Down 2-0 to the New York Knicks after a 105-104 Game 2 loss, the San Antonio Spurs head into Game 3 needing a reset. Coach Mitch Johnson said the team didn’t play up to its standard in the first two games and believes execution—turnovers, glass and the basics—
The stakes got heavier the second the Spurs’ comeback fell short on Friday night.
San Antonio. entering the 2026 NBA Finals as the favorite after dethroning the Oklahoma City Thunder. is now down 2-0 against the New York Knicks after losing Game 2 by a single point. 105-104. The margin left no room for comfort—and it also created an uncomfortable math problem for the Spurs. No team with home-court advantage in the NBA Finals has ever come back from losing the first two games of a series at home. meaning San Antonio needs something close to a miracle just to keep the title from slipping away.
For head coach Mitch Johnson, the message after Game 2 was blunt: the Spurs didn’t play like themselves.
“We don’t feel like we played well or up to our standard, at least, in the last two games. New York has played very well, and they’re a part of that. But we’re going to go into Game 3. if we play our brand of basketball up to our standard. we’ll be just fine. ” Johnson said in his postgame presser. via Spurs Nation on X (formerly Twitter).
It wasn’t just about the scoreboard. Johnson pointed toward execution as the dividing line between what the Spurs want to do and what they actually managed through the first two games. He believes San Antonio hasn’t done a good enough job of carrying out the plan, and that shortfall has been costly.
The pain is there in the details. San Antonio hasn’t taken care of the “little things. ” and through the first two games it’s shown up in the turnover battle. The Spurs lost it, and that swing fed New York with runouts and easy buckets. The offensive glass has been another problem. In the fourth quarter. it was apparent how San Antonio lost the war on the offensive glass. a breakdown that can erase possessions even when a team is otherwise fighting.
Those issues only matter more because of how the Spurs have been trying to manage momentum. In Game 1. Wembanyama was very much off-kilter for the first half. and San Antonio relinquished a double-digit lead in that opening stretch. The pattern matters in a Finals when every stretch gets magnified—San Antonio knows the season will effectively be on the line when it takes the court again for Game 3 on Monday night.
The Knicks have put the Spurs in a position where the next game can’t look like the last two. San Antonio will need spotless basketball in Game 3—not just to win, but to avoid staring down an inescapable hole as the series continues.
MISRYOUM NBA Finals Spurs Knicks Mitch Johnson Game 3 Game 2 loss 105-104 Wembanyama turnovers offensive glass 2026 NBA Finals
Reset? so basically they’re just gonna play harder right? lol
105-104 is wild. Spurs fans gotta be sick. Also turnovers and glass?? sounds like basic stuff they should’ve had day one.
Wait I thought Spurs were already the favorites for the Finals like that was decided after beating OKC. How they down 2-0 at home already? Maybe the Knicks are secretly cheating on the defensive ends or whatever. Turnovers though… every time I see that I’m like just stop giving them the ball.
“Miracle” math problem is kinda dramatic, but yeah losing at home by one point is brutal. I feel like Wembanyama always gets blamed when it’s actually the whole team not boxing out on rebounds. offensive glass in the 4th is the kind of thing that flips momentum, and then suddenly everyone acts surprised. Also Monday night?? hope they don’t come out flat again.