Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs find themselves in a whole lot of trouble as they have gone down 2-0 in the NBA Finals to the New York Knicks. The Knicks followed up their stunning 105-95 win in Game 1 by taking down the Spurs 105-104 at Frost Bank Center on Friday to put themselves in a commanding position in this series.
The Spurs probably should have won this game, but Wembanyama made some critical mistakes in the final minute. It was a disastrous end to the game, and the Frenchman was asked about the three possessions in question in his postgame press conference.
“I’m still very blurry, and that’s the whole problem,” Wembanyama said, via ESPN. “I need to have more poise, more control over the game. I’m not going to go through the whole possessions, but that’s the general image.”
Well, we can go through them. Wembanyama first missed a jumper with the game tied at 104, but then made amends by forcing Jalen Brunson into a miss. The two-time All-Star secured the rebound, too, but then turned the ball over by throwing it toward Stephon Castle, who had turned away from him.
The ball hit Castle’s back, and Brunson was able to grab it, after which Wembanyama fouled him. The Knicks’ superstar only made one out of two free throws, which meant the Spurs just needed a two-pointer to win. They’d trust Wembanyama to make it, but he missed. He was asked here if things were blurry the entire game or just the three possessions, and said it was the latter.
“I would say the last three possessions,” Wembanyama stated. “I think we need to put ourselves in better conditions. We’re digging ourselves a hole. That’s been the theme so far.”
Those were some interesting comments, and they didn’t go down too well with Shaquille O’Neal. O’Neal was highly critical of Wembanyama on Inside the NBA.
“I do not like that,” O’Neal said, via ESPN. “… First of all, as a leader, you should probably say it’s on me, but don’t say things are blurry. If I’m anybody on the New York Knicks, I’m coming at his head on Monday. I don’t even know what it means, but it sounds like he’s, like [Charles Barkley] said, like he’s flustered. And you can’t be flustered at this. I know you’re down 0-2, but listen, as that guy on that team, you just got to step up.”
Kenny Smith felt Wembanyama did take ownership, but O’Neal’s primary issue was with the blurry comment.
“[Say] my bad, last two possessions I didn’t play well,” O’Neal said. “Don’t say blurry, hell no. No way.”
O’Neal had called Wembanyama the first perfect big man in NBA history after the Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round, but he isn’t liking what he has seen and heard in the Finals. Previously, O’Neal was critical of Wembanyama for his performance in Game 1.
“You’ve got to do a better job of making adjustments,” O’Neal said. “Yeah, San Antonio definitely has to. Coach said we’ve got to get Victor the ball a little bit more inside. And for Victor, he’s got to play better. The way he played, 6-for-21 is not going to get it done. Ten threes is not going to get it done. You have to make some mental adjustments and say, ‘We cannot lose Game 2.’”
The Spurs really couldn’t afford to lose Game 2, but they have now. They have become just the third team in NBA history to lose Games 1 and 2 at home in the Finals. The Phoenix Suns were the first to do it in 1993, and they’d lose to the Chicago Bulls in six games. O’Neal’s Orlando Magic then did it in 1995, and they’d get swept by the Houston Rockets.
It is hard to see a scenario in which the Spurs come back and win this series. The Knicks are now on an astonishing 13-game win streak in the playoffs, and beating them four out of five times seems next to impossible.
Wembanyama and the Spurs are going to be kicking themselves for blowing this Game 2 for a very long time. They had led by 12 points in the first half, but then squandered that advantage and went down by double-digits.
The Spurs then went on an incredible 14-0 run to tie the game with 2:59 remaining in the fourth quarter and even took a one-point lead on a three-point play by Wembanyama in the final minute. Unfortunately, it all went wrong after that.
Wembanyama finished the night with 29 points (11-21 FG), nine rebounds, two assists, two steals, and four blocks. He had a slow first half and looked to be making amends after the break, but threw it all away.
Game 3 will tip off at Madison Square Garden on Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET. That’s a must-win for the Spurs, as no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in NBA history.
