Victor Wembanyama has been the driving force behind San Antonio’s remarkable run to the NBA Finals, but the Spurs now find themselves facing elimination after another heartbreaking defeat in a series increasingly defined by missed opportunities.
The 7-foot-4 French star endured a difficult finish in Wednesday’s Game 4 against the New York Knicks, who completed a stunning comeback to claim a 107-106 victory and move within one win of the championship. The defeat leaves San Antonio trailing 3-1 in the series heading into a must-win Game 5 on Saturday.
Wembanyama’s late-game struggles proved costly. With the Spurs holding a narrow one-point lead and less than two minutes remaining, the All-Star missed both free throws that could have stretched the advantage to three points. The Knicks seized the momentum, eventually taking the lead before OG Anunoby tipped in the winning basket with just 1.2 seconds left on the clock.
The missed free throws followed another painful moment earlier in the series when Wembanyama failed to convert a potential game-winning shot at the buzzer in Game 2.
Despite the disappointment, Wembanyama sought to keep the missed chances in perspective.
“It’s just a shot,” he said after the game. “You might work on your form hours and hours. At the end of the day it’s just a shot, so you need to shoot it the normal way.”
Wembanyama finished Game 4 with 24 points and 13 rebounds, but his influence diminished after halftime. He scored only eight points in the second half as the Knicks erased a staggering 29-point deficit, completing the largest comeback in NBA Finals history.
The collapse was particularly painful given San Antonio’s commanding position midway through the third quarter. The Spurs led 81-52 when Wembanyama was assessed a flagrant foul for elbowing Karl-Anthony Towns in the chin. From that moment, New York outscored San Antonio 55-25 to produce a remarkable turnaround.
The incident also leaves Wembanyama in a delicate position heading into Game 5. He is now just one flagrant foul point away from receiving an automatic one-game suspension.
“Of course I’m going to be a little more careful, but it’s not going to change much,” he said.
Wembanyama logged nearly 44 minutes as coach Mitch Johnson leaned heavily on his star player in an attempt to secure the victory. When asked whether fatigue contributed to the late collapse, the 21-year-old acknowledged that it may have been a factor.
“I guess it did,” he admitted.
Despite the setback, Wembanyama remains determined to keep the Spurs’ title hopes alive.
“It’s going to go one of two ways,” he said. “The bad one would be giving up. The good one would be getting stronger through this, getting more together. I know this is what we’re going to do.”
San Antonio now returns home needing three consecutive wins to overturn the series and prevent the Knicks from lifting the championship trophy.
