NBA Basketball BETTING PREVIEW - San Antonio Spurs @ New York Knicks

NBA Basketball

2025-12-16 - San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks

A Sports Betting Preview by FirstDown

New York Knicks vs San Antonio Spurs
United States : NBA Basketball
Tuesday 16th December 2025 - Scheduled 8:30pm
1:30am (British Time)

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Preview

The NBA are happy enough with the idea of an in-season Cup, but the neutral setting has not really worked as well as they would have hoped.

The Final is played on Tuesday in Las Vegas, but a decision had already been made that the two Semi Final games will be hosted by the team with the higher Seed in twelve months time. However, the poor attendance means there is now a real belief that the NBA Cup Final will also be moved outside of Sin City, although that is something that will be decided in the weeks and months ahead.

For now the New York Knicks (18-7) and the San Antonio Spurs (18-7) will face off for the trophy and winning Semi Final games this past weekend.

New York did what was expected of them by beating the Orlando Magic as the favourites, but the bigger headlines were made by the San Antonio Spurs after the upset of the Oklahoma City Thunder. It is a win that will give the Spurs a huge amount of confidence, although they are likely going to have to bring Victor Wembanyama off the bench again with the longer-term goal of having a big impact in the Playoffs in mind.

Victor Wembanyama has made it clear that he is willing to do whatever the team wants from him, although he has also suggested that he is ready to start for the team.

San Antonio will be looking to back up the last performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder by producing another big Defensive effort. That is going to be a challenge against this Knicks team who are playing with momentum and who have gotten healthy in recent weeks, and this does feel like a game that may end up being 'after the Lord Mayor's show' for the Spurs.

One area where the Spurs have impressed on the Defensive side of the court is the way they have been playing the three point shot- this is an area where both San Antonio and the Knicks will be looking to exert their dominance over the other and it could be key to the final outcome.

We know the Knicks have the intensity around the boards to try and make up for any slow down in the three point shooting by picking up second chance opportunities. This is also important for the Eastern Conference representative and New York will be playing with confidence on both sides of the ball.

During this five game winning run, the Knicks have been holding teams to 41% from the field and they will be looking to continue displaying that strength in a bid for another victory.

Of course the Knicks will be expected to be pushed by the San Antonio Spurs who have found a real spark on the Offensive side of the ball and this should be a good NBA Cup decider.

These teams split two games in the regular season last season and are facing one another for the first time in the 2025/26 campaign.

Prediction

The NBA Cup is decided on Tuesday and both the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs are going to be confident in becoming the latest team to win this trophy.

The Spurs really impressed in moving past the Oklahoma City Thunder having also upset the Los Angeles Lakers.

There is a depth to this roster that deserves respect, but the New York Knicks have found a really good chemistry in the last couple of weeks and they may give the long-suffering fans something tangible to celebrate.

The Pick :

New York Knicks 114-110 San Antonio Spurs

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back New York Knicks - 2.5 Points at -105 with EveryGame Sports