The San Antonio Spurs find themselves down 2-0 in their NBA Finals series against the New York Knicks. Victor Wembanyama took the blame for their 105-104 loss in Game 2 on Friday.
After losing Game 1 at home, the Spurs were hoping to level the series before heading to Madison Square Garden, but the Knicks had other ideas. Although San Antonio erased a sizable deficit and took a late lead, a lack of composure in the dying seconds proved costly.
Wembanyama, who had a poor first half with as many turnovers as field goals, scored 22 of his 29 points in the second half, but made costly errors with the game on the line. The towering Frenchman committed a turnover and then fouled Jalen Brunson, sending him to the free-throw line and allowing the Knicks to take the lead. He then missed the game-winning shot.
The third-year center didn’t shy away at the end of the game and took the blame when discussing what went wrong.
“I threw that one away, I messed up,” he told reporters after the game. “ We didn’t play well as a team. We needed to win that game, this game was ours, but at this point it’s done. Am I going to regret it? Yes, of course. Am I going to use that to fuel me and fuel us the next game? Absolutely.”
Just like Game 1, the Knicks made Wembanyama’s night difficult by applying relentless pressure. Though he finished with a team-high 29 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and two steals, individual mistakes compounded into team-wide chaos.
Victor Wembanyama and Spurs Need to Deliver Big to Avoid 3-0 Hole
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs have not been at even strength throughout this series. They have looked slow, disorganized and completely overwhelmed at times. The defensive breakdowns have been glaring, and offensively the team hasn’t generated sustained pressure.
If the Spurs are to extend this series to five games or more, they will need to find an answer to the Knicks’ suffocating brand of basketball. If they fail to do so, the Spurs’ great run could soon be over and their NBA Finals record would drop to 5-2.
Game 3 is set for Tuesday at MSG, with US President Donald Trump expected to be in attendance.
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