Derek Fisher’s New York Knicks took on a mountainous task of facing the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs without their No. 1 and No. 3 scorers Wednesday night.

With Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith absent, Tim Hardaway Jr. took on a lead role and splashed 23 points out of the starting lineup, but a 38-21 third quarter ultimately doomed the Knicks in a 109-95 loss to the reigning champs.

“We had some guys who stepped up and did some really good things out there,” Coach Fish said. “But it was a tough game for us against the defending world champions even with their main guys out. They know who they are, they have an identity, and it showed in that third quarter.”

Anthony was sidelined due to a sore left knee, and Smith was scratched shortly before gametime with a sore heel, but Coach Fish had his team ready to play. The Knicks shot 56.8 percent in the first half and trailed by just four at the break. However, the Spurs exploded for 38 points, connecting on an incredible 11-of-13 shots to take a 21-point lead. They cruised from there on their home floor.

“I just thought that the Spurs came out in that third quarter and played at a high level that we couldn’t match,” Derek said. “We couldn’t sustain the solid flow and continuity that we had in the first half. We had a few minutes where it got away from us, and the Spurs capitalized on it.”

Despite that poor third, the Knicks played at a very high level early on. After forcing a missed layup attempt, Knicks guard Jose Calderon swiped a board and headed upcourt against a transitioning San Antonio defense. Calderon easily found Hardaway. hanging out at the top of the arc, gave him easy pass for him to bury the trey and put the Knicks ahead 14-8 in the first quarter.

Hardaway finished 4-of-7 from three on the night and 9-of-18 from the floor. Pablo Prigioni was the only Knick not named Hardaway to hit from deep—he connected on two and finished with eight points.

Six players combined for 46 points off the bench and helped to buoy the Knicks in the first half, but the third quarter belonged to the Spurs. After the game, Fish had high remarks for the Spurs organization, as they were able to perform at a top level, even despite the absence of several regular starters. He also hinting that San Antonio’s level of consistency is something he aspires to for his own team in the future.

“The one thing about San Antonio is while everybody else is going up and down, they stay the same,” Derek said. “That’s what you have to try and become as a team, is (that) you don’t want to have as many highs and lows, you want to sustain a certain level a performance night in and night out.”

Fish also spoke with San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich before and after the contest. Derek revealed his respect for the future Hall of Fame coach and talked about what he has meant to him personally, to the Spurs and to the sport.

“There’s a mutual level of respect as competitors that we’ve always held for each other over the years,” Fish said of Pop. “He means a lot to me personally, in terms of what he stands for, the way he has helped develop what this organization has become.”

That organization was on full display in the third, where the Pop’s crew shot 84.6 percent. The Knicks turned it around defensively in the fourth, holding San Antonio to just 35.3 percent shooting, but it was too little too late in the defeat.

After the loss, Fish talked about working through the rut he and his team have found themselves in early in the season.

“You can’t waver on becoming successful. You’ll never get there if you waver or give up. That’s what we have to understand as a group,” Derek said. “Losing affects everybody, players, coaches, families, everybody’s impacted by it. But you must take something from it if you and learn something if you want it to change. That’s what we have to do right now, take our lumps, accept what it is at the moment, but not accept that it’s going to stay that way. so we’ll just keep working until it changes.”

NEXT UP

With their latest loss to the champs, the Knicks will take Thursday off before traveling out to Boston for a classic Eastern Conference matchup with the Celtics (7-13) on Friday.

The game will mark the first meeting between the two teams this season. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on MSG.

RELATED LINKS

• Fisher on injuries, Knicks effort (MSG, Dec. 10, 2014)
• Knicks at Spurs: Game Book (NBA.com, Dec. 10, 2014)
• How much blame falls on Derek Fisher (ESPN NY, Dec. 10, 2014)
• Anthony could be facing surgery to fix knee (NY Daily News, Dec. 10, 2014)
• Belinelli scores 22 as Spurs roll past Knicks (AP, Dec. 10, 2014)