Spurs Earn Mean Streak

Artistic basketball it wasn’t. Easy shots were missed, potential assists ended up as turnovers, and San Antonio and New York combined for the second-lowest point total for an NBA finals game.

But that should not take away from what the Spurs were able to accomplish Friday night at the Alamodome.

Thanks to 32.9% shooting from the floor by the Knicks, the Spurs took a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series with an 80-67 victory to set a league record of 12 consecutive postseason wins in the same year.

The Lakers, Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls never matched that streak during their great championship runs and even though the Spurs have a long way to go before they’ll be considered at the same level with those teams, Friday’s vocal crowd of 39,554 surely did not seem to care.

Not as long as San Antonio has second-year wonder Tim Duncan, who destroyed the Knicks again with 25 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots to help the Spurs improve to 13-1 in the playoffs.

“They changed up and double-teamed me a little harder and quicker tonight,” Duncan said of the Knicks’ game plan for Game 2 after he had 33 points and 16 rebounds in the series opener.

“It was a very ugly win; there’s no way to hide that. But we win best when it’s ugly.”

David Robinson also had a solid game for San Antonio with 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots, as he and Duncan teamed up to intimidate the Knicks in the key.

Only Utah, which scored 54 points against Chicago last year, has scored less in a final game than New York did Friday. Not getting to the free throw line hurt the Knicks, who made 11 of 12 from the line compared to the Spurs’ 24 of 35.

“They’re a great defensive team. . . . At the basket [Robinson and Duncan] are terrific,” said New York Coach Jeff Van Gundy, whose team lost consecutive road games for the first time in the playoffs. “[But] we had stretches when we had very good shots and missed them point-blank from the basket.”

Latrell Sprewell led the Knicks with 26 points, but his arm had to be tired on eight of 22 shooting from the field. Sprewell’s swingman partner, Allan Houston, also had to work hard for his points with 19 on nine of 20 shooting.

If the Knicks are to get back into the series with the next three games schedule for Madison Square Garden, they are going to have to realize that one-on-one play and forced jump shots will not defeat the Spurs. New York had only eight assists, four less than the Knicks had in Game 1.

“We just can’t be stagnant on offense,” said Marcus Camby, who grabbed 11 rebounds off the bench for the Knicks, who will try to become only the third team in NBA history to rally from a 2-0 deficit to win a championship. “We’re upset with ourselves because we thought that we could [win] one here in San Antonio. We just couldn’t knock down our shots.”

San Antonio, which has won 44 of 50 games since March, has been strong defensively throughout the playoffs, limiting opponents to less than 39% shooting from the floor in 14 games.

The Spurs were at their best during a key stretch in the first half when they forced New York to miss 18 of 19 shots. The only reason why the Knicks trailed by only 39-34 at halftime was because of seven uncharacteristic turnovers by San Antonio.

New York, which has made a habit during the playoffs of staying close until the second half, moved within 52-49 late in the third quarter. But San Antonio finished the quarter strong when Sean Elliott scored on a baseline drive around Sprewell and Duncan caught the Knicks napping to score a rebound basket off Elliott’s missed free throw in the final seconds.

“That was big for them--hat’s a four-point swing,” Sprewell said. “If we stop them, then it’s a three-point game. So, that just let them keep that little cushion. . . . It was a mental mistake on our part.”

San Antonio finished off New York in the fourth by making 13 of 18 free throws, including five of six from Mario Elie. The Spurs, who have not lost on the road in 52 days, will be going for the sweep in New York next week.

“We’re not worried about what people say, we don’t let that affect us,” Duncan said. “We’re very focused on what we have to do. We hadn’t played real well over these last two games and we want to play better.”

A scary thought if you’re the New York Knicks.

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* REALITY CHECK: It was a tough couple of days in Texas for New York’s team of destiny. Page 8