Victor Wembanyama admits Spurs, on brink of tying NBA Finals, 'weren’t the most hungry' to close out game
The New York Knicks outscored the San Antonio Spurs by 28 points after the Wu-Tang Clan's halftime performance to complete the largest comeback in NBA Finals history.
Down by 29 at one point, the Knicks stormed all the way back, putting Madison Square Garden into a frenzy.
But before that, just about every ounce of momentum was in the Spurs' hands - and the Knicks had few answers.
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So, how did they just become the victims of one of the greatest collapses in the history of sports?
"We clearly weren’t the most hungry in the second half," Victor Wembanyama admitted.
Wembanyama was once again Public Enemy No. 1 in New York, getting booed in intros and treated to expletives from the crowd. When a defensive foul on him early was reversed to an offensive foul he drew, he again was jeered. It obviously continued throughout the night.
But after Mitchell Robinson was called for a flagrant foul for hitting Wembanyama, he appeared to relish the moment.
"I'm in your head!" cameras caught Wembanyama saying.
Wembanyama was in the Knicks' heads. Wembanyama was in the Knicks' fans' heads. And after winning two games on the road to begin the series, losing all the momentum was in the Knicks' heads.
But the Spurs scored just 30 points in the second half and turned the ball over nine times in the final 24 minutes. A 20-point lead in the fourth quarter vanished in minutes.
"To put as much good work into that first half as we did and get the lead that we had and not finish the job, it's disappointing to say the least..." Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after the game. "We got away from playing the brand of basketball that got us the lead. And then you saw at times, the aggressiveness and conviction that we played with early on dissipated and they made some shots. We needed a couple of more tough-minded plays to finish the job."
"It was painful, of course. It feels like we worked too hard and give up our leads. It's as simple as that. It just hurts," Wembanyama added.
Now, the Spurs have no choice but to be the hungrier team, as they need to win three games in a row to avoid the Knicks winning their first NBA championship since 1973.
"It’s going to go one of two ways: a bad one and a good one. The bad one will be giving up. The good one will be getting stronger through this, getting more together and that’s what we’re going to do," Wembanyama said.
"Holding each other accountable, communicating, not pointing fingers. After that, we either got it or we don’t. We’ve proven that we can surpass these difficulties but even though we haven’t been there it before, I’m convinced we are built this way. We’re going to get better from this and It’s going to tighten us up."
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