Spurs confident they can dig out of 2-0 hole in NBA Finals

NEW YORK — Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs expressed confidence Sunday in the face of their most significant challenge to date, down 2-0 to the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals with Game 3 set for Monday at Madison Square Garden.

Just five teams in league history have overcome a 2-0 deficit in the NBA Finals. The last team to beat those long odds was the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021. The Spurs believe they can be No. 6, and it looked that way Sunday during a loose and lively practice session at MSG.

“I think the key is acceptance a lot of times, taking a step back, realizing all the journey that’s behind this and what’s ahead of this,” Wembanyama said when asked how he deals with the pressure of facing two road games down 2-0. “Just being OK with who I am, where I am, what I’m doing. This is everything that I wished for. There’s really no reason to overthink it. This is what I’m built for.”

San Antonio lost Game 2 on Friday at Frost Bank Center 105-104 when Jalen Brunson connected on a go-ahead free throw with 9.5 seconds left after a turnover by Wembanyama led to a foul on the Knicks guard. Even after that, the Spurs felt they had an opportunity to secure the victory. But Wembanyama fired the potential game-winning jumper long, becoming the first player in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98) to log a turnover, foul and missed shot in the last 10 seconds of a Finals contest.

The Spurs led by one point with 2:16 left to play in Game 1, before the Knicks snatched a potential win from their grasp with an 11-0 run to close out a 105-95 victory.

“We need to capitalize, actually use all the efforts we [had],” Wembanyama said. “It felt like we did a lot of things wrong, but we were also relentless and kept pushing, but kind of wasted that effort. I know it’s not wasted because our lessons are learned. I know we’re not going to make the mistakes of the past again. But in a moment like this, we need to make these things matter.”

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson agreed, saying that the team needs to return to playing at the standard it established throughout the regular season and the first three rounds of the playoffs. He has repeated that sentiment on multiple occasions throughout the Finals.

“If there’s a thematic thing, the biggest thing is we’ve put in some good, hard work at times, and have not taken advantage of that hard work,” Johnson said. “That’s been partially some undisciplined things for us. Also, New York has stepped up and made some plays at the end of the clock and finished out possessions.”

Former Spurs coach and Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich addressed the team Saturday ahead of its flight to New York.

“Pretty much his message was just let the last two games go,” Spurs guard Stephon Castle said. “It happened. They were very winnable games. We feel like we gave them those games. We’ve got to let those go and focus on the next one.”

Johnson reiterated that message when asked about his approach to keeping the young Spurs motivated in a hostile environment after the disappointment of losing two in a row at home. San Antonio has lost six straight games at Madison Square Garden. The club’s last win in the venue came in November 2019.

Keldon Johnson is the only player remaining on the current roster from the last time San Antonio tasted victory at MSG. But the Sixth Man of the Year didn’t even play in that game. Mitch Johnson, meanwhile, was just 17 games into his first season as a Spurs assistant under Popovich the last time the team won there.

“We’ve got one game tomorrow night at 8:30 in Madison Square Garden,” Mitch Johnson said. “It’s the only game that matters. We’ve got to come in here ready to win it.”