THE Knicks had one of their best defensive performances of the year Sunday in a 94-90 win over the Spurs, the team with the second-best record in the NBA.

    The Knicks held San Antonio to just 36.3 percent shooting from the field to claim their first home victory since Jan. 27 and halt a four-game losing streak.

    Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks with 25 points on 9-of-21 shooting. He hit two jump shots in the final one minute, 30 seconds to put the finishing touches on the game. Derrick Rose scored 18 points while Kristaps Porzingis added 16.

    But the game was won on the defensive end.

    “Effort,” Rose said of what changed defensively. “Just effort.”

    There were also schematic adjustments, though. During the film session, the players determined their big men were playing too soft against the pick and roll. Instead of pressing onto the ball-handler coming off the pick, the bigs were sinking into the paint, giving opposing players too much space.

    That changed Sunday.

    “We have athletic bigs,” said Lance Thomas, who played Sunday for the first time in a month after sitting out 14 games because of a fractured bone in his face. “We have guys who can move their feet, who, with long arms, can deflect passes. So we want them up a little bit more, and we want to just be more physical on defense. Teams have us on our heels when we catch the ball. No reason we shouldn’t do that to them, too.”

    (SD-Agencies)