The playoff fates of NBA teams aren’t normally determined by a single nonconference game.
But whether or not the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs advance to the play-in tournament — or beyond — could be determined Monday night, when the Knicks are slated to host the Spurs in the final meeting of the season between the teams.
Both teams are coming off road losses that further weakened their grips on 10th place — and the final berth to the play-in tournament — in their respective conferences. The Knicks fell to the Boston Celtics 99-75 on Saturday while the Spurs will be completing a back-to-back set after losing to the Brooklyn Nets, 121-119, in overtime on Sunday afternoon.
The 75 points scored set a season low for the Knicks, who were routed just two days after they stormed back from a 25-point deficit — their biggest comeback in more than 17 years — to stun the Celtics 108-105. The loss Saturday dropped New York back into a tie with Boston for 10th place in the Eastern…