The San Antonio Spurs came within seconds of evening the NBA Finals before a pair of late mistakes changed everything.
After Friday’s 105-104 loss to the New York Knicks in Game 2 at Frost Bank Center, Victor Wembanyama took responsibility for the closing moments and did not hide his frustration as San Antonio fell behind 2-0 in the series.
The Spurs erased a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit and briefly grabbed the lead when Wembanyama converted a three-point play with 57 seconds remaining. But the All-Star center later committed a turnover that led to Jalen Brunson’s go-ahead free throw, then missed a potential game-winning jumper with 7.5 seconds left.
Asked about the final possessions, Wembanyama pointed to his own decision-making.
“I’m still very blurry and that’s the whole problem,” Wembanyama said. “You know, I need to have more poise, more control over the game. I’m not going to go through the whole positions, but that’s the general image.”
The 7-foot-4 star finished with 29 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and two steals after a quiet first half. He attempted just four shots before halftime and 17 after the break as San Antonio fought back.
When discussing the late-game execution, Wembanyama focused on results rather than process.
“Yeah, of course I like the shot, but I feel like in this moment, you need to shoot to score,” he said of the final attempt. “And, in moments like this, results matter more than process, if you know what I mean. We just need to score. I need to score. That’s the whole point.”
The loss was particularly painful because the Spurs had put themselves in position to steal home-court advantage back from New York after the comeback.
“That’s the most frustrating thing, you know, to throw it away after putting in all this work,” Wembanyama said when asked about the late turnover.
The defeat continued a difficult start to the series for San Antonio against a Knicks team that has now won 13 consecutive playoff games. Wembanyama also pointed to the challenge presented by Karl-Anthony Towns, who recorded 21 points and 13 rebounds in Game 2.
“It’s very different from the previous series,” Wembanyama said of the matchup. “It’s bringing us into difficult areas because they’re good players. He’s a good player. So, yeah, we just need to figure out how we need to keep working on it.”
Despite the disappointment, Wembanyama acknowledged that the Spurs must quickly regroup before Game 3 at Madison Square Garden.
“Oh, yeah, I understand,” he said. “Yeah, we need to never get too high, never get too low. Personally, I think I could have been better in recovering from the high of the conference finals. And but I mean, here we are. We can’t change the past now. We have to. We’re already focused on game three.”
His most revealing comments came when reflecting on the emotional aftermath of the loss.
“Lots of emotions of every type. I mean, not every type, only the negative type,” Wembanyama said. “Yeah, I threw that one away. I messed up. We didn’t play great as a team. We needed to win that game. This game was ours.”
He then made clear that the disappointment will not linger without purpose.
“At this point, it’s done. Yes. Am I going to regret it? Yes, of course. Am I going to use that to fuel me and to fuel us next game? Absolutely.”
With the series shifting to New York, the Spurs now need a response on Monday night. Another loss would leave them one defeat away from watching the Knicks capture their first NBA championship since 1973.
