The Finals — The Second Game (Recap)
Victor Wembanyama tried. Credit to him. But the orange-and-blue fire blazing in San Antonio was impossible to extinguish.
The Knicks entered the fourth quarter of Game 2 with a nine-point lead and extended it to 14 points with six minutes remaining. Then, the Spurs became the fourth-quarter heroes. As the Knicks missed buckets, they nailed shot after shot. Three minutes went by, and they tied the game at 97.
A 14-0 run. The Spurs went on a 14-0 run. Even when OG Anunoby nailed all three free throws following a successful challenge, Wembanyama responded. One-point game. Two minutes left.
Offensive rebound. Delay of game violation on San Antonio. Then, Jalen Brunson finally appeared. With 1:56 remaining, Mikal Bridges found him down low for a layup.
For the first time in weeks, Captain Clutch was not his namesake. He scored 20 points yesterday, but shot just 7-for-25 from the field. He missed six shots and a free throw in the fourth quarter, but his seven points still led the Knicks.
After Brunson’s shot, following consecutive misses by him and Wembanyama, Dylan Harper scored on an unsuccessful goaltending violation challenge. Then, Bridges turned the ball over, and Wemby put his team back in the lead with an and-one layup.
The Spurs were up by two points with 57 seconds left. If they played their cards right, they would end the Knicks’ 12-game win streak and secure momentum in this best-of-seven series. But ultimately, Brunson is still Brunson, and with 39 seconds left, he stepped back at the right elbow and nailed a game-tying shot off one leg.
Things got interesting from there. Mitchell Robinson paused his country music, checked back in, and forced Wembanyama to miss his next shot. And then, a series of game-changing, series-shaping plays occurred.
First, Brunson missed another shot, and Wembanyama collected the rebound. Next, he somehow deflected the ball off Stephon Castle’s back and into Brunson’s hands. But the Knicks captain missed his second free-throw, granting San Antonio a chance for a game-winning shot with 7.5 seconds left.
Cue Robinson. The seven-foot center stuck his hand in Wemby’s face, preventing a game-winning shot. It was a spectacular defensive play that will be immortalized in Knicks lore.
“Wemby is iconic. There is nobody like him,” said head coach Mike Brown. “He can score from all three levels. He wants the ball. Two big possessions at the end of the game, we put Mitch on him. What I’m proud about, more than anything else, is that Mitch defended him the right way.
“Wemby is iconic. If he makes a shot, he makes a shot. You’re not blocking his shot. You make him work. You lead with your chest. You show your hands, you embrace those details while trying to guard him, and then box out. It started with Mitch, and it ended with the other four guys boxing out. So, just a heck of a job by Mitch guarding the most iconic player in the world.”
Robinson broke his pinky at some point between Game 4 of the conference finals and the start of the NBA Finals. His injury, for which he received surgery last week, was especially concerning because the Knicks knew how crucial their longest-tenured player would be defensively against Wemby. News flash: They were correct.
“I knew we needed stops, and I had picked up a few fouls on [Wembanyama],” Robinson said. “So, in my mind, I was just like, ‘defend without fouling.’ So, that was kind of how it went. Just a great contest, and just kind of how it went.”
Indeed, the Knicks fought off a three-minute 14-0 run by San Antonio in a game they didn’t deserve to win. Yet, the more experienced team in this series gave itself a chance to win by entering the final frame with the lead. Wembanyama fought. Again, credit to him. But Goliath was, once again, no match for David.
The Knicks actually overcame a significant deficit of their own. In the second quarter, they dug themselves out of a 12-0 hole, becoming the first team since 1975 to earn double-digit comebacks in each of its first two NBA Finals contests.
43 days. 13 straight victories. The second-longest win streak in NBA Playoffs history. The Knicks are halfway there.
“It’s an amazing feeling as a coach to know how mentally tough your team is, no matter what the situation is in front of them,” Brown said. “To see them continue to fight and fight and fight and fight, no matter what the score is, no matter how much time is on the clock, it’s just a fantastic feeling.”
When Brunson struggled yesterday, Bridges filled in. With 20 points in 41 minutes, it was the second time in his career that he scored 20+ points in an NBA Finals game to put his team ahead 2-0. But last time, Bridges’ team lost its next four games, so he now treats every game like it’s 0-0.
“Same situation, 2-0, just got to [stay] level-headed and keep playing desperate,” Bridges said. “Being here before, knowing how it was gonna be, [I know] how much effort you need to give at every single moment.”
Bridges’s six steals tied Brunson for the team lead, and his four three-pointers led the Knicks. 41 minutes is a long time, but Bridges maintained the same level of energy and focus throughout his time on the court. Also, he shot an efficient 8-for-13 from the field.
“He was huge for us on both ends of the floor,” Brown said of Bridges. “You’re not stopping a guy like De’Aaron Fox. You’ve just got to try to make him work. We put Mikal on Fox in the second half a little bit and made him work. But what [Bridges] did for us offensively when we were struggling, and then we took Jalen out, was huge.”
Karl-Anthony Towns was also efficient from the field, nailing eight of his 12 shots, including three triples. Despite facing foul trouble in a game where the Knicks were limited to five second-half free throws, Towns earned his 11th double-double of the postseason, more than Wembanyama. He led the Knicks with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and a +11 rating.
Towns endured a disappointing regular season, especially defensively. Even though he was excellent in the first three rounds of the playoffs, there were doubts about how he would fare against San Antonio. So far, Towns has been better than Wemby, and he can even manipulate him on both sides of the three-point arc.
Recall that one key reason Tom Thibodeau was fired was that he couldn’t fully integrate Towns into the offense. Under Thibodeau, the Knicks’ big man got fouled at an exponential rate, and he faded during the playoffs. This year, Towns has been present, focused, and effective. It required a compromise by Brown, though, because earlier this season, Towns admitted he couldn’t adjust to his new head coach’s system.
“I came in with a great plan. Maybe the plan doesn’t work, the adjustment’s not enough,” Brown said. “Every once in a while, we’re not on the same page. We talk about it. I adjust again. It’s my job as a coach to fit whatever scheme we have on both sides of the floor to all of our players, and if you’re a great player, I’ve got to make more adjustments.”
Meanwhile, Towns is proud of his work and happy to be heading home with a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals. “This team leans on each other,” he said. “I think that’s why we’ve gotten here. That’s why we had the success we had during the regular season, even when things weren’t going great, because at the end of the day, when things do get tough, and the trials and tribulations do present themselves, this team doesn’t disband.”
Whether it is a blowout or a gritty one-point win, everything counts at this point. A win is a win. The Knicks fought off Wembanyama, the supernatural, even when it felt impossible.
“We had to do a good job of staying composed in those situations,” Brunson said. “It’s a credit to the character that this team has. Not being able to fold in situations like that is key to winning games like this. At this stage of the season, things aren’t going to be pretty. It’s going to be ugly. It’s going to be ‘grind it out.’ It’s as simple as that.”
The Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy is finally within reach. The Knicks are two games away from their first championship in 53 years, and the series is coming home to the Mecca, where it belongs. Madison Square Garden, The World’s Most Famous Arena, is ready to host basketball’s most famous series — the NBA Finals.
The Knicks now lead San Antonio 2-0 in the NBA Finals. Game 3 is scheduled for Monday, June 8, at 8:30 PM (Madison Square Garden — ABC, ESPN App).
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Knicks, Pro Sports Backgrounds
