Dylan Harper played well but the Spurs fell short (Photo via X)
The San Antonio Spurs came up short in the NBA Cup final. The New York Knicks won this regular season championship by a final count of 124-113. The Spurs actually led a lot of the ballgame until the Knicks dominated the fourth quarter. When the dust settled, New York had outscored San Antonio 35-19 in the final twelve minutes.
The bottom line with this game was that the Knicks outrebounded the Spurs 59-42. That turned out to be too big of a disparity for the good guys to overcome. In the fourth, the Knicks lived on the offensive glass and the Spurs had no counter.
Stats: Spurs vs. Knicks
spurs knicks grades
Spurs vs. Knicks – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
With his playing time restricted to 25 minutes, Wembanyama didn’t have his typical impact. There were flashes, though. Specifically, he was magical in the third quarter, finishing with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting. That magic didn’t extend to the fourth period. In the final quarter, Wembanyama had only two points and failed to grab a rebound. That wasn’t enough to finish the job. While his will to win was palpable, the Spurs needed more tangible production on this night.
Grade: C+
De’Aaron Fox
In the NBA Cup final, Fox was supposed to be the adult in the room. He’s a known clutch player who thrives in pressure situations. Unfortunately, Fox underwhelmed against the Knicks. Not only did he have five of the team’s eight turnovers, he also scored only one point in the fourth quarter. Fox had a few stretches where he steered the ship well — both scoring and passing-wise — but he wasn’t nearly consistent enough to guide the Spurs to victory.
Grade: C
Stephon Castle
The good: Castle’s competitiveness defensively was great to see. He played very, very hard on that end. His passing was legitimately great, as evidenced by his 12 assists. Castle attacked the basket with fearlessness. In all facets of the game, this youngster gave maximum effort. The bad: Castle was only 5-for-15 from the field. Like the rest of his teammates, he didn’t play well in the fourth period. Overall: Spurs fans should be proud of how Castle played. He could have been more efficient but the kid gave it his all.
Grade: A-
Devin Vassell
Vassell scored 12 points on 14 shots — a ratio that’s just not good enough. The Spurs have relied upon him recently to hit difficult shots when the going got tough … but he wasn’t there to save the day in Las Vegas. That said, Vassell does deserve kudos for not turning the ball over and for playing very sturdy defense.
Grade: B-
Harrison Barnes
Well, damn. Barnes was 0-for-4 in the NBA Cup final, which means he missed all 12 three-pointers he attempted in Vegas. Barnes has a reputation of not coming up clutch in big games — and this showing in Sin City didn’t exactly change that reputation. Give Barnes some credit for making things happen in the paint and for limiting his miscues on both ends. However, the Spurs needed his three-point shooting to help spread the floor and the veteran was unable to deliver anything but a goose egg.
Grade: C-
Luke Kornet
Good stuff from Kornet. He finished with 14 points on 7-for-9 shooting. He rolled to the rim hard, finished lobs, flashed soft hands and knew where to be. When he was involved offensively, good things tended to happen. Defensively, Kornet was solid for the most part. He guarded the rim well and provided adequate help. Regrettably, he did have one major flaw on defense: he finished with only one defensive rebound. Considering that the Knicks basically won this game via the offensive glass, that wasn’t a good look for Kornet.
Grade: B+
Dylan Harper
What an interesting performance by Harper. Coming into this game, he had ten three-pointers made on the season. In the NBA Cup final, he was 5-for-7 from deep. While he had a number of flashy drives to the hoop, the rookie was only 2-for-7 on two-pointers. Harper had some high level moments defensively and on the boards, however he also made a few rookie errors on the defensive end. And although he finished without a turnover in this pressure packed game, he also didn’t tally an assist. Considering Harper is such a natural playmaker, finishing with a zero in the assist column is indeed strange.
Grade: B
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie got 25 minutes but his presence wasn’t felt enough to justify that playing time. He had three-points on 1-for-5 shooting from the field. Defensively, he efforted but his impact was nothing to write home about. Champagnie didn’t play poorly, mind you, but he didn’t make enough of an impact to sufficiently move the needle in a positive direction.
Grade: C
Keldon Johnson
Johnson only played 16 minutes. In that time, he had three points on 1-for-3 shooting from the floor. His enthusiasm was felt on the boards but that was about the extent of it. He wasn’t making plays and he wasn’t finding angles to drive to the rim. Johnson didn’t turn the ball over but, factoring in his iffy defense, he wasn’t doing enough to stay on the hardwood.
Grade: C
Mitch Johnson
I didn’t have an issue with the rotation. With Wembayama on a minutes restriction, the coaching staff had a difficult job on their hands. Rotation-wise, it was good enough. I liked that Harper got an extended look. The gameplans on both ends were sensible. However, Johnson should have found a way to adjust to the Knicks dominating on the offensive glass. That was the difference in the game and the Spurs never truly adjusted.
Grade: C+