New York Knicks: 5 Takeaways From Their Homestand

Knicks Are Capable of Playing Defense

The victory to avoid the winless homestand was as impressive a game as the Knicks have had this season. Facing the San Antonio Spurs is a tall task, yet the Knicks showed up ready to play and picked up the upset victory.

The biggest reason for the upset was the fact that the Knicks brought it defensively. They held the Spurs to only 90 points, defeating them 94-90. Kawhi Leonard and David Lee were the only players to find success against New York offensively, as the Spurs were held to 36.3 percent shooting and 20.7 percent from three-point land.

The Knicks were locked in defensively from the start and it was an encouraging win. It was the type of effort Jeff Hornacek has been waiting to see all season as the Knicks played hard from the opening tip through the final whistle.

Why can’t the Knicks play like this every night, or at least more consistently? It is a question they have been unable to answer all season. It would be nice if the defensive effort they showed against the Spurs was the norm, but this is probably a blip on the radar based on the season thus far.

Look no further than the previous four games on the homestand, which takes us into our next takeaway.