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Victor Wembanyama finally got his head out of the water as he and Stephon Castle reignited the NBA Finals by guiding the San Antonio Spurs to a Game Three win in New York last night.
The Knicks had clinched the first two encounters with Wembanyama struggling to find his regular dominance but the French superstar returned to his brilliant best with 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocks to help the Spurs to a 115-111 win.
He had able support from Castle – 23 points, five rebounds and five assists – as the road team quietened a raucous Madison Square Garden and ended the Knicks 13-game winning streak.
“I really tried to relax,” said Wembanyama. “The playoffs, it’s like a whirlwind. It’s hard to put your head out of the water. Sometimes, I don’t even have time to watch the games back right away. I need some time off to let my brain cool down, recover. Recover as much for the body as for the mind.”
The Garden was rocking at the start with a number of celebrities, as well as US president Donald Trump, in attendance, but the Spurs gradually got on top with a commanding second half display.
“It’s their first Finals game in 30 years,” Castle said. “We expected it to be loud in there. We said coming into the game they’re going to have their runs. They’re going to make shots. When that happens, just stick together, stay poised. We did that for a majority of the 48 minutes.
“I don’t know if I would say ‘relief.’ We still haven’t really done anything. We’re still down 2-1. Whether we won or lost this game, the series wouldn’t have been over for us. It feels good to win, especially on the road after dropping two bad ones. Our confidence has been the same throughout this series regardless of what happened.”
We showed better poise, says Spurs coach Johnson
The win was justification for coach Mitch Johnson, who has maintained throughout the series that his team would be “fine” if they could find their A-game.
“We made some strides in terms of the ball movement and playing with our teammates, setting screens, trusting the basketball would find the right guy for our shot,” Johnson said. “We showed better poise at times. We finished the game still with some things that need improvement, but stronger than we did the last few games.
“We were in attack mode, but also as a collective group, it showed itself in terms of something would happen, whether it was an initial action or a guy trying to get to the paint. If they didn’t have a clear advantage, they were looking for their teammates. Because we were doing that throughout the night, it was much clearer for teammates to expect where the ball was going and when it was going to get to them, and then what to do with it when it got to them.”
Brown criticises officiating as Knicks’ frustration spills over
Jalen Brunson scored 32 points for the Knicks, who squandered a seven-point half-time lead.
Coach Mike Brown was frustrated that the game had got away from his team and lashed out at the officials.
“I talked to them. They outshot us 14-3 in the third quarter from the free throw line. I talked to them, and they said, well, this is a foul, this is a foul,” Brown said. “That’s the question I had with them is, you’re right. Maybe we did foul. But they fouled, too.”
Brown admitted the officiating would now be a part of the narrative ahead of Game Four tomorrow night.
“It’s going to be that because I said it. The story is going to be there,” Brown said. “But there are some controllables that we did not do a good job of doing. We allowed them to hit first at the beginning of the game. We allowed them to hit first in the beginning of the second half.
“We turned the ball over and we were stagnant offensively and we allowed them to get to the paint, and we did not pay attention to detail to what we are supposed to do defensively.
“I tell the guys, it’s a seven-game series for a reason. They are a great team. There are some things that we can control that I didn’t think that we controlled tonight. And then like I said, maybe we fouled 24 times, but I’m baffled that they only fouled eight in the second half.”
NBA chief defends Trump appearance
Trump was the first sitting US president to attend the NBA Finals but his appearance proved a hinderance for players and spectators alike with increased security delaying entry to the arena.
He was booed when his face appeared on the jumbotron – predictably Trump later claimed they were cheers – but his presence was defended by NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
“What makes sports so special, especially when there’s so much that divides people, is that it’s something we have in common,” Silver told ESPN’s ‘Inside the NBA’ during a pre-game interview. “We should look for those things we have in common and build off that.
“Yes, there’s some inconvenience to the fans, but looking around at the arena, it’s packed. People listened, they came early, they got through the extra security, which is necessary. I think we should use sports to create more of a sense of community.”
