De’Aaron Fox and the Spurs came up just short (Photo via X)
The San Antonio Spurs let another one slip away and now trail 0-2 in the 2026 NBA Finals. After trailing the New York Knicks by 14 points midway through the fourth quarter, the Spurs went on a 14-0 run to tie the game. San Antonio even captured a two-point advantage following a three-point play by Victor Wembanyama.
Sadly, Jalen Brunson tied the game with a jumper. After both teams got a stop, Wembanyama then turned it over and fouled Brunson, allowing the Knicks star to give New York the lead at the free throw line. Wembanyama then missed a potential game-winner as time expired.
This was certainly a disappointing loss that could prove to be insurmountable. To give themselves a chance, the Spurs need to win Game 3 on the road on Monday.
Stats: Spurs vs. Knicks
Spurs vs. Knicks – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
There’s just so much to unpack. Let’s start at the end. With the game tied, Wembanyama spearheaded a great defensive stop … but then turned the ball over and fouled Brunson to send him to the line with less than ten seconds remaining. After Brunson split a pair, the superstar Frenchman missed a potential game-winning jumper at the buzzer. Tough pill to swallow. Prior to that, Wembanyama had a slow first half but then had a monstrous second half. He put the team on his back offensively after intermission, with 22 of his 29 points coming after halftime. His passionate speech in the fourth seemed to spark the good guys. But, alas, the end will be what’s remembered. All in all, Wembanyama wasn’t bad but he could have rebounded better, been more careful with the basketball and played with more pizzazz coming out of the gates. Difficult stuff for the 22-year-old.
Grade: C-
De’Aaron Fox
After a poor showing in Game 1, Fox bounced back with a quality effort in Game 2. He scored 20 points on a super efficient 8-for-12 shooting from the field, including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and at the line. He also tied for the team lead with five assists. Defensively, he was solid. When the Spurs made their run in the fourth, Fox was typically the one running the show. If the Spurs are going to recover in this series, they’ll need Fox to keep playing like this.
Grade: A-
Stephon Castle
It was a challenging evening at the office for Castle. He hit only 3-of-10 from two-point range and only half of his four free throw attempts. Things were worse than the numbers suggest. Not only did he have four turnovers, the offense looked labored with him at the helm. In fact, the Spurs made their fourth quarter charge with Castle on the bench. He also had to sit for an earlier stretch due to foul trouble. There were, however, some highlights. Castle played quality defense all night long and his effort was incredible. He also hit 2-of-4 from downtown. At the end, on that Wembanyama pass that hit him in the back, the second-year guard deserves at least a smidgen of the blame.
Grade: D+
Devin Vassell
Can’t be too critical of Vassell. He played a winning brand of basketball. Offensively, he scored 13 points and was 3-for-7 on threes, 1-for-2 on twos and 3-for-3 on ones. He also tied for team-highs in rebounds (nine) and assists (five) while not turning the ball over. Vassell played above average defense and his effort was sublime. If the Spurs could have pulled this game out, he would have been one of the leading heroes.
Grade: A-
Julian Champagnie
It was a relatively quiet affair for Champagnie. In 36 minutes, he had eight points on 2-for-5 shooting from three-point range. He missed his only two-point attempt but went 2-for-2 at the line. Like Vassell, Champagnie didn’t have a turnover. He could have been better on the boards but his defense was a plus. He’s really using his length well in this series. Overall, I didn’t have a problem with his shot-selection and he was good in most areas — so this has to be considered an above average performance.
Grade: B
Dylan Harper
Harper continues to show what he can do. Looking like a future star once again, the rookie had 15 points in 32 minutes. He hit half of his 12 field goal attempts and went 3-for-4 at the line. Harper also snatched six rebounds and had three assists. He had a few mistakes here and there but his skill and fearlessness were two of the leading traits that allowed the Spurs to make a run to almost steal the game. Defensively, man, he’s pretty darn amazing for a rookie guard. He’s coming to play on the biggest stage … let’s hope that continues in New York City.
Grade: A-
Keldon Johnson
Johnson was a ball of energy during his 16 minutes on the court. That’s about all you can expect from him right now. He had four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 16 minutes. His shooting was nothing to write home about, though, finishing 1-for-4 from the field, 0-for-2 from three-point territory and 1-for-2 at the charity stripe. Johnson made some mistakes but I like that he was giving it his all.
Grade: B-
Luke Kornet
Another game, another batch of non-Wemby minutes going sour for the Spurs. This time, the Spurs were outscored by seven points in Kornet’s eight minutes. He wasn’t outwardly terrible but his positive plays were few and far between. He did have a key rebound late and I thought the effort was there throughout.
Grade: C+
Harrison Barnes
Barnes was on the court for five minutes and literally didn’t dent the stat sheet. He had a couple quality rotations on defense but that was about the extent of his positive contributions. At this point, I’m not sure he’s worth putting on the court. Then again, a road game in the Finals could cause the coaching staff to look at the veteran forward for some minutes in Game 3.
Grade: C
Carter Bryant
Bryant was used to hack-a-Mitchell and also to pressure Brunson. His pressuring of Brunson isn’t really paying dividends this series.
Grade: Inc.
Mitch Johnson
It was better coaching from Johnson in this game. I liked the schemes on both ends of the court. Leaving Harper on the court in the fourth quarter proved to be the right call and should be something we see the rest of the series. Sitting Castle late in the fourth quarter was bold and also a strategy that paid off. Should he have called a timeout prior to Wembanyama’s turnover? Yeah, I think so. He has a young team, the pressure was extraordinary in that moment and there was no clear advantage. Call the timeout and get the last shot. Ah well, hindsight, I guess.
Grade: C