It was truly a game of two halves for the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs were on the wrong end of the most historic comeback in NBA Finals history and are now tasked with overcoming a sizable deficit of their own to stay alive in the best-of-seven series, which they trail 3-1.
"We clearly weren't the most hungry in the second half," Wembanyama told reporters after the defeat.
Wembanyama, who led the Spurs with 24 points (9-of-25 shooting) and 13 rebounds, missed two crucial free throws with 1:47 left in the fourth quarter as the Spurs clung to a 104-103 lead.
"I can't really explain it right now. I don't know." Wembanyama added. "I think it's just execution, greediness of some sort."
"We kind of gave the game up", Spurs rookie Dylan Harper admitted, per ESPN.
The Spurs led 76-49 at halftime to establish a new NBA record for the most points by a visiting team in the first half of a Finals game. They managed only 30 points after the break, and that 46-point decrease tied the largest downturn from the first half to the second in a playoff game over the last 70 years, according to Elias.
"Holding each other accountable, communicating, not pointing fingers." Wembanyama said when asked how San Antonio can respond. "After that, we either got it or we don't. But we've proven that we can surpass these difficulties. Even though we haven't been there before, I'm convinced we are built this way, and we are gonna use the better of this, and it's gonna tighten us up."
Wembanyama and Co. will now return home ahead of Saturday's pivotal Game 5 in San Antonio. This is all uncharted territory for a young Spurs team lacking in playoff experience.
"It's gonna go one of two ways. A bad one and a good one," Wembanyama said. "The bad one would be giving up. The good one would be getting stronger through this, getting more together, and I know this is what we're gonna do."
