Coming off one of the worst losses in franchise history, the Spurs faced elimination for the third time this postseason in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks. At the Frost Bank Center, the crowd was split almost 50/50 between Spurs fans and Knicks fans. Nonetheless, like all five games of this series, the Spurs got off to a hot start in the first quarter. Leading by 10 after the first, New York cut the deficit to five at halftime. The Spurs’ defense was at its best, and the only
engine that was working for the Knicks was none other than their captain, Jalen Brunson. The Spurs outscored the Knicks in the third and took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter. In other words, heartbreak for the Spurs was unfortunately on the horizon yet again. The Spurs’ offense stagnated, and shots stopped falling, while Brunson fueled the Knicks. The result: New York outscored the Spurs 29-18 in the quarter and captured their first title in 53 years. The Spurs suffered their first Finals series loss since 2013.
Dylan Harper led the way with 25 points (10-19 FG, 2-4 3PT), five rebounds, four assists, and a block. In the rookie’s first postseason, he averaged 14 points per game, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists on 51% shooting. Dylan elevated and averaged 18 points per game in the Finals, which is the most for a rookie guard since Magic Johnson in 1980. Safe to say, that’s some good company. Dylan left everything on the floor and was easily the Spurs’ second-best player in this series. The 20-year-old showed he belongs on this stage and deserves consideration for a starting spot next season.
Dylan fought through contact multiple times, including flicking a floater over Karl-Anthony Towns for a tough two.
This was ridiculous. Dylan somehow got this reverse layup to go while under the basket!
Dylan dished out four dimes, including this laser to a wide-open Keldon Johnson in the corner for three.
Dylan shows off the speed and glides past OG Anunoby for the layup off the glass.
HARP3R shows off the range by draining one of his two threes in the game.
The true meaning of leaving it all on the court: Dylan gets his own rebounds and puts it back up and in for two.
Victor Wembanyama dropped a double-double: 19 points and 14 rebounds to go along with five blocks and two assists. Wemby had his best game on the glass and his best game with blocks. However, he struggled from the field, and it showed late. A key storyline of this series has been Wemby’s endurance, but the way his minutes were managed throughout this series (especially Game 4) was arguably questionable. Nonetheless, Wemby said after the game that he was not ready to win a championship and that he made too many mistakes. He averaged 26 points per game, 11.2 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks in the Finals and 23.8 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game in his first playoff run. He joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players to average those numbers and reach the Finals. The 22-year-old’s self-awareness will have to make him explore his game even more this offseason.
Defense to offense. Like Spurs fans have seen all season, Vic rejects KAT on one end, and he finishes on the other end with a reverse jam!
Wemby blocked three Knicks’ shots in the first quarter alone, with two on KAT and one on Anunoby.
Vic stayed active on the glass and finished this putback slam with one hand!
Vic’s lone three came early in the second quarter. In terms of efficiency, his three-pointer is something he needs to continue working on this offseason.
Spurs’ ball movement results in a Wemby and-one slam! Mitchell Robinson would receive a flagrant 1 on this play for shoving a defenseless player.
Vic’s last highlight of the season: a running one-handed slam from the corner!
Julian Champagnie dropped 14 points (4-8 3PT), seven rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Julian knocked down four threes, but also had some costly turnovers. Nonetheless, he averaged 11 points per game, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists on 40% three-point-shooting in the Finals, and near similar numbers throughout his first playoff run. Julian from the beginning of the season till the end was the team’s best three-point shooter, and set multiple franchise records, including threes in a game (11), threes in a season, and threes in one postseason. He has a team option coming up this offseason, but it is more likely that the Spurs decline it and give him a long-term deal.
Devin Vassell dropped 12 points (5-8 FG), seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block. Dev gave it his all on both ends of the court and was a playoff riser all postseason long. He averaged 12.8 points per game, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists on 53.7% shooting and 46.7% three-point shooting in the Finals. In his first postseason, he averaged similar numbers on less efficient shooting. Dev has earned the respect of all Spurs fans, and he will continue being a glue guy for this team next season.
Dev’s patented midrange beats the first half buzzer!
HUSTLE. Dev shows the relentlessness by not giving up on the play and swatting Anunoby’s three out of bounds!
Dev was a sniper from long range in this series, including this deep one in the fourth!
Some tough pills to swallow from this series: The average margin of victory was 4.0 points per game, it is the second smallest combined margin of victory for a winning team in the Finals (20), and most importantly, the Spurs led for 72% of the series and still lost in 5. Although it was a gut-wrenching way to end the season, Spurs fans need to take a step back and appreciate this team.
At the beginning of the season, this team was projected to barely crack 40 wins and make the play-in tournament (ESPN). This team completely overachieved and had several highlights from October to June. A 62-win season (most since 2016-17), two all-stars (De’Aaron Fox and Wemby), a 6th Man of the Year (KJ), the first-ever Unanimous Defensive Player of the Year (Wemby), an All-Rookie First Teamer (Dylan), an All-NBA First Teamer (Wemby), and a run to the NBA Finals in its first postseason run since 2018-19. Not to mention, they defeated the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder, in the Western Conference Finals. If that does not convince you of how well-suited this team is for the future, here is a quick reminder for all NBA fans: Dylan Harper is 20, Carter Bryant is 20, Stephon Castle is 21, Victor Wembanyama is 22. This loss will only fuel this team for the next season and for the seasons to come.
Finally, here are the full game highlights.
To all PtR readers, thanks for following and reading along throughout this entire rollercoaster season! October can’t come soon enough!
