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Spurs 118, Knicks 105: March 7, 2012
Spurs guard Manu Ginobili keeps the ball away from the Knicks’ Amar’e Stoudemire during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
Spurs forward Tim Duncan rebounds the ball under pressure from the Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Tony Parker is fouled by New York Knicks J.R. Smith, left, as Jeremy Lin, and Amar’e Stoudemire look on during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
Spurs guard Tony Parker beats Knicks guard Jeremy Lin to the basket during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
SPURS — San Antonio Spurs T.J. Ford lies on the floor during the first half against the New York Knicks at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
Spurs guard Tony Parker drives by the Knicks’ Amar’e Stoudemire during the second half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. The Spurs won 118-105. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
SPURS — San Antonio Surs Tim Duncan stuffed New York Knicks J.R. Smith late in the fourth quarter at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. The Spurs won 118-105. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich goes after official James Williams as assistant coaches Don Newman, left and Mike Budenholzer try to keep him away during the second half against the New York Knicks at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Popovich was ejected in the process. The Spurs won 118-105. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
Spurs guard Tony Parker goes for two as the Knicks’ Steve Novak tries to defend during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
The Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard cuts through the defense of the Knicks’ Landry Fields (left) and J.R. Smith during the second half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. The Spurs won 118-105. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
Spurs center DeJuan Blair grabs the rebound away from Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire (left) and Jeremy Lin during the second half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. The Spurs won 118-105. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Tim Duncan shoots over New York Knicks Amar’e Stoudemire and Josh Harrellson during the second half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. The Spurs won 118-105. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
The Spurs’ Manu Ginobili puts pressure on the Knicks’ Landry Fields during the second half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. The Spurs won 118-105. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich follows official James Williams before he is ejected during the second half against the New York Knicks at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. The Spurs won 118-105. In back is assistant coach Don Newman. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
Spurs guard Tony Parker looks at the official after he is called for fouling Knicks guard Jeremy Lin during the second half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. The Spurs won 118-105. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
Spurs forward Tim Duncan (center) keeps DeJuan Blai (left) and the Knicks’ Amar’e Stoudemire away from each other during the second half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. The Spurs won 118-105. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
Spurs center DeJuan Blair grabs the rebound away from the Knicks’ Amar’e Stoudemire (left) and Jeremy Lin during the second half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. The Spurs won 118-105. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
The Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard drives through the Knicks’ J.R. Smith during the second half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. The Spurs won 118-105. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
Spurs guard Manu Ginobili runs into the Knicks’ J.R. Smith during the second half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. The Spurs won 118-105. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni looks at the scoreboard during the second half against the Spurs at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. The Spurs won 118-105. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
SPURS — San Antonio Spurs Tony Parker looks to pass out to the perimeter under pressure from New York Knicks Josh Harrellson and Amar’e Stoudemire during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
The Spurs Silver Dancers entertain the crowd during the second half against the New York Knicks at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. The Spurs won 118-105. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
The Knicks’ Amar’e Stoudemire (right) passes the ball as the Spurs’ Gary Neal falls on Landry Fields during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
Spurs guards Manu Ginobili (left) and T.J. Ford put pressure on Knicks guard Baron Davis during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
The Spurs’ Tony Parker and Knicks’ Jeremy Lin get back on the court after a time out during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
The Spurs’ Tim Duncan drives around the Knicks’ Josh Harrellson during the first half at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
The Spurs’ Tony Parker acknowledges the crowd at the end of the first half against the Knicks at the ATT Center, Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)
By Jeff McDonald
Nearly four weeks ago, on a Friday night, Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker sat in a restaurant in New York City, watching the natives go wild.
A former Harvard economy major named Jeremy Lin was taking apart Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers on the television above the bar, setting in motion the international phenomenon that would soon become known as “Linsanity.”
“The whole restaurant just stopped,” Ginobili recalled.
The Spurs’ trio, in town to face New Jersey the next night, took the cue to get moving.
“We paid the check and ran back to the hotel so we could watch the end,” Ginobili said.
By the time the “Linsanity” circus made its only stop at the ATT Center on Wednesday, giving way to the Spurs’ 118-105 victory over Lin’s New York Knicks, regular sanity had been restored.
Parker, who has made one All-Star team but zero Sports Illustrated covers this season, led the way with 32 points. Duncan added 17 points and eight rebounds. Ginobili also chipped in 17 points in his most productive outing since New Year’s Eve.
Together, the Spurs’ Big Apple dinner party staked their team to a lead that got as high as 24 points in the second half, threatening to send New York to its most lopsided defeat since Lin took over as starting point guard Feb. 6.
In the end, a late Knicks rally pushed the final deficit to 13, one closer than in New York’s 102-88 loss at Miami on Feb. 23.
With the victory, the Spurs (26-12) improved to 2-2 on their seven-game homestand.
“I thought we played with a ferocity compared to the first three games after the break,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “I thought a lot of minutes in the first three games we looked like we were in cruise control. It’s taken us too long to get that back.”
As if to coax a 48-minute effort out of his team, Popovich got ejected for arguing a foul call with 59.9 seconds left in the third quarter, with the Spurs ahead by 22.
“He was fighting for us out there,” rookie forward Kawhi Leonard said.
The Knicks, meanwhile, didn’t put up much of one.
Lin looked ordinary on his way to 20 points. Carmelo Anthony alternated shooting the Knicks (18-21) both into and out of the game, going 12 of 24 for 27 points. Amare Stoudemire had a quiet 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Playing without starting center Tyson Chandler, out with a sore hamstring, New York didn’t put up much resistance to the Spurs’ cadre of penetrating guards.
Parker and Ginobili scored and dished at will, as the Spurs notched 60 points in the paint and 19 from the foul line. They had seven players in double figures.
“We wanted to make a conscious effort to play better at home,” Parker said.
For Parker, it was his fifth game of 30-plus points since Feb. 4, when he dumped a season-high 42 on Oklahoma City.
That same night at Madison Square Garden, Lin — a second-year point guard who had already been waived twice this season — emerged from the end of New York’s bench to score 25 points in a win over New Jersey. “Linsanity” would soon follow, sparked by his 38-point opus against the Lakers six days later.
“You want to cheer for him,” Parker said. “It’s almost like you want him to make every shot. His story is like a movie.”
At the ATT Center on Wednesday, “Linsanity” came with a dampening dose of “Linreality.”
Lin scored six points in the first half, shooting 3 of 8. He added four assists and three steals, his final box fitting with others since the All-Star break.
Perhaps this is where the Lin story goes from here. He is a good player, but not a transcendent one, a dinner-stopping storyline but not a sustainable one.
“It’s impossible to keep that kind of level for a full season,” Ginobili said. “He’s shown everybody he can play. But you can’t expect him to score 38 or average 27 a game.”
jmcdonald@express-news.net
Twitter: jmcdonald_SAEN