Knicks blown out by lowly Spurs as offense struggles in ugly loss

SAN ANTONIO — How bad was the Knicks’ offense in the first half?For the opening 22 minutes of Wednesday night’s ugliness, no starter other than Karl-Anthony Towns hit a field goal.Not one.Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, Miles McBride and OG Anunoby had missed their opening 20 attempts, including an airballed midrange jumper from Bridges, as the Spurs took a 28-point lead in the second quarter.It was enough of a cushion for the Spurs in their 120-105 victory Wednesday night at the Frost Bank Arena.The Spurs are depleted and facing a lost season.Victor Wembanyama (blood clot), De’Aaron Fox (finger surgery) and Gregg Popovich (stroke) are all done for the season.

The Spurs were relying heavily on youngsters like Sandro Mamukelashvili and Blake Wesley.They had dropped 10 of 14 games before playing New York.It didn’t matter.The Knicks, playing their sixth straight without injured Jalen Brunson, couldn’t hit the Hudson River with a penny from the railing of the Staten Island Ferry.They shot just 31 percent in the first half, including 4-for-19 on treys.And even without the towering Wembanyama on the court, the Knicks were still out-rebounded for the game, 52-44.To their credit, the Knicks didn’t just roll over after the terrible start.They started the second half on a 22-6 run, cutting their once seemingly insurmountable deficit to single digits in a matter of minutes.

They were threatening the biggest comeback in not only the NBA this season but also in the Knicks franchise history dating back to at least 1991-92.But it wasn’t enough because Mamukelashvili, a Seton Hall product, produced the game of his life with 34 points, dominating the fourth quarter while hearing “MVP” chants.Stephon Castile, a frontrunner for Rookie of Year, added 22 points for the Spurs (29-39)....