The rivalry between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs started 20 years ago when David Robinson and Tim Duncan dominated a team that was without Patrick Ewing in the NBA Finals. That title was the beginning of the Spurs dynasty and the beginning of two decades worth of misery at Madison Square Garden.



In 2006, then-Knicks coach Isiah Thomas had to be restrained from confronting Spurs guard Bruce Bowen after Jamal Crawford appeared to injure a leg when he landed on Bowen’s foot after shooting a jumper. Thomas felt Bowen intentionally crowded Crawford’s landing space, violating an unwritten rule among players. Bowen, who had been accused by Vince Carter and Ray Allen of the same indiscretion, had injured Knicks guard Steve Francis five days earlier in New York on a similar play.



“That’s murder,” Thomas said at the time. “Excuse me, but in the NBA, when you’re in the air, you’re really exposed and there’s a...