SAN ANTONIO — As Victor Wembanyama soared above the Knicks defenders to slam in a lob or effortlessly drained long three-point field goals like a father toying with kids in the driveway, both raising the fans at the Frost Center out of their seats, it was easy to see the future of the NBA.
Just 21 years old, the 7-4 package of freakish talent may be the face of the league moving forward. But for the Knicks, the focus was on the present. And in the present Wembanyama was back in the locker room while the Spurs and their fans were crossing fingers and hoping for the best.
Evidence that anything can happen came with 10:32 remaining in the game, when Wembanyama, who the Knicks had failed to find a way to stop all night, came down awkwardly as he tried to grab an offensive rebound in traffic. His left knee appeared to hyperextend as he landed. He remained on the floor for a moment clutching at his knee and then limped off the floor and went directly to the locker room.
While there was no word on Wembanyama, who returned to the bench in the final moments in slippers and banged the drum to lead the celebration afterward, the Spurs made another statement that maybe the future is now for them, surviving without their star center to pull off a come-from-behind win over the Knicks, 134-132.
“Great win by San Antonio,” Mike Brown said. “They just outworked us in a lot of ways.”
While some may wonder about teams built to be the future of the league like the Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder, the focus for the Knicks is on this season. And maybe it is for the Spurs, too.
When Brown took over as Knicks coach he tried to avoid going through a history lesson about what had come before, how far the franchise had gone last season. And he didn’t need anyone to tell him the expectations.
The reality was on display in the NBA Cup when the Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs and celebrated the first championship of any time for the organization since 1973. But after the confetti had settled the Knicks knew that this wasn’t the championship that they are chasing, opting to not even hang a banner to commemorate it, and that there may be no better time than right now to achieve the ultimate goal.
The Knicks are a team built to win now. But Brown tries not to think about any timeline or window.
“No. Shoot, even when I was in Sacramento I wanted to win,” Brown said. “You come here you want to win. You look at a team on paper, you’re around the team a little bit. You’re like, ‘OK man, we legitimately have a chance to like win this whole thing.’
“But in terms of my preparation with the team and all that, I mean, it’s all the same. We’re trying to friggin’ win and win at a high level. We have a chance here because of the roster, the guys on the roster, and the coaches I have on my staff and [team president] Leon [Rose] and Jim Dolan. We’ve got a chance.”
Clinging to a six-point lead, the Knicks got a pair of fast break buckets by Jordan Clarkson to push the lead back to double-figures with just over nine minutes remaining.
But the Spurs didn’t fold, with Julian Champagnie taking over and burying a career-high 11 three-pointers and finishing with 36 points, including four threes after Wembanyama left the game, to push San Antonio back in front. The former St. John’s star combined with De’Aaron Fox for 25 fourth-quarter points and San Antonio had the crowd going wild and the Knicks scrambling.
“Sometimes it’s just about taking pride and getting stops,” Deuce McBride said. “I feel like when the ball’s going in, even for me tonight … I’ve got to be better on the defensive end. I’ve got to get stops. I’m out there to get stops first, make shots, but I just think it’s about taking pride.”
The Knicks led by as many as 19 but the Spurs fought back to take a 93-91 lead. But the Knicks responded with an 11-0 run to end the third quarter and seemingly take control.
With Champagnie and Fox doing much of the damage, it was Luke Kornet, who came up with a key possession, first tapping out an offensive rebound and then grabbing another, converting a layup and drawing a sixth foul on Towns with 49.2 seconds left. When he missed the free throw Clarkson was called for a loose ball foul, sending Johnson to the line and he hit a pair for a 128-123 lead.
Brunson, who finished with 26 points, but shot just 10-for-24, drained a three with 24.8 seconds left to cut the lead to two. And after three free throws by McBride, Kevin McCullar Jr. tied up Champagnie with 8.2 seconds left, forcing a jump ball. But the Spurs won the tip and secured the win.
Notes & quotes: Mitchell Robinson sat out a second straight game with left ankle load management. Brown said he would play in one of the back-to-back set when the Knicks return home, but had not determined which game yet . . . Landry Shamet updated his rehab process from the separated right shoulder suffered on Nov. 22. This is the second straight year he’s suffered the same injury and that helped him start his rehab process sooner and opt to avoid surgery. “Going well. Taking things a day at a time and getting better. Staying engaged here with the guys and trying to contribute as much as I can while still being out. And yeah, in a good spot, getting better. My intention was to rehab and get this thing right. And you make that decision and there’s not a gray area or back-and-forth considerations beyond whatever you decide to do. So that was it, that’s where we’re at.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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