The Knicks train keeps on rolling, even when it looked as though it was all about to run off the rails.
In a thrilling Game 2 of the NBA Finals, San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama missed a fadeaway shot over Mitchell Robinson in a calamitous final minute to help gift New York a 105-104 win and a 2-0 series lead.
With the game tied at 104 apiece, Wembanyama bricked a jumper with 30 seconds to go, but appeared to give his Spurs life when he helped force a Jalen Brunson miss on a jumper with 13.5 seconds left. The star Frenchman got the rebound, but his intended pass for Stephon Castle hit the guard’s back and fell into the clutches of Brunson.
Wembanyama fouled Brunson, sending the struggling Knicks captain to the line. He hit one of two, which proved to be the game-winner.
With it, the Knicks have won 13 straight playoff games, the second-longest postseason winning streak in NBA history. More importantly, they are just two wins away from their first championship since 1973 and are returning to the friendly confines of Madison Square Garden for Game 3 on Monday.
The Knicks held a 14-point lead with six minutes left, but the Spurs roared back with 14 unanswered to tie it at 97 apiece. Their momentum was finally slowed when the Knicks successfully challenged a foul on OG Anunoby that awarded them three shots.
Anunoby hit all of them to give the Knicks a 100-97 lead.
A Wembanyama alley-oop was canceled by a Brunson layup, but five straight points from San Antonio gave the hosts a one-point lead with 57.3 seconds to go. Brunson, who struggled mightily all night, got a jumper to fall to tie it up.
Karl-Anthony Towns was superb yet again, leading the Knicks with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Twelve of Town’s points came in the second quarter, as he locked down Wembanyama on the defensive front.
Mikal Bridges came alive to score 20 points, as 11 came in that same second quarter. Brunson produced 20 of his own and six assists, but fell short in some respects compared to his game one performance. Anunoby scored 17, as Landry Shamet had 13 points and three triples off the bench.
Wembanyama posted 29 points and nine rebounds against New York’s defense, but went 2-for-6 on three-point attempts. Fox scored 20, as Stephon Castle had 14 of his own. Devin Vassell contributed 14 points and nine rebounds.
After Vassell got the Spurs’ first three of the first quarter to fall, Brunson responded with five points, coming off a contested jump shot and three free throws. Julian Champagnie knocked down San Antonio’s next two triples, including a deep one from the corner. Anunoby and Brunson swished in long-range shots. Towns completed the trifecta of triples before scoring on a layup. But as New York began to get into a rhythm, the Spurs sent Mitchell Robinson to the charity stripe three times, resulting in him going 3-for-6. Fox scored on consecutive layups to give San Antonio a nine-point lead at the end of the first stanza.
Castle and Towns traded triples to start the second. Moments later, the Knicks’ big man added another six to his total. Free throws from Jose Alvarado brought the Spurs’ lead down to six, before Bridges cut it down to three with a long-range shot of his own. Anunoby denied Harper at the rim, then found Bridges for a wide-open three.
Yet, New York’s momentum was brought to a standstill by a Josh Hart flagrant foul and Robinson’s technical foul. San Antonio maintained its lead, only for Bridges to drill another three, and Shamet converted on a layup. This was only for Vassell to return the favor on a four-point play. Bridges got up to 11 points in just the second quarter with a floater, before Towns followed through on a long-range shot to give the Knicks a four-point lead at halftime.
Towns began the third quarter on a put-back layup after Brunson missed the mark on a three. Anunoby drained a corner three before Brunson made up for his missed attempt on another long-range shot to increase New York’s lead to 10. Not long after, Bridges knocked down his fourth triple, as Wembanyama fouled him on the next possession. Shamet made another from the corner, as the Knicks’ defense continued to hold the Spurs scoreless. Castle ended the standstill, only for Wembanyama to slip up on an alley oop. Wembanyama responded with a three, while Anunoby and Castle traded layups. Bridges got his eighth consecutive shot to fall, continuing a brilliant hot streak after missing his first shot. Robinson converted on an alley-oop slam dunk to give the Knicks a nine-point lead going into the final 12 minutes.
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