The San Antonio Spurs were red-hot in the first half of Wednesday’s Game 4 matchup against the New York Knicks. While Jalen Brunson and the Knicks were quiet, the Spurs went up by as many as 29 points.
But it all came crashing down in the second half. The Knicks slowly came alive on the offensive end while the Spurs’ shot-making came to a screeching halt.
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The energy in Madison Square Garden shifted as New York cut the lead to 15 heading into the final quarter. As the Knicks kept the pedal to the metal, San Antonio lived and died by the three-point shot.
After one of the most thrilling games in NBA history, the Knicks officially completed the largest comeback in Finals history, winning 107-106 and taking a 3-1 lead.
“I don’t know about the emotions, but it was painful, of course,” Victor Wembanyama said after the game. “It just feels like we worked too hard and give up our lead. … It just hurts.”
The Spurs are a team that is incredibly talented, but also incredibly young and inexperienced in the playoffs. This likely contributed to the historic collapse.
After San Antonio only mustered up 30 points in the second half, head coach Mitch Johnson also expressed his disappointment.
“[It’s] at the top of the list just in terms of the circumstances and stakes of what we’re playing for,” Johnson said. “To put as much good work into that first half as we did, get the lead that we had and not finish the job is disappointing to say the least.”
Now, San Antonio down 3-1 and on the verge of losing the NBA Finals. Wembanyama may be disappointed by the loss, but he said he’s determined to help the Spurs make history.
“I think it’s going to go one of two ways: a bad one and a good one,” he said. “The bad one would be giving up. The good one would be getting stronger through this, getting more together. I know this is what we’re going to do.”
James Parker is a sports writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
