Sandro Mamukelashvili scored a career-high 34 points, 21 of them in a rousing fourth quarter, as the host San Antonio Spurs ambushed the slow-starting New York Knicks 120-105 on Wednesday.
The Spurs led by 24 points at halftime and by 11 after three quarters. New York drew to within 103-94 on Mikal Bridges’ layup with 4:15 left before San Antonio answered with a layup by Jeremy Sochan and a banked 3-pointer by Keldon Johnson, the latter stoking the margin to 14 points with 3:14 left.
Mamukelashvili then scored 10 of the Spurs’ final 12 points as San Antonio (29-39) won for the third time in the past five games. The Spurs are still in the running for a spot in the West play-in tournament, as they are just three games behind the 10th-place Dallas Mavericks with 14 games remaining.
Mamukelashvili shot 13-for-14 from the floor, including 7-for-7 from 3-point range. He never previously made more than four 3-pointers in a game.
Stephon Castle added 22 points for San Antonio. Chris Paul produced 12 points and nine assists, Harrison Barnes hit for 11 points and Devin Vassell and Sochan racked up 10 points each.
Karl-Anthony Towns amassed 32 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks (43-25), who fell to 3-3 since Jalen Brunson was lost indefinitely with a sprained right ankle. Bridges and OG Anunoby added 14 points apiece, Mitchell Robinson amassed 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Miles McBride and Cameron Payne contributed 11 points each for New York.
The Spurs took advantage of cold shooting by New York (26.7 percent from the floor, 1 of 10 from beyond the arc) to build a 13-point advantage and hold a 29-20 lead after one period.
The Knicks drew to within 31-28 on Precious Achiuwa’s dunk with 10:45 to play into the second quarter, but the rest of the period belonged to San Antonio and specifically Mamukelashvili. The Spurs’ reserve big man logged 13 points as San Antonio reeled off 27 of the ensuing 32 points to go up by 58-33 with 3:50 to go until halftime.
The Spurs led 67-43 at the break behind 13 points from Mamukelashvili, 12 from Castle and 11 by Barnes. Towns led all scorers with 19 points before halftime.
–Field Level Media
