Victor Wembanyama has his first NBA Finals win — and the New York Knicks suddenly have a lot of work left to end their 53-year championship drought.
Wembanyama had 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists, carrying the San Antonio Spurs to a 115-111 victory Monday night that cut the Knicks’ lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
San Antonio is trying to make a first-of-its-kind NBA Finals comeback, and the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama, with his array of skills, makes anything look possible.
I’m not sure if it was the environment or that the US President was in the audience made the atmosphere in MSG a little difference than usual.
Here’s the final 4:50 of the game;
The Spurs defeat the Knicks, 115-111. The Spurs were led by the 32 points and 8 rebounds and 6 assists from Victor Wembanyama, while Stephon Castle also added 23 points. The Knicks were led by Jalen Brunson, who had 32 points and 5 rebounds and 5 assists. The Knicks lead the series 2-1
The Knicks defeated the Spurs, 105-104 tonight in San Antonio. Karl-Anthony Towns led the Knicks with 21 points along with 13 rebounds and 4 assists, while Mikal Bridges also added 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with a team-high 29 points, 4 blocks and 9 rebounds, while De’Aaron Fox also added 20 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds. The Knicks lead the series 2-0
Karl-Anthony Towns has been where Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are now: a talented bunch that is trying to get over the hump but keeps making errors to land in impossible situations.
Towns’ experience, forged through some recent playoff failures, seems to be driving the bus for the New York Knicks, who held off a late surge by the Spurs on Friday night for a 105-104 win in Game 2 at Frost Bank Center and a 2-0 series lead in the NBA Finals.
That was a costly turnover by Wemby after a Jalen Brunson miss and a “potential game winning play” for the Spurs.
Wemby's costly turnover in the finals seconds of Game 2…
Missed the Game? Me too but here’s the final 4:53 of Game 1, which was an absolute masterclass in clutch basketball, showing why these two superstars dominated the floor.
Victor Wembanyama anchored the interior, erasing shots at the rim and hitting a massive bucket to put San Antonio ahead 95-94.
But Jalen Brunson completely hijacked the final minutes. Scoring or assisting on nearly every possession down the stretch, Brunson keyed a stunning 9-0 run, icing the game with tough, contested buckets to seal a thrilling 105-95 victory.
The New York Knicks stole game 1 of the NBA Finals, Jalen Brunson lead the team with 30 points, that includes a three pointer of a Mikal Bridges assist with less than 2-mins in the game and gave the Knicks back the lead and stopped the Spurs’ 9 straight points. The win will also be the Knicks 12th straight win in the Post Season stretching back in the 1st Round against the Hawks.
Karl-Anthony Towns the second leading scorer for the Knicks with 18 points and 12 rebounds but was in foul trouble late in the game. OG Anunoby added 17 points with his 2 crucial free throw in the last 30-secs to give NY an 8-point cushion against the San Antonio. Jost Hart may not have a great offesive game but was big on the defensive side, including the a steal of Wembanyama that resulted to a Brunson jumper that gave them the a 6-point lead (101 – 95).
The Spurs had their chance to wrap the game up but a number of turnover that resulted to a Knick point lost them the game. Victor Wembanyama lead the Spurs with 26 points, 12 rebs and 3 blocks but he also committed 6 turnover. Stephon Castle had 17 points and 8 rebounds, while rookie Dylan Harper, who is playing like a seasoned veteran added 16 points and 8 rebounds.
Game highlights;
The patience of OG Anunoby on this three-pointer 🙌
Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs started the Western Conference finals with a win in Oklahoma City, then ended the series the same way.
The defending champions are dethroned. Wembanyama and the Spurs are headed to the NBA Finals.
Wembanyama scored 22 points, Julian Champagnie scored 18 of his 20 from beyond the arc, and the Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-103 on Saturday night — bucking heavy odds to win a Game 7 on the road.
The Spurs will face the waiting NY Knicks in the NBA Finals. Spurs will host game 1 and game 2 of the NBA Finals starting this June 3rd.
The Spurs defeated the Thunder, 111-103 in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals and advanced to the NBA Finals
The Spurs will face the New York Knicks and Game 1 of the NBA Finals will be taking place in San Antonio on Wednesday, June 3rd at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
Victor Wembanyama had 28 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks and the San Antonio Spurs sent the Western Conference finals back to Oklahoma City for Game 7, routing the Thunder 118-91 on Thursday night.
Game 7 is Saturday night in Oklahoma City, with the winner hosting the New York Knicks on Wednesday night to open the NBA Finals.
Aside from the Game 1 classic,, the series has been a blowout, and I’m hoping Game 7 will be nearly as exciting as Game 1.
Wemby highlights for Game 6;
Victor Wembanyama is the 1st player in Spurs franchise history to have 25+ PTS, 10+ REB, multiple steals and multiple blocks when facing elimination.
The Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t reach 69 points in Game 4 until 5:04 remained in the game.
They matched that total by halftime of Game 5 as the Thunder constructed their best offensive game of the Western Conference Finals and defeated the San Antonio Spurs 127-114 Tuesday for a 3-2 series lead.
Two-time Kia MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander overcame a turnover-plagued start and scored at least 30 points for the second time in the series; the Thunder’s two 7-footers, Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein produced offensively and limited Victor Wembanyama’s dominance in the paint; and Thunder coach Mark Daigneault’s change to the lineup paid dividends for the starters and the bench.
Playing with the force that Daigneault said was missing in their Game 4 loss, the defending champions are one victory from a return trip to the NBA Finals.
This series has become a classic where neither team does not want to give up and neither coach does run out of adjustment to make. It’ll be interesting what adjustment will the Spurs make in game 6, to extend this to a winner take all game 7.
Fresh off his first career All-NBA First Team nod, Victor Wembanyama sent a clear, unmissable message to the Oklahoma City Thunder: the San Antonio Spurs aren’t going anywhere.
In a pivotal Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals at the Frost Bank Center on Sunday night, the 22-year-old phenom was simply unstoppable. Wembanyama orchestrated a 33-point masterpiece, grabbing 8 rebounds, dishing 5 assists, and swatting 3 shots to lead the Spurs in a thorough 103-82 dismantlement of the Thunder, knotting the series at 2-2.
San Antonio took control early, leading wire-to-wire and winning every single quarter. Wembanyama imposed his will on both ends of the floor for over 31 minutes, shooting 50% from the field and 42.9% from deep. He even punctuated the first half with a breathtaking logo three-pointer at the buzzer, blowing the roof off the arena.
Oklahoma City had absolutely no answers. With Jalen Williams sidelined by injury, the Thunder’s lethal offense completely sputtered against San Antonio’s defensive adjustments. Locked in on every possession, the Spurs’ defense racked up 11 steals and 10 blocks, forcing 17 costly turnovers and holding OKC to its lowest scoring total of the entire season on a dismal 33% shooting from the floor.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was choked out for a quiet 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting, finishing with a brutal minus-18 rating, while Chet Holmgren was held to just 10 points. The Thunder’s biggest lead all night was a lone point, while San Antonio pushed their advantage to as many as 25.
Meanwhile, Spurs rookie Stephon Castle provided crucial defensive energy alongside 13 points and 6 assists, while Dylan Harper flashed brilliance with 7 points with 5 rebounds, and veteran guard De’Aaron Fox steadied the ship with a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double.
More Wembanyama highlights;
The series now heads back to Paycom Center for a massive Game 5 in Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.
Oklahoma City secured a 2-1 lead in the West Finals behind SGA (26 pts, 12 ast) and playoff career-highs from Jaylin Williams (18 pts, 5 3PM) and Jared McCain (24 pts). With their 76-23 advantage in bench scoring in Game 3, the Thunder’s second unit now holds a +119 scoring differential over San Antonio through three contests. OKC’s bench is putting up historic numbers.
This is OKC reminding everyone why they’re the defending champs!
Game 4 in San Antonio is a must win for the Spurs or else, the series will be over by game 5 when it shifts back to OKC.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander bounced back from a subpar series opener to score 30 points, Alex Caruso added 17 off the bench and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 122-113 on Wednesday night in Game 2.
Chet Holmgren scored 13 points and reserves Jared McCain and Cason Wallace each had 12 for Oklahoma City. The Thunder finished with a 57-25 edge in bench scoring, plus a 27-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
Now that the series tied, next two games will be in San Antonio and will now be a best of 5 series. OKC will try and get back home court advantage as they go to an equally hostile Spurs crowd.
Victor Wembanyama had 41 points and 24 rebounds, Dylan Harper finished with 24 points and a team playoff-record seven steals, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 122-115 in a double-overtime classic to open the Western Conference finals Monday night.
A monster game by Victor Wembanyama, and we have not seen a player produce those numbers in a long time, these are Wilt Chamberlain numbers!!!
This series could be one of those NBA classic games that you get to rewatch over and over again, or a sweep for OKC!
If you missed Game 1 of the WCF, you can watch the extended full game 1 high lights that the NBA just released.
Enjoy!
Game 2 will remain in OKC this Wednesday evening as they look to even the series.
