Down 2-0 in the NBA Finals to the New York Knicks after back-to-back defeats, Spurs rookie Dylan Harper says the priority is simple: stay together, keep heads up, and focus on the next game as San Antonio prepares for Game 3 at the Knicks.
The bruises from Games 1 and 2 weren’t just on the scoreboard. They were in the moments that swung the pressure straight through the Spurs.
San Antonio opened the NBA Finals with a 105-95 loss to the New York Knicks, a game that ended with an 11-0 Knicks run. Then came Game 2, also a 105-104 defeat, this time hinging on a Victor Wembanyama turnover that proved brutal at the wrong time.
Now the Spurs are staring at a 2-0 deficit heading into Game 3 at the Knicks, and the emotional math gets harder when both losses feel like winnable games slipping away. For a young team, that sting doesn’t fade just because the series moves on.
Spurs rookie Dylan Harper, though, is trying to keep the group from getting swallowed by regret. He spoke to reporters. via Spurs Nation on X (formerly Twitter). and the message was direct: the biggest thing for the Spurs is staying together—refusing to sink their heads after two losses. and turning everything toward the next game.
“I think the biggest thing for us is just staying together, not putting our heads down. We just have to focus on the next game. It’s not the first to win two. We can’t really hang our heads on that. We just have to come out with a mentality of just being more desperate. ” Harper said. via Spurs Nation on X (formerly Twitter).
The instinct to look back is understandable. But Harper’s point matters because the Spurs aren’t playing from scratch in terms of belief. In their previous round, they came back from a 3-2 series deficit against the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder, winning Game 7 on the road.
That memory is the kind that can keep a team steady when the present feels heavy. It also puts the Spurs’ challenge into focus for Game 3: shake off the feeling of missed chances, and carry forward the mindset that once pulled them out of a hole before.
With the Knicks up 2-0, San Antonio will need more than talent to survive the emotional wave. Harper’s demand is about staying connected as the series tightens—because in a Finals, the next possession rarely cares what happened in the last one. The Spurs have to be ready to respond, not ruminate.
Game 3 is where that response begins, in the Knicks’ fortress.
NBA Finals Spurs vs Knicks Dylan Harper Victor Wembanyama Game 3 Spurs Nation Oklahoma City Thunder