Just three nights after letting Game 2 slip away, Victor Wembanyama walked into the noisiest arena in the league and played his best basketball of the Finals so far. San Antonio 's 115-111 win over New York narrowed the series deficit to 2-1, and Wembanyama looked every bit like the player this team was built around.
He finished with 32 points on 11-of-18 shooting, adding eight rebounds, six assists, three blocks, and just one turnover. Afterward, he spoke about what it took to get through it. "Here, it feels like five against six," he said. "It really shows what teams are made of."
Game 2 will stick with him for a while, marked by that late-game outlet pass that went straight into a teammate's back. But Game 3 felt like his answer to all the questions, posting 32 points on just 18 shots, finishing with a +7 rating in a game San Antonio won by four, and providing the key defensive plays down the stretch.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson highlighted one of those late blocks as a game-changer: "Victor was there to do what he does best, clean it up at the rim. It was a huge stop. We needed it at the time." Johnson also noted that no one inside the Spurs camp was surprised by how Wembanyama responded: "I'm sure Victor has numerous sources of motivation. I don't think any of us are surprised."
Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images
New York's 13-game playoff winning streak came to an end, marking their first defeat since April 23 against Atlanta . The Knicks missed the opportunity to take a 3-0 lead, a deficit that no team in NBA history has ever overcome.
Instead, San Antonio ensured the series would head back to Texas and opened the door for what could be the first Finals comeback from an 0-2 deficit with both losses coming at home.
The Knicks are still ahead in the series and have Game 4 coming up at home on Wednesday. But there's a different feel to things now. When Wembanyama is playing like this, it forces New York to rethink how they defend him, and the Spurs' role players responded well to that.
Karl-Anthony Towns , who had been excellent in the first two games, was limited to 11 points as he dealt with foul trouble. The Spurs, who seemed out of their depth earlier in the series, started to look much more comfortable.
Read more:
