The Spurs kept following the same recipe.
One for disaster.
After Game 4 of the NBA Finals saw them choke away a 29-point lead at the Garden, the Spurs again let a double-digit lead slip away with an ugly second half on Saturday night, particularly a bad fourth quarter, in their season-ending 94-90 loss at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.
The Knicks outscored San Antonio 29-18 in the final quarter as the Spurs fell apart at the seams.
But things seemed to unravel a bit before that. After Stephon Castle hit a free throw with 2:25 left in the third quarter, the Spurs went up 70-55 and appeared to be shutting down any hopes of a Knicks comeback.
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Victor Wembanyama, the all-world Spurs big man, basically disappeared in the fourth quarter, going 1-for-5 from the field.
In just the final two minutes, he missed one of his two free throws and clanked two 3-point attempts to all but seal the Knicks’ victory.
He had a team-high 19 points with 14 rebounds, but it was not enough as the Knicks stormed back once again to take their first title since 1973. It was eerily similar to how he closed out Game 4, when he had just two points with no rebounds in the final 9:30.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson, who saw his team leading late in every single game of this series, summed up the Finals rather succinctly after it was all said and done.
“We weren’t ready to win an NBA championship. The better team won,” he said.