NEW YORK — The New York Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs at home Sunday night to avoid the wrong kind of NBA history.
The Knicks’ 130-118 victory snapped an 18-game home losing streak. Had New York lost Sunday, the club would have tied the 1993-94 Dallas Mavericks for the longest home losing streak in NBA history.
Damyean Dotson led the Knicks with 27 points, hitting eight 3-pointers. Dennis Smith Jr. had 19 points and 13 assists and Mitchell Robinson added 15 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks off the bench.
New York (12-48) last won at home Dec. 1.
Earlier in the season, the Knicks lost a franchise-record 18 consecutive games.
The club hopes to use a top draft pick in June to further its rebuild. Per the new lottery odds this season, the three teams with the worst records will share a 14 percent chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick. The Knicks enter play Monday with the second-worst record in the NBA, two games behind Cleveland (14-46). The Phoenix Suns (11-50) have the league’s worst mark.
In addition to having a top draft pick, New York also projects to have $70 million in cap space this summer — enough to sign two max free agents.