The San Antonio Spurs threw away Game 1 against the New York Knicks at home despite leading by 14 points midway through the third quarter before allowing Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby to take over in the fourth quarter and close out this 95-105 loss for San Antonio.
Victor Wembanyama, even though he had a 26-point double-double, had an extremely inefficient night on offense that cost the Spurs in some crucial situations down the stretch. They did not play with urgency tonight and seemingly did not have the next-man-up mentality when it comes to their star player having an off night.
Here are the player ratings for the Spurs for tonight’s performance at the Frost Bank Center.
Victor Wembanyama: A
Game Stats: 26 PTS, 12 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 3 BLK, 6 TOV, 6-21 FG, 2-9 3PT, 12-13 FT, 38 MIN
Victor Wembanyama was struggling to score from the field tonight and was forced to get most of his points from the free-throw line on a rather inefficient night for the French star.
He was defensively more proactive and unable to make his shots in the first half. But he scored 17 of his 26 points in the second half to try to lead the Spurs into putting this one away. Unfortunately, not just him, other players also had inefficient nights that combined into this Game 1 loss for San Antonio.
Stephon Castle: B+
Game Stats: 17 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 2 TOV, 7-16 FG, 1-5 3PT, 2-2 FT, 34 MIN
Although Stephon Castle made gritty plays inside the paint to help the Spurs build an initial lead, his missed shots also allowed the Knicks to regain momentum and scrape their way back into this game.
Only a slightly above-average night for the former Rookie of the Year; he could have been a bit more aggressive to help the Spurs in their offensively dead stretches in the second half.
Dylan Harper: B
Game Stats: 16 PTS, 8 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1 TOV, 6-10 FG, 1-4 3PT, 3-3 FT, 28 MIN
Just like for most of the Spurs’ team, it was Dylan Harper’s first game ever played in the NBA Finals. But despite only being a rookie, Harper played tonight like a confident veteran who looked almost destined to score or create a wide-open shot every time he drove into the lane.
Julian Champagnie: B
Game Stats: 16 PTS, 10 REB, 1 AST, 1 BLK, 5-11 FG, 5-10 3PT, 1-2 FT, 31 MIN
Julian Champagnie looked like the only realistic three-point shooting threat on the floor tonight as he continued looking like a young Klay Thompson, but that threat alone was not enough to carry the Spurs’ offense in the clutch.
De’Aaron Fox: C+
Game Stats: 7 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL, 3 TOV, 3-13 FG, 0-4 3PT, 1-2 FT, 38 MIN
De’Aaron Fox did not look like he is a former All-Star tonight as he had one of his worst offensive performances in the playoffs so far. The starting point guard is supposed to be making a case to retain him in the starting lineup over Dylan Harper, but such performances are really not helping his case.
Devin Vassell: C+
Game Stats: 9 PTS, 9 REB, 3 AST, 1 TOV, 4-11 FG, 1-6 3PT, 36 MIN
This was an underwhelming performance from Devin Vassell, who took and missed some bad looks tonight. He did not do much on either end of the floor in 36 minutes of action tonight and had the worst plus-minus (-13) among the entire Spurs roster.
Luke Kornet: C
Game Stats: 1 REB, 1 STL, 10 MIN
Luke Kornet only played 10 minutes of action tonight, mostly in the non-Wembanyama minutes on the floor, when the French star needed to rest. Hence, his contributions on the floor were extremely limited tonight.
Harrison Barnes: C
Game Stats: 2 REB, 1 AST, 0-2 FG, 0-2 3PT, 0-1 FT, 12 MIN
Harrison Barnes only saw action when Champagnie or Vassell needed rest in the game. He did not contribute significantly in the limited action he saw on the floor.
Keldon Johnson: N/A
Game Stats: 3 PTS, 1-4 FG, 1-2 3PT, 8 MIN
Keldon Johnson did not see 10 minutes of playing time tonight and hence is ineligible for a grade on his performance.
Carter Bryant: N/A
Game Stats: 1 PTS, 0-1 FG, 0-1 3P, 4 MIN
Carter Bryant saw less than five minutes of action on the floor tonight, and his performance has hence not been graded.
