The San Antonio Spurs seemed to have all the momentum in the world heading into the final of the NBA Cup after they sent the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder packing in the semifinal of the competition. However, on Tuesday night, the Spurs were stopped in their tracks by the New York Knicks, with the Knicks using a 35-19 fourth quarter blitz to earn a 124-113 win and the NBA Cup championship trophy.
This Spurs team wasn't shy about making their intention to win big and win all silverware they could known. But this young team clearly has a lot more room to grow, and this loss is only going to be a learning experience for this young squad, as head coach Mitch Johnson so succinctly put in his postgame presser.
“Being able to feel those games, work those games, be in the moment in those games is invaluable experience. We've shown some signs that we can be a pretty good team. We've also shown that we have a lot of areas for improvement. I think that's what we're living today, and hopefully tomorrow, we can continue to get a little bit better and minimize some of the things that we need to improve on,” Johnson said, via @SpursReporter on X (formerly Twitter).
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson sees the NBA Cup run as invaluable experience. Just 25 games in, and he’s encouraged by the signs this group is already starting to look like a team that can be pretty good. 🏀⬆️ pic.twitter.com/BQwCyZD1YW
— SpursRΞPORTΞR (@SpursReporter) December 17, 2025
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Victor Wembamyama has muted impact in Spurs' NBA Cup Final loss
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts against the New York Knicks during the Emirates NBA Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena.
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Wembanyama continued to come off the bench on Tuesday night as part of the Spurs easing him back from a calf injury. While the Spurs star did impact the game so well for his team in the NBA Cup semifinal, things did not go as swimmingly for him in their loss to the Knicks.
He was on the floor when the Knicks made their late spurt, and his misses from beyond the arc only made the bleeding worse for San Antonio. Moreover, the Knicks were bullying him on the glass. Wembanyama did have a hard time today as he was grieving the loss of his grandmother, so this seems to be an exception rather than the rule for the nascent superstar.