NEW YORK – The West Coast road trip was brutal; the matchup Tuesday night was difficult.
Yet, the New York Knicks battled and rallied from 13 points down in the third quarter to pull out an inspired 104-100 overtime victory over the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden.
“We definitely are some fighters,” Knicks guard Langston Galloway said. “We kept fighting in this game and we’re going to continue to fight the rest of the season.”
Galloway epitomized the Knicks’ effort against the defending NBA champions. After a first-half struggle in his matchup against Spurs guard Tony Parker (21 points), Galloway erupted for a career-high 22 points, 15 after halftime.
Nine of those points came in a 15-5 run to pull the Knicks (14-53) to within three with 5:15 left in the third quarter.
Parker had the first basket of overtime, a floater to put the Spurs in front 98-96, but Galloway had the last laugh.
“It’s a lot of fun. I enjoyed it,” Galloway said of the matchup with Parker. “I always look forward to the big matchups like that. I just want to continue to take those as a challenge.”
And then there was forward Lou Amundson, who had 12 points and a career-high 17 rebounds as he battled future Hall of Famer Tim Duncan in the paint. Amundson’s driving layup with 5.5 seconds remaining tied the game at 96 and forced overtime.
“It was a special night for me going up against Tim, in my opinion the best power forward to play the game, especially getting the win tonight,” Amundson said. “I’m very proud of everyone on our team. We all came together, played hard and contributed.”
Alexey Shved scored 21 points and had a team-high seven assists. The guard had a key steal and knocked down two free throws with 3.2 seconds left in overtime to seal the win for New York, which had lost seven of eight coming into the game, including four of five games on its West Coast trip.
It is the 11th time in 13 games the guard scored in double figures with the Knicks.
Center Andrea Bargnani added 16 points and 10 rebounds and forward Jason Smith came off the bench to score 11 points in a hard-working effort for the Knicks.
“It takes a lot of character to keep coming back and giving that type of effort,” Knicks coach Derek Fisher said. “I’m just happy for them that they received a temporary reward tonight and it should be no different [against Minnesota] on Thursday night.”
The Knicks, who went 4 of 6 from the foul line in the final 16.1 seconds to seal their second overtime win of the season, became the first sub-.200 team at least 60 games into a season to beat the defending champions, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
“We didn’t respect the game, we didn’t respect our opponent,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “It was a pathetic performance. I hope that every player is embarrassed, not because we’re supposed to win the game, but it’s about how you play the game.”
Duncan finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, but he also committed a pivotal turnover in the final seconds of overtime. Forward Kawhi Leonard had 13 points, center Tiago Splitter added 12 points and 13 rebounds, and swingman Marco Belinelli contributed 12 points for the Spurs (41-25), who were on a 7-1 roll coming into the game.
“We had a lead at the half, we had a lead in the third,” Duncan said. “We just went through a stretch where we didn’t make enough plays. That keeps them in the game. They stepped up and made shots and we just didn’t.”
NOTES: Knicks president Phil Jackson took to Twitter to break the news of Jack Haley’s death. Haley, 51, played for Jackson in Chicago in 1995-96 after originally being drafted by the Bulls in 1987. The 6-foot-10 forward also played for the Spurs from 1993 to 1995. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, “He was a heck of a teammate for a lot of people, that’s for sure.” Haley reportedly collapsed at his family’s restaurant in Sunset Beach, Calif., on Monday. … Popovich said he expects G Manu Ginobili (sprained right ankle) to be out 10 days. Also out for the Spurs is F/C Aron Baynes. … Knicks F Cleanthony Early (sprained left ankle) and G Tim Hardaway Jr. (sprained right wrist) both sat out. … The Knicks remain at home to host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday. The Spurs play the Bucks in Milwaukee on Wednesday.