Knicks overcome slow start and Victor Wembanyama to end Spurs' 11-game winning streak
New York Knicks guard Mikal Bridges is defended by San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper in the first half of an NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, March 1, 2026. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Mikal Bridges scored 25 points and Jalen Brunson had 24 points and seven assists as the Knicks snapped the San Antonio Spurs’ 11-game winning streak with a 114-89 victory at Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon.
After falling behind 19-7, the Knicks (39-22) outscored the Spurs 26-2 in the span of 6:44 and took a 33-21 lead, scoring 19 straight points to cap the run. San Antonio never got closer than eight after that and was held to its lowest point total of the season.
“I think if you watched us even a little bit this year, the best version of us is fast, activity, space, pace,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said, “whether that’s ball movement, body movement or a combination of. And at that point through that stretch we were, it felt like, in quicksand a lot, both ways.”
“I was surprised, yeah,” said Victor Wembanyama, whose Spurs lost for the first time since Jan. 31 and fell to 43-17. “It feels like they’re a good basketball team, they are good actual basketball players. They’re not the nastiest, ugly team, you know? They’re not an ugly team to watch, but they made our game ugly.”
Wembanyama bounced back from two quiet offensive games with 25 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots, but he also had seven turnovers and shot 1-for-7 from three-point range.
The Spurs were 11-0 in February, becoming the first team in NBA history to go unbeaten and score at least 110 points in every game while playing at least 10 in a month. “No, I don’t see any regression,” Wembanyama said. “I think it’s good for us to see this kind of adversity.”
Brunson scored the Knicks’ final 11 points of the first quarter in a span of 1:52 and Bridges added 14 points in the third quarter, hitting four three-pointers in the period.
With the Knicks leading 84-75 early in the fourth quarter, a 13-1 run gave them a 21-point lead, and they later extended the lead to 26.
Mo Diawara had 14 points in 14:55 off the bench for the Knicks, who beat the Spurs earlier this season to win the NBA Cup in Las Vegas. Karl-Anthony Towns had 12 points and 14 rebounds.
— AP
