The San Antonio Spurs have their backs against the wall as they head into Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
The New York Knicks stole both Game 1 and Game 2 at San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center, taking a 2-0 lead heading into Game 3 at Madison Square Garden.
The Spurs need to steal at least one game on the road in order to keep their NBA championship hopes alive. As such, they enter Game 3 with a new level of urgency and desperation.
“It’s human nature to come out with a certain sense of urgency after a loss,” Spurs second-year guard Stephon Castle said on Sunday. “It probably shouldn’t go that way, you should come out with the same urgency whether you win or lose. Now being down 2-0, our sense of urgency is the highest it’s been.”
The Spurs dropped Game 1 with a 105-95 final score. They fought back to erase a fourth-quarter deficit in Game 2, but ultimately lost with a 105-104 final score after a costly late-game turnover from Victor Wembanyama, who threw a pass off Castle’s back as they ran up the court in transition.
“We feel like we gave them that game, self-inflicted mistakes,” Castle said of Game 2. “Throughout the game, we gave them life in areas where we could’ve taken a lead.”
Game 3 of the NBA Finals will tipoff at 8:30 p.m. ET on Monday.
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