Spurs’ home collapse leaves Knicks one win away

Spurs fall – San Antonio’s late-game collapse in Game 2 leaves the Spurs staring at an almost unheard comeback: they’ll open Game 3 in New York on Monday needing to win at least one of the next two games after losing both at home. Victor Wembanyama’s 29-point night and Kar

The Spurs had a cushion in Game 2—then watched it evaporate in seconds.

After Victor Wembanyama hit a three-point play to take the lead with 57 seconds left. the Knicks answered with Jalen Brunson—who had endured a 6-of-23 shooting night—tying the game on a spinning fadeaway jumper. San Antonio’s scramble toward the finish looked clean for a moment, too. Brunson missed again, and Wembanyama secured the rebound. Then the ending tilted.

A poor outlet pass by Wembanyama went off teammate Stephon Castle’s back. and Wembanyama compounded the mistake by fouling Brunson. who had recovered the ball. Brunson made one free throw to put New York ahead 105-104 with 9.5 seconds left. and the Spurs’ last chance ended with Wembanyama missing a 17-footer just before the horn.

It was a brutal final sequence to a game that swung wildly. San Antonio built a 12-point lead in the first half before New York came roaring back. The Spurs also rallied from down 14 in the final minutes—but still didn’t finish the comeback.

Now the stakes tighten into something close to the impossible. San Antonio will head into Game 3 in New York on Monday trailing 0-2 after losing their first two games at home. To win the NBA Finals. they’ll need to take at least one of the next two games at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks.

Only five teams have ever come back from 0-2 in the Finals, the most recent being the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021. None have done what the Spurs will need to do—coming back after losing the first two games of a series at home.

There is, at least, a kind of haunting symmetry as they prepare to travel. The Spurs were up by one with less than two minutes left in Game 1 before the Knicks closed with an 11-0 run.

What makes Game 3 feel heavier is that the Knicks aren’t just leading—they’re rolling. New York has won 13 straight playoff games, tied for the second-longest streak in NBA history.

Wembanyama’s night still came with a sharp reminder about what San Antonio couldn’t allow: letting small mistakes become fatal. Wembanyama finished Game 2 with 29 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. He wasn’t just active at the rim—he was aggressive. By the end of the first quarter. he had taken only one three. but attacked the rim four times and generated an open three-point look. a dunk. a lay-up and a trip to the free-throw line as the Spurs jumped out to a 34-25 lead.

But he didn’t keep building. Wembanyama took only one shot to close the quarter and had two immature turnovers as he tried to make plays on the perimeter.

His jumper finally got him rolling in the third quarter, yet even then the finishing came through his power around the basket: of his 12 points in that stretch, there was a dunk and a putback. During the Spurs’ fourth-quarter surge, his last three baskets came on two lay-ups and an alley-oop.

For all of it, the series has turned into something of a duel—one where the Knicks have looked particularly prepared to disrupt his advantages.

Karl-Anthony Towns has been the best answer through two games.

The Knicks center followed up a strong performance in Game 1 with another one in Game 2. finishing with 21 points. 13 rebounds and four assists. Towns has also provided the matchup edge against Wembanyama, using a stronger, thicker frame to outmuscle the slender Frenchman. An example came in the third quarter. when Towns stole an offensive rebound from the Spurs star for Towns’ first basket of that period.

New York’s blueprint has been consistent: anyone with a chance to hit. hold or move Wembanyama leans into the job. It’s part of why Wembanyama has had trouble catching lobs or scoring out of pick-and-roll actions—when he rolls to the rim after setting a screen. a Knicks defender bodies him around the free-throw line. sometimes doing it again.

Even if San Antonio is hoping for a different whistle in Game 3, the matchup has already been decided by the part Towns controls: he’s stayed with Wembanyama around the perimeter and banged with him in the paint.

Towns’ résumé isn’t the surprise. He’s been a talent since being the No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft. with rookie of the year honors and career numbers of 23 points. 13 rebounds and 40 per cent from three across 10 years. The surprise is how fully the Knicks have leaned into him as a two-way lynchpin on the way to an NBA championship push. He’s now two wins from cementing that legacy.

San Antonio’s other problem is urgency—specifically, the need for their veteran point guard to deliver at full strength.

De’Aaron Fox, who was traded for midway through the 2024-25 season, received a four-year $229-million contract extension that doesn’t begin until next season. The idea was to bring the lighting-quick guard in as a veteran floor leader to help as the Spurs’ rebuild took shape alongside Wembanyama.

The fit hasn’t gone smoothly. Fox had a season-ending finger injury shortly after the trade, and it helped the Spurs remain in the draft lottery, where they jumped up six spots and took Dylan Harper second overall.

On the court right now. Fox has been dealing with an ankle sprain suffered at the end of the second round. That injury kept him out for the first two games of the Western Conference Finals. Since his return. his production has slipped: he has shot 34.2 per cent from the floor and averaged 10.5 points per game. compared to 18.8 in the postseason before his injury.

In Game 1, Fox generated three wide-open threes with ball movement. He did it again on his first touch in Game 2. Still, the Spurs need more than open looks—they needed scoring.

In Game 2, the dam finally broke early as he accumulated 12 of his 20 points in the first half. But the late discomfort felt visible as the game wore on; Fox seemed to be grimacing in the second half. If his ankle is bothering him again, the Spurs’ task of coming back in the series becomes even harder.

The sequence in Game 2 told the story in a hurry. The Spurs surged. Wembanyama delivered the lead with 57 seconds left. then one exchange turned into a mistake. a foul and a missed shot with time running out. For a team already down to the wire against a Knicks juggernaut—one riding a 13-game playoff win streak—there’s little margin for error left.

Game 3 arrives Monday in New York with San Antonio staring at the harsh math of the Finals: win at least one of the next two games at Madison Square Garden, or the season ends with a collapse that started at home.

NBA Finals San Antonio Spurs New York Knicks Victor Wembanyama Karl-Anthony Towns Jalen Brunson De’Aaron Fox Game 2 Game 3 Madison Square Garden