Game Preview: New York Knicks at San Antonio Spurs, March 29, 2024

The New York Knicks (44-28), officially the latest occupant of the Eastern Conference’s third seed, find themselves deep in the heart of Texas tonight to take on Victor Wembanyama and the third-worst team in the league, the San Antonio Spurs (17-56).

The Knicks enter tonight’s game trailing the second-place Milwaukee Bucks by just 1.5 games, due to Milwaukee’s loss to the Pelicans last night. With such a close gap and a matchup between the two teams slated for April 7, second place could go back-and-forth between the two teams until the final game of the season. An expected win tonight over the Spurs would move the Knicks within half a game of second place. If the Knicks were to take and hold the second seed, they would finish the season as runner-up in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2012-13.

The Knicks are coming off one of their most impressive wins of the season, a 145-101 blowout against the shorthanded Toronto Raptors. Wednesday night’s win saw just about every Knick who played contribute something special. Miles McBride and Jalen Brunson each poured in 29 and 26 points respectively. Precious Achiuwa was precious with an impressive 19 points and 12 rebound double-double. Bojan Bogdanović added 18 points off the bench, and Mitchell Robinson made his long-awaited return to the hardwood.

Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images

Since their loss to Denver last week, the Knicks have been on a roll, winning their last three games with an average margin of victory of 27 points. They are currently the only team among the top eight in the east on a winning streak.

The Spurs themselves are also on a minus-win streak, winning their last two in a row; but with two of those wins making up for 11% of their season total, the Knicks extending their streak to four games seems more plausible.

During the last matchup between the two teams in early November, the Knicks reminded Victor Wembanyama that he was still just a rookie and held him to just 14 points on 4-of-14 shooting en route to a 126-105 victory. Although Wemby sat out of one of the Spurs games earlier this week, the early Rookie of the Year favorite has been on a roll as of late, including two 30 and 15 games over his last five contests. Expect him to play a much more dominant role for the Spurs this time around.

One other special moment to keep an eye out for tonight is when Donte DiVincenzo sinks his third three of the game. Should he make the shot—or more likely when—it will give him the record for the most three-pointers in a season in Knicks history.

Projected Starters

San Antonio Spurs:

G- Tre Johnson

G- Devin Vassell

F- Jeremy Sochan

F- Julian Champagnie

C- Victor Wembanyama

New York Knicks:

G- Jalen Brunson

G- Miles McBride

F- Donte’ DiVincenzo

F- Josh Hart

C- Isaiah Hartenstein

Prediction

With the Knicks eyes set on second, DDV’s eyes on the franchise record for most threes in a season, and the Spurs eyes set on tee times reservations and the draft lottery, tonight should be a lot more than just a “Good Friday.” Expect the Knicks to steamroll through the Spurs with another high-scoring output. Knicks 138 - Spurs 113.

Game Details

Who: New York Knicks at San Antonio Spurs
When: 8:00 pm EST, Friday, March 29, 2024
Where: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TX
Watch: MSG