The San Antonio Spurs almost controlled Game 1 for a very long time. New York finished with an 11-0 run, completely wiped out San Antonio’s 14-point lead in the third quarter, and thus beat the Spurs 105-95 in the NBA Finals first game.
Jalen Brunson, who had 13 out of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, was the main reason last minute for scoring, while Josh Hart was without a doubt the most well-rounded player on the floor in terms of stats and Landry Shamet displayed the Knicks valuable bench players’ spacing.
It is as if the San Antonio team was first disoriented by their fourth-quarter loss that revealed how the offense was very quiet when it was most expected to be hot.
Magic Johnson Pinpoints Spurs’ Fourth-Quarter Offensive Approach
GettyMagic Johnson Calls Out Major Flaw That Doomed Spurs Against Knicks
Magic Johnson pointed directly at the Spurs’ late-game approach in his postgame reaction, and his message was clear: the problem was not just Brunson’s brilliance, but San Antonio’s offense down the stretch.
“What a very very entertaining Game One! Jalen Brunson was too much to handle for the Spurs tonight, scoring 13 of his 30 points in the 4th quarter! It was a great coaching move by New York Knicks Head Coach Mike Brown to put Landry Shamet on the floor in the 4th quarter. His 3-point shooting ability gave Brunson more room to operate. Josh Hart played with heart tonight, leading both teams in rebounding with 15 boards, 4 big steals and 6 assists!
The Spurs just played too much isolation basketball in the 4th quarter, and it was a key reason they lost.”
That evaluation matched the events on the court. New York strengthened its defense, forced San Antonio into 5 turnovers in the fourth quarter, and held the Spurs to 28.6% shooting in the last period.
Brunson consistently found ways to score, and the other Knicks players were capitalizing on every error made by the Spurs.
Spurs Must Make Key Adjustments Around Victor Wembanyama
GettyMagic Johnson Identifies Key Reason Spurs Let Game 1 Slip Away
For the Spurs, Game 2 is going to be about messing up the rhythm so that the Knicks don’t get comfortable again. San Antonio simply cannot afford to have long isolation plays that allow New York to load up defensively and take away their easy late-game looks.
The ball needs to be moving earlier, the spacing has to be better, and basically the Spurs’ lead guards and wings need to make cleaner decisions when the game tightens.
Even though Victor Wembanyama scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, his efficiency took a dip, and the Spurs as a whole shot just 36% overall and 11-for-43 from three.
If San Antonio intends to come back in Game 2 at its home court, it must facilitate Wembanyama with easier touches, reduce turnovers, and not let Brunson control the fourth quarter again.
Game 1 served as a warning, not the final decision. The Spurs still have the opportunity to make things better, but they cannot go through the same late-game isolation-heavy offense and think they will get a different outcome.
Game 2 in San Antonio is now turning into a moment when the team has to fix things after learning the hard way how fast the Finals can change.
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