The Knicks Know Something About Pressure

Sometime around the end of the second quarter was the first time I thought that the San Antonio Spurs could not win Game 2 of the NBA Finals. The Knicks had ended the half up four after being down as much as 12 to the Spurs. Stephon Castle had been taken off the court in the middle of the second quarter after three dumb fouls. The threes had stopped falling and Victor Wembanyama, who tends to dictate the direction any Spurs game goes in. He had been completely timid on offense, barely even touching the ball. And with all that, I commend the Spurs for the way they fought in the second half—at one point they were also down as much as 14 to the Knicks and they clawed their way back to leading by two points. And then with the game tied and less than 30 seconds left, they just absolutely barfed it. https://youtu.be/yqoCezBgPdk?si=rAinXe81TKLOzNxu It's too simplistic to say this series comes down to a team of grownups that have been with each other for a long time versus a bunch of kids who have unreal talent but maybe not enough cohesion or team IQ. But it is evident over two games that the Spurs have not found an answer to the pressure the Knicks put on you for four straight quarters. Wembanyama has shown spurts of brilliance but looks worn out on the court, almost to the point of parody. Like he should be on the front of a box of Sleepytime Tea.