There's plenty of blame to go around for the San Antonio Spurs following the historic Game 4 collapse vs. the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals. The Knicks did plenty of things right in engineering the greatest comeback in Finals history. Likewise, the Spurs did plenty of things wrong.
Astutely aware of what his team relinquished, Victor Wembanyama generally addressed his team's mistakes following a loss that puts New York on the brink of the championship.
“Holding each other accountable,” Wemby answered when asked what his teammates can do to bounce back from the devastating 107-106 loss.
The Spurs leading scorer then went into specifics.
“Communicating. Not pointing fingers. And after that, we either got it or we don't.”
Wembanyama and the Spurs certainly didn't have it in the second half for Game 4. He went 3/14 from the field in scoring eight points as his team gave up all of a 29-point lead, blowing a 27-point halftime advantage — both NBA records.
In terms of the pointing of fingers, Wemby was careful not to following the setback that puts New York up 3-1.
Victor Wembanyama answers cautiously regarding Spurs key mistakes
With the Spurs up by one with just :15 left, Jalen Brunson missed a jumper and the ball eventually made its way onto the Spurs end of the court. Spurs star De'Aaron Fox opted to try and make a lay-up as opposed to running more time off the clock. It proved a fatal mistake when Knicks standout OG Anunoby blocked the shot. It led to a Fox foul and then a final offensive possession for New York in which Anunoby tipped in the winning basket off another Brunson miss.
Wembanyama was asked what he thought about Fox's attempt to go for the bucket in that situation.
Article Continues Below
“I fell on the floor. I couldn't really see. I don't know. I just saw the block.”
The NBA's leading shot blocker had gone for Brunson's runner, causing him to crash to the court.
Then asked whether Anunoby's tip-in was a great play by the Knicks forward or a San Antonio breakdown, the Defensive Player of the Year responded similarly.
“I don't know. I didn't see it again. I was contesting the first shot. Turned around and saw him up there. That's all I saw. That's all I can tell you.”
Wembanyama was guarding Brunson on that final Knicks offensive set.
San Antonio's first win of these NBA Finals came after New York took the first two games in the Alamo City. They twice faced elimination in the Western Conference Finals vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder before delivering a massive Game 7 victory on the road against the defending champions. They'll attempt to draw from those recent experiences with their season again on the line.
“We've proven that we can surpass these difficulties. Even though we haven't been there before, I'm convinced we're built that way and we're going to use the better of this. It's going to tighten us up,” Wembanyama said.
The Spurs now hope to match the Knicks history with some of their own. Only the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers have rallied to win from a 3-1 Finals deficit.
There's plenty of blame to go around for the San Antonio Spurs following the historic Game 4 collapse vs. the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals. The Knicks did plenty of things right in engineering the greatest comeback in Finals history. Likewise, the Spurs did plenty of things wrong.