SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama got blessed by nuns before the game, got the loudest ovation when the starters were announced, pumped his fist to the crowd a few times and generally seemed to enjoy his first taste of the NBA Finals.
Until the ending.
The French star had 26 points in his finals debut, though had to work for all of them — misfiring on 15 of his 21 shots from the field, some of them even hitting the top of the backboard, and seeing waves of New York defenders all game long. The worst part of all for Wembanyama, the best defensive player in the game, was seeing the Knicks score the game’s final 11 points and steal away home-court advantage with a 105-95 victory.
“I was bad tonight,” Wembanyama said. “It’s not more complicated than that.”
He said it calmly, without panic, very matter-of-factly. The Spurs lost a game. The series isn’t over. He’s not worried, yet.
“I would say that he definitely holds himself accountable,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “I expect he’ll learn a lot of things from tonight’s game and come out with a good approach in Game 2.”
There’s been a history of that for both Wembanyama and the Spurs. They lost home-court advantage to Portland in Round 1 before winning the final three games of that series, lost home-court again to Minnesota in Round 2 after dropping Game 1, and didn’t even have the home-court edge against Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals — a series where San Antonio trailed 2-1 and 3-2 before prevailing.
Then again, they’re playing a Knicks team that hasn’t lost since April. And it’s now June. New York is 12-0 in its last 12 games, and the Spurs now have to try and beat them in four of the next six to win this title.
“Obviously, we’ve been down in a series before,” Wembanyama said. “Never in the finals, obviously. But I’m not kicking myself about anything really. I’m not worried the slightest.”
It’s not a question if he can bounce back, or if the finals lights are too bright. Wembanyama has handled everything that has been thrown his way since he entered the NBA three years ago — even the scare that came last year when his season ended early because of deep vein thrombosis — with what would appear to be ease.
Beating the Knicks won’t be easy. But Wembanyama finding a way to play better on Friday in Game 2, that’s to be expected.
“Players come along every once in a while that, in addition to having this incredible skill, love the promotional side of it and want to play that role for the league,” Commissioner Adam Silver said of Wembanyama before the game. “We saw the role he played at All-Star, even leading the other young players, saying, let’s take this seriously, this really matters.”
Even going back to the years when the NBA was waiting for Wembanyama, Silver has never wanted to say if he or the league has an expectation for him. The reasoning is simple: There was, and is, enough pressure on Wembanyama. Silver, to his credit, hasn’t added to it.
“He came in highly touted. He was somebody who even before he came into the NBA was blowing up the internet in terms of his highlights,” Silver said. “Did I have a specific expectation in terms of numbers of years it would take him to get to the finals? No. But I would say, just trying to be an objective observer, he’s ahead of any timeline that people had in mind.”
That may be true. He’s just not ahead in the series. And Friday’s test will be a big one.
“We’re all confident,” Spurs guard Dylan Harper said. “I feel like that is kind of who he is. He never backs down from the moment. He always kind of steps up and meets it.”
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