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SAN ANTONIO -- Defensive specialist Bruce Bowen showed off
his offense Friday night, scoring 15 points to help the San Antonio
Spurs beat the New York Knicks 97-93. Michael Finley and Matt Bonner each scored 14 points for San
Antonio, while Tim Duncan and Tony Parker had rough shooting
nights, combining to go 10-of-29 from the field and score 12 points
apiece. The Knicks, who have lost six in a row and fell to 1-12 on the
road, were led by Eddy Curry with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Jamal
Crawford added 24 points and reserve Nate Robinson had 14. New York was without Zach Randolph, who was suspended for one
game for throwing his headband at a referee this week. Former Spurs
player Malik Rose started in his spot, scoring six points. Despite being without one of their usual starters, the Knicks
made a game of it late. Trailing since 4:40 was left in the second quarter but inching
within five to start the final 12 minutes, New York cut San
Antonio's lead to 90-89 with 3:02 to play following David Lee's
jumper. After Parker missed one of two free throws for San Antonio, Lee
had a chance to tie the game 59 seconds later but missed. Finley's
crucial 3-pointer from the corner with 1:43 left put the Spurs back
up by five. Robinson's two free throws, followed by a basket with 50 seconds
to go, brought New York within one yet again. After each team
committed a turnover, Robinson fouled Bowen, who hit both foul
shots to make it 96-93 with 10.2 on the clock. With about 5 seconds left, Crawford missed a jumper and Lee's
tip-in attempt failed. Bowen grabbed the rebound and scrambled
around, trying to let the clock expire, but Robinson got to him for
a foul. Bowen went to the line with 0.2 on the clock and sank one
of two to make it a two-possession game. Stephon Marbury scored 16 points for New York and Lee grabbed 12
rebounds. The game was close early and was tied four times in the second
quarter before San Antonio pulled away with an 11-4 run over the
last 4:40 of the half to go up 51-44 at the break. DerMarr
Johnson's 3 to start the Spurs' burst was the go-ahead basket for
San Antonio, putting them up 43-40. The Spurs led by as many as 12 points in the third quarter, but
Crawford scored nine straight points for the Knicks, starting with
a 3-pointer, that brought them to 72-66 with 1:22 remaining.
Robinson's 3 with 4.4 left made it 76-71 heading into the fourth.
Crawford had 14 points in the third quarter. Game notes
Rose received plenty of applause from the crowd when he was
introduced as part of the starting lineup. Rose played for San
Antonio for all or part of eight seasons, most recently in 2004-05,
before being traded to New York in February 2005. ... Marbury was
back for the second game in a row after missing most of the past
month following the death of his father. ... Spurs guards Brent
Barry (torn muscle, left calf) and Manu Ginobili (sprained left
index finger) were still out. ... The Spurs, the league's No. 3
3-point shooters, were 11-of-22 (50 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Knicks, the league's No. 29 3-point shooters, were 6-of-15 (40
percent). ... Duncan did not score in the fourth quarter and went
0-of-5 from the field. ... New York's bench was outscored 36-20.
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