Wembanyama surprised, as Knicks end Spurs' 11-game winning streak

NEW YORK — Victor Wembanyama was surprised. His San Antonio Spurs, who were untouchable in February, had an unsteady start to March.

San Antonio didn't respond well to the New York Knicks' defensive pressure Sunday, and had its 11-game winning streak snapped with a 114-89 loss.

The physical defense was nothing the Spurs hadn't seen before. So Wembanyama expected the Spurs to stand up to it better at Madison Square Garden, but instead they never recovered from the Knicks'26-2 run in the first half.

"We gave them life," Wembanyama said. "We should have been better, especially on that run in the first quarter."

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 matches in a month. It appeared they would keep on rolling when they raced to a 19-7 lead Sunday.

But, the Knicks shut them down from there, changing the game with their big run and holding the Spurs to their lowest points total of the season.

"I was surprised, yeah," Wembanyama said. "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 had 25 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots, bouncing back offensively after getting held to 12 points in each of the last two games. But, he committed seven turnovers and blamed himself for playing too hesitantly, especially with his 3-point shooting. He was one for seven behind the arc.

He also said he made a mistake on a play that both he and Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said was a pivotal one. The Spurs failed to come up with the rebound when Knicks center Mitchell Robinson missed a free throw with San Antonio leading 21-14 late in the first quarter. New York then finished the period with an 8-0 run to take a lead, before pouring it on early in the second.

Before that, Johnson said "the first 10 minutes roughly couldn't have gone almost any better for us". Afterward, his team hardly resembled the one that had surged into the No 2 seed spot in the Western Conference.

"I think if you watched us even a little bit this year, the best version of us is fast, activity, space, pace," Johnson said. "Whether that's ball movement, body movement or a combination of both. And at that point, through that stretch, it felt like we were in quicksand a lot, both ways."

But Wembanyama quickly swatted away any panic after the Spurs' first loss since Jan 31 at Charlotte.

"No, I don't see any regression," the All-Star center said. "I think it's good for us to see this kind of adversity."

Pistons beat Magic

Cade Cunningham had 29 points and 11 assists, Tobias Harris scored 23 points and the NBA-leading Detroit Pistons beat the Orlando Magic 106-92 on Sunday night for their sixth straight road victory.

The Pistons improved to 45-14, winning for the eighth time in nine games. They have won 10 of 11 on the road and are 21-7 overall away from home.

Jalen Duren added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Detroit.

Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 24 points and 11 rebounds, but also had nine turnovers. Tristan da Silva added 19 points and Desmond Bane had 17, but the Magic shot 30.7 percent in the second half, and experienced a third-quarter collapse for the second time in three nights. It squandered a 19-point lead in less than four minutes in a loss to Houston on Friday night.

After missing their first 15 3-point attempts, the Pistons were down 57-50 at halftime. They moved ahead for the first time on a 3-pointer by Harris midway through the third quarter, and took command with an 11-0 run.

Detroit forward Isaiah Stewart served the final game of a seven-game suspension for an altercation at Charlotte on Feb 9. Magic guard Anthony Black missed a game for the first time this season, sitting out with a strained right quad.

Still recovering from a broken thumb, James Harden made a successful return for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.

Harden had 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in Cleveland's 106-102 victory at the Brooklyn Nets. The 11-time All-Star went four for seven from 3-point range.

The 36-year-old Harden missed two games after fracturing his right thumb during Tuesday night's 109-94 win over the New York Knicks.

"You could see in the first half he's not 100 percent, obviously," Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. "I thought in the second half, though, he had that stretch there, where we were struggling, he kind of took over, got to the free-throw line, hit a couple 3s, so that was good."

Agencies via Xinhua