The San Antonio Spurs, in the words of standout rookie point guard Dylan Harper, gave away Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Sure, the New York Knicks deserve plenty of credit for their 29-point comeback, the 107-106 win and the 3-1 series lead that comes with it, but the Spurs know that they had plenty of chances to put it away in the second half.
Harper knows as much too, but he is ready to move on from it. After the game, he talked about how he plans to bounce back from the meltdown.
Spurs guard Dylan Harper after a Game 4 collapse: “A whole new fire, I feel like, is ignited in me, in a sense of, we gave that game away. And if we’re going to lose, we’re not going out like that. We're going to put up a fight. We’re going to keep swinging.” pic.twitter.com/7iPWt3CZ0h
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“As a group, we won't read into the mental thing,” Harper said. “For me, a whole new fire, I feel like, is ignited in me, in a sense of, we gave that game away. And if we’re going to lose, we’re not going out like that. We're going to put up a fight. We’re going to keep swinging. But for me personally, this loss, I'm gonna bounce back. We're all gonna bounce back and show the world what we're made of.”
Harper's response is a mature one, especially coming from a 20-year-old rookie who is still getting his feet wet in the NBA. However, it is a sign that he and this Spurs team are not giving up despite the deficit.
After all, the No. 2 overall pick has shown that he is wise beyond his years during this playoff run. He was excellent in Game 4, scoring 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting. During the San Antonio collapse, Harper was mostly absent, stuck in the corner while the rest of the Spurs struggled to get good looks on offense.
Regardless of how Game 4 went or ended, the Spurs are going to need all hands on deck if they want to beat a very good Knicks team three times in a row and come back to win the series. Harper has shown that he's more than capable of handling the moment, and his answer after Game 4 shows that. Despite the brutal loss, he and his team are going to keep battling with a championship on the horizon.
The San Antonio Spurs, in the words of standout rookie point guard Dylan Harper, gave away Game 4 of the NBA Finals. Sure, the New York Knicks deserve plenty of credit for their 29-point comeback, the 107-106 win and the 3-1 series lead that comes with it, but the Spurs know that they had plenty of chances to put it away in the second half.