As clutch as the New York Knicks were down the stretch in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs were equally as bad from the field and not only in the fourth quarter.
The 105-95 loss at home proved one of their worst offensive performances of these playoffs. It's a factor Mitch Johnson didn't shy away from addressing.
The Silver and Black shot 25.6% from three-point range, though on several of those 43 attempts, their shooters appeared open.
ClutchPoints asked the first-year head coach if he was content with the looks his team got from beyond the arc.
“I thought we missed some shots. Yeah, I thought we missed some good shots,” Johnson responded.
Though the Spurs were outscored by New York by 8 in the first quarter and held a 14-point lead early in the third quarter, San Antonio never shot the ball well.
“I think there will be some possessions that we could have worked the clock more, worked them more defensively,” Johnson continued to ClutchPoints.
“That was probably – I kind of refer to them as they're just shots. Is it a bad shot, a good shot, I don't really know, but it's just a shot. We probably could be a little bit more greedy on those possessions to get something better as a group.”
"Yeah, I thought we missed some good shots…There will be some possessions that we could have worked clock more, worked them more defensively"⬇️
-talked w/Mitch Johnson about #Spurs shooting woes to start #NBAFinals@HalftimePizza: https://t.co/xyV5gjRpkq Silver & Black Report pic.twitter.com/HZk19f0R6s
— Hector Ledesma (@HectorLedesmaTV) June 4, 2026
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Mitch Johnson deciphers difference between missed shots and missed opportunities
A quick shot isn't necessarily a bad shot. That's been a Spurs mantra all season long. Their insistence on getting up the court quickly has only grown throughout the playoffs.
“Yeah, I mean, I don't have any right now that I felt were egregious,” Johnson answered when asked what he thought about three-point attempts that were taken early in the shot clock.
“There was definitely a stretch there in the second quarter where I know we wanted to play with pace and we wanted to hunt threes in transition, but we also wanted those to be in rhythm and feel like they're our shot. There might have been some questionable ones. I'll have to go back and look at the film,” the 39-year-old coach continued.
The Spurs have shot under 30% from three-point land in most of their postseason losses, including 23% in a Game 4 defeat at the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round. Two differences between then and now, though.
That was the game in which Victor Wembanyama was infamously ejected for throwing an elbow at Naz Reid. And, perhaps related, they took 26 three's that night as opposed to the 11-for-43 they went in the setback to the Knicks.
“It gets tough when you get nit-picky with that stuff,” Johnson added. “We definitely didn't have enough pressure on the paint all night, whether that was in transition or the half court. We have to make sure we're still putting force in the paint. We'll still get our threes up with that. We can't work outside in. We've got to go more inside out, for sure.”
Look for those adjustments ahead of Game 2. Of course, if the Spurs don't shoot better, all may be for naught.
As clutch as the New York Knicks were down the stretch in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the San Antonio Spurs were equally as bad from the field and not only in the fourth quarter. The 105-95 loss at home proved one of their worst offensive performances of these playoffs. It's a factor Mitch Johnson didn't shy away from addressing.