Heroes and zeros from the Knicks’ 105-104 Game 2 win over the Spurs in the NBA Finals on Friday night in San Antonio:
Hero
Even though he was quiet late, Mikal Bridges carried the Knicks when Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson were on the bench at the end of the third quarter.
The dynamic wing scored 20 points and added six rebounds and six assists. Those five first-round draft picks the Knicks sent to the Nets don’t seem so valuable anymore.
Zero
Victor Wembanyama threw the ball away with the chance to hold for a final shot in a tie game and then missed the potential game-winning shot in the final seconds.
While the 7-foot-4 Frenchman finished with 29 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, he came up small late.
His turnover and foul of Brunson led to the Knicks captain making the game-deciding free throw with 9.5 seconds left.
Unsung hero
The bench.
The bench came up big again, led by Landry Shamet’s 13 points. Miles McBride, Mitchell Robinson and Jose Alvarado all contributed, particularly late in the third quarter when the Spurs seemed to have momentum.
But led by the aforementioned quartet, the Knicks were able to extend the lead from four points to nine over the final 3:19 of the period.
Key stat
3: The Knicks became the third team in NBA Finals history to win the first two games on the road, joining the 19993 Bulls (Suns) and ’95 Rockets (Magic).
Quote
“It started with [Mitchell Robinson], and it ended with the other four guys boxing out. So just a heck of a job by Mitch guarding the most iconic player in the world on two possessions to possibly win the game. Phenomenal.”
— Knicks coach Mike Brown on Robinson’s defense on Victor Wembanyama in the final seconds.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
