The San Antonio Spurs ran the table in February, winning all 11 games to put themselves in contention for the top record in the Western Conference.
The Spurs will look to continue their success on Sunday afternoon when they march into the new month to face the host New York Knicks in a nationally televised matchup.
The Knicks have been hot as well, save for Tuesday’s less-than-stellar performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers. They rebounded from that setback to secure their 13th win in 17 games with a 127-98 romp over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
San Antonio is enjoying its longest winning streak since a 13-game run from Dec. 26, 2015 to Jan. 22, 2016.
The Spurs improved to 3-0 on their five-game road trip following a 126-110 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.
“We’re doing the right things,” Brooklyn native Julian Champagnie said after his 26-point performance versus the Nets. “Pouring our energy into the right places as a team. No egos. No personal agendas. Just good hoops.”
Stephon Castle scored 13 of his 18 points in the first quarter and De’Aaron Fox and Devin Vassell each had 14 points to offset another subpar performance from Victor Wembanyama, who finished with 12.
“Does this mean it was perfect? Not at all,” Wembanyama said after the team’s third perfect month in franchise history. “But looking back, it’s never going to be perfect, so (this stretch has been) pretty satisfying.”
Champagnie erupted for a career-best 36 points and a franchise-record 11 3-pointers in San Antonio’s 134-132 victory over New York on New Year’s Eve.
Wembanyama collected with 31 points and 13 rebounds in 24 minutes before dealing with a leg injury.
Jalen Brunson scored 29 points in that game for the Knicks and added 27 points versus the Bucks on Friday.
“Our physicality offensively was there because we set screens the right way and then we played fast,” New York coach Mike Brown said. “So it takes all of us to do it and when you do it and have one of those guys (like Brunson), he’s going to be able to break loose. That was good to see tonight.”
OG Anunoby had 24 points and Karl-Anthony Towns collected 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who shot 21 of 42 from 3-point range.
“This is how we played offensively throughout most of the year,” Brown said. “So for us to be able to space the ball correctly, make quick decisions with the basketball while touching the paint, playing off two feet, was huge.
“We got a lot of mileage just from playing the game the right way. So I applaud our guys for playing the way they did on both sides of the ball tonight.”
The Knicks know their schedule gets tougher to begin March. They will visit Toronto on Tuesday and host Oklahoma City on Thursday before opening a five-game road trip with encounters versus the Denver Nuggets on Friday and Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.
–Field Level Media
