By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer
SAN ANTONIO — The final moments in each of the first four games between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs in these NBA Finals had much in common, including that the outcome was still undecided with a minute left every time.
Game 1, Knicks led by four with 58 seconds to go. Game 2, Knicks won by one when Victor Wembanyama’s game-winning try just misses. Game 3, Spurs won by four. Game 4, Knicks won by one again after OG Anunoby got a miracle tip-in.
There hasn’t been a Finals like this, with a margin of four points or less in the final minute of each of the first four games, since 1973. New York won that series. The Knicks haven’t been champions since.
That could change Saturday night. New York – leading the series 3-1 – can close out the Spurs in San Antonio when the Finals resume with Game 5.
“You have to be present,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said Friday. “You can’t think about the outcome. It’s about the process, the next play, the next play, the next play.”
The series could easily be tied right now, after San Antonio wasted a 29-point lead in Game 4 in what became the biggest collapse in NBA Finals history.
The Spurs led 81-52 in the third quarter on Wednesday night and got outscored 55-25 the rest of the way, missing 29 of their final 35 shots and losing on OG Anunoby’s tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining. Taylor Swift was among the many who celebrated long after the final horn, and now the Spurs have to find a way to somehow regroup from absolute agony.
“There’s conviction in strength and confidence,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “That’s what it is. There’s no trick. There’s no avoiding what’s happened. There’s no avoiding all four games have been winnable games. There’s no avoiding we’re down 3-1. There’s not avoiding ways that we could be better. There’s nobody that’s going to be harder on ourselves and accountable to ourselves than the people in the locker room and each other.”
Entering Game 4, teams with leads of 29 or more points in a game were:
• 249-0 this season.
• 288-2 over the last 30 postseasons.
• 4,088-13 over the last 30 seasons, counting regular season and playoff games.
That means the Spurs – who have had double-digit leads in all four games – had about a 99.7% chance of winning Game 4, tying the series and coming home with all the momentum. They’re on the brink of elimination instead.
“We still have that belief that we have a chance to win,” said Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox, who has heard tons of criticism since Wednesday for his decision to try a layup instead of running down the clock when he had the ball and San Antonio leading by one in the final moments. “But we’re taking this one game at a time. We’re not looking at it as we need to win three games. We need to win tomorrow and then we give ourselves a chance to play another game.”
It will not be easy. When the Knicks have had a closeout opportunity this season, they’ve left no doubt.
New York is 3-0 in closeout games in these playoffs, winning them by the almost comical average of 39.3 points per game. The Knicks led by 61 points before winning, 140-89, to close out Atlanta in Round 1, led by 44 points before winning, 144-114, to close out Philadelphia in Round 2, then led by 45 points before winning, 130-93, to close out Cleveland in the Eastern Conference finals.
All that happened on the road, too. And thousands of Knicks fans are expected in San Antonio on Saturday night, all ready to see New York end that long title drought.
“One possession at a time, one play at a time, one quarter at a time,” Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said. “You’re thinking about the now, how you can be better the next possession, how can you turn the page, positive or negative. Regardless of what’s going on, our mindset and approach has to stay the same. I think we’ve done a very good job of that. It’s something that has grown over the season. It’s really important, especially obviously now.”
WEMBY, SPURS STILL BELIEVE
Wembanyama, the tallest man in these NBA Finals, is about to face the tallest order of his basketball career.
And he’s fine with that. When the Spurs gathered for practice on Friday, Wembanyama insisted the belief within the Spurs camp is still there.
“Everybody thinks, everybody knows, we’re going to do it,” Wembanyama said of the daunting task of trying to overcome a 3-1 series deficit.
If he was nervous, he hid it well. The 7-foot-4 French star has helped the Spurs stave off elimination twice already in these playoffs, after San Antonio won Games 6 and 7 of the Western Conference finals against Oklahoma City and ended the Thunder’s reign as NBA champions.
Now, the Spurs have to do it again on Saturday in Game 5 against the Knicks. And if they win Saturday, they’ll have to do it again in Game 6 on Tuesday. And if they win Tuesday, a Game 7 awaits next Friday.
“I feel like we need to isolate that one game and take it one game at a time,” Wembanyama said. “I think it would be a mistake to waste our energy on multiple games. It’s one game at a time.”
Having held double-digit leads in each game, the Spurs clearly know how to get into position to beat the Knicks.
They just haven’t finished it off in three of the four games. And now, they will try to be just the second team in NBA Finals history to successfully rally from a 3-1 series deficit; Cleveland did it against Golden State in 2016. The other 37 teams that have tried to do so all failed.
“It definitely matters,” Spurs guard Stephon Castle said. “I feel like we’ve made history all year, and we’ve proven that with our backs against the wall that we can step up. So, I don’t really expect this to be any different.”
Neither does Wembanyama.
The Spurs know they’re good enough. They’ve had the leads. They’ve won every first quarter, then frittered those advantages away. In Game 3, they recovered. In Games 1, 2 and 4, they didn’t. In Game 5, they’ll have to – or else.
“You said all of it,” Wembanyama said. “We’re very confident. I wouldn’t say it was so hard to shake off (Game 4). Harder than any other game before, by far, for sure. I mean, now we’re over it. It’s the playoffs. There’s no time to regret things for too long.”
NBA FINALS GAME 5
Who: New York Knicks (up 3-1) at San Antonio Spurs
When: Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio
TV/Radio: ABC (Ch. 7), 710 AM