Spurs panic – The San Antonio Spurs began the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks with a 105-95 home loss, blowing a 14-point lead in the second half and falling to a 0-1 series deficit heading into Game 2.
San Antonio woke up on a lead—then watched it slip away.
On Wednesday evening. the San Antonio Spurs dropped to 0-1 in their NBA Finals series against the New York Knicks with a tough 105-95 home loss. The Spurs had been in front by as many as 14 points in the second half before they fell apart down the stretch. and now they face what is essentially a must-win contest in Game 2.
For all the damage done in the final minutes, the Spurs’ collapse didn’t come out of nowhere. Victor Wembanyama endured one of his worst games of the season. De’Aaron Fox struggled mightily with his shot. and San Antonio looked like a team still trying to get its legs under them after a seven-game series with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The timing of the fade mattered. too: in the biggest moments. the Knicks out-executed a Spurs side that looked very much their age.
But New York’s side of the story is just as uncomfortable for San Antonio to ignore. Jalen Brunson shot poorly for the Knicks, while Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart combined for just 12 points. New York didn’t get much from its bench outside of a few threes from Landry Shamet. A Game 1 in which several things went wrong for the Knicks still ended with the Spurs on the floor. That’s why the Spurs can’t lean on simple “regression to the mean” and assume everything swings back automatically.
The strangest part is how clean the regular season logic looks compared to what happened in crunch time. San Antonio looked like the better team for the majority of the game on Wednesday. yet the Knicks handled the moments that mattered most—those late-game possessions where execution. rhythm. and pressure all converge.
The sequence is the whole problem: a second-half lead of up to 14 points turned into a 10-point loss, and it left the Spurs staring at a series hole they don’t have the luxury to deepen.
Still, panic isn’t on the schedule in San Antonio. The Spurs have already accumulated meaningful experience in these playoffs and aren’t going to start panicking now. In their second round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, they were down 0-1. In the Western Conference Finals against the Thunder, they were down 3-2—and rallied to win both matchups.
Game 2, though, brings a new urgency. The Spurs will need Wembanyama to play much more under control. They’ll also want to try to have Stephon Castle stick to Brunson on defense. particularly down the stretch of close games. If San Antonio can do those things—and if Fox is able to shoot just average from the field—the Spurs should be able to tie this one up on Friday.
San Antonio Spurs New York Knicks NBA Finals Game 1 105-95 Victor Wembanyama De'Aaron Fox Jalen Brunson Mikal Bridges Josh Hart Landry Shamet Stephon Castle
So they blew a 14 point lead… that’s on coaching or whatever. Knicks finally hit shots and Spurs just forgot how to play defense late.
Wait I thought Brunson was like unstoppable? Only 105-95 feels lowkey like Knicks lucked out because Spurs were already tired from the Thunder series.
This reads like Spurs panicked but also Wembanyama had a bad game, so which one is it lol. Also if it was a must-win in Game 2 then why not just win Game 1?? Seems simple.
I swear every time I see Knicks in the Finals they’re down the bench scoring weird threes, then suddenly it’s “execution.” Spurs looked older?? Isn’t Wemby like 22 or whatever. I dunno, I’m just mad they let the lead go.