the first full timeout, the home team leads, 12-11. All five starts have scored for San Antonio, which is shooting 50 percent from the field with 6:47 to go in the first.
---
San Antonio nabbed the first points of the game thanks to (who else?) Derrick White. The Spur has been on fire as of late, scoring at least 14 points in four of his team's last six games, including 23 on Tuesday at Dallas.
New York leads by one early, 7-6.
Pregame
Despite their abysmal season, the Knicks found a way to defeat San Antonio in New York in February, scorching the Silver and Black defense for 130 points.
But, as has been the story of this rollercoaster season for the Spurs, that was a much different team than the one that has reeled off six straight wins, a streak that includes triumphs over the Thunder, Nuggets and Bucks.
They'll be looking not only to keep that streak going in the Friday night home matchup, but also to get revenge a month after one of the more stranger losses of the season.
San Antonio is 39-29 heading into their game Friday, the beginning of a four-game homestand. They occupy the seventh spot in the Western Conference Standings. At 13-55, however, the Knicks are just looking to give their fans a reason to watch.
Friday night's game tips off at 7:30 p.m. Follow along here for quarter-by-quarter updates and analysis.
