Spurs’ late-game lapses sink title hopes in 4-1 Finals loss to Knicks
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The San Antonio Spurs exited the 2026 NBA Finals frustrated by a recurring theme: big leads that evaporated in crunch time. San Antonio held double-digit cushions in all five games but still fell to the New York Knicks in a 4-1 series decided by a total of 16 points.
Game 5 on Saturday at Frost Bank Center followed the same script. The Spurs were up 16 before Finals MVP Jalen Brunson sparked a 21-7 closing run, lifting New York to a 96-92 victory and the franchise’s first championship since 1973.
Fourth-quarter struggles
San Antonio limited the Knicks to 37 first-half points, their lowest output of the 2025/26 season, but scored only 18 in the fourth period while New York poured in 29. Brunson alone had 15 points in the final 12 minutes on 4-of-6 shooting.
“The margin for error is very thin,” rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama said after shooting 34.0% in fourth quarters during the series. “Our domination stints are absolute, but our mistakes are punished so hard that we can’t have ups and downs like this.”
Head coach Mitch Johnson echoed the sentiment. “We weren’t ready to win an NBA championship,” he said. “Rebounding, end-of-game details, sustaining a lead—there are levels of execution we just didn’t meet.”
Youthful lessons
Wembanyama, who averaged 7.8 fourth-quarter points in the Finals, called the disappointment the “biggest learning moment” of his career. “I’m going to have to hold that inside of me, slow down, wait and execute for a hundred games,” the 22-year-old noted, referencing the grind until next year’s postseason.
Guard Devin Vassell pointed to costly late-game miscues and admitted it was painful watching the Knicks celebrate on San Antonio’s floor. “In the Finals, one mistake can cost you a game,” he said. “I think we had a couple that cost us multiple.”
Harper shines, veterans falter
Rookie standout Dylan Harper paced the Spurs in Game 5 with 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting, adding five rebounds and four assists. Exhaustion set in late, however, as he missed three layups and a free throw during the decisive stretch. “There was some good, some bad,” Harper said. “There were a lot of possessions I want to take back.”
Meanwhile, fellow guards De’Aaron Fox (7 points, 3-of-15) and Stephon Castle (6 points, 1-of-10) struggled. “Some felt good—back rim, in and out. It is what it is,” Fox said of his shots against New York’s physical defense.
After the game, Vassell called Harper “a star in the making” but hinted the No. 2 pick was unhappy with his role at times during the 2025/26 campaign.
No guarantees of a return
Veteran forward Harrison Barnes reminded the locker room that deep playoff runs are never promised. “There’s no guarantee this group will ever have the opportunity to achieve that,” Barnes told reporters. “Accept what this moment has been and use it as a reference point.”
San Antonio concludes its season with clear progress and a clear list of what must improve before another title bid—chief among them, finishing games the way they start them.
Source: HoopsRumors
