SAN ANTONIO _ San Antonio's best player, Kawhi Leonard, was a late scratch because, according to the team, "Return from Injury Management." That's another way to spell "Rest."
But it didn't really matter. The Spurs are still better than the Knicks, they're more poised than the Knicks, and they predictably defeated the Knicks on Thursday, 119-107.
Kristaps Porzingis fouled out late in the fourth quarter after scoring 18 points with six blocks, but having been outplayed by San Antonio's frontcourt of LaMarcus Aldridge (25 points) and Pau Gasol (17 points, 11 assists). Unlike the last three losses, the Knicks never had a chance down the stretch. There wasn't an opportunity for collapse.
It's officially trouble time. The Knicks (17-18) lost four in a row for the first time this season. They fell below .500 for the first time since they were 12-13. They also dipped to a putrid 2-12 on the road, with still 16 of their next 22 games away from the Garden.
The previous two years the season slipped away around January. The warning sides are there for this team.
Against the Bulls on Wednesday, coach Jeff Hornacek lamented that the team wasn't exhibiting the requisite toughness. Against the Spurs (25-11) a day later, the Knicks were simply outclassed. They trailed for all but 30 seconds of the second half.
Despite Leonard's absence, the Spurs jumped on the Knicks early while building a 10-point advantage in the first quarter. Tony Parker, 35, led the initial charge with 10 points in his first six minutes.
The Knicks, playing on the second night of a back-to-back following Wednesday's brutal loss to the Bulls, rebounded in the second quarter and trailed by only 1 at the break. But the second half was all San Antonio, which shot over 50 percent. The game was killed with an 11-0 Spurs run early in the fourth quarter.
Frank Ntilikina got a chance to go head-to-head against his idol and fellow Frenchman _ Parker _ and notched a career-high 11 assists. Michael Beasley scored a team-high 23 points for the reeling Knicks.
