Chris Mannix: Why the Spurs Still Believe Despite Demoralizing NBA Finals Game 4 Collapse

On Friday, the San Antonio Spurs faced reporters, and there was only one question that mattered:

Did the Spurs still believe?

Wednesday’s 107–106 Game 4 defeat wasn’t a loss. It was a disaster. San Antonio led by 27 points at halftime. It led by 29 in the third. It led by 20 with 9 ½ minutes to play in the fourth quarter. And the Spurs lost. Biggest comeback in NBA Finals history and the Spurs were on the wrong end of it.

“It’s the playoffs,” said Victor Wembanyama. “There’s no time to regret things for too long.”

Does Wembanyama believe? The Spurs center was brilliant in the first half of Game 4. He had 16 points. He was 6 of 11 from the floor. The Knicks, seeking retribution for Wembanyama’s shove of Jalen Brunson in Game 3, took shots at him. Wemby just kept coming. In the second half, he got three-point happy. He got sloppy. He gassed out.

Greediness was what Wembanyama called the Spurs’ problems in Game 4.

Said Wembanyama, “I guess the general thing would be, like, giving them less opportunities rather than doing something incredible.”

Does De’Aaron Fox believe? Fox has been buried in the aftermath of a horrific fourth quarter on Wednesday. He scored three points on 1-of-5 shooting. He committed a costly turnover. And with 13 seconds left and the Spurs up a point he chose to shoot instead of forcing the Knicks to foul, only to have OG Anunoby snuff it out at the rim.

“De’Aaron is a point guard,” Magic Johnson said on ESPN. “You gotta know every situation.”

Does Mitch Johnson believe? The Spurs coach steered San Antonio to a 62-win season. To wins over Minnesota and Oklahoma City in the conference playoffs. But he played Wembanyama 11 minutes in the third quarter of Game 4. He couldn’t get his team to change its shot selection down the stretch. He couldn’t do anything to stop the Knicks’ momentum.

“There’s no trick, there’s no avoiding what’s happened,” said Johnson. “There’s no avoiding all four games have been winnable games. There’s not avoiding we’re down 3–1. There’s not avoiding ways that we could be better. There’s nobody that’s going to be harder on ourselves and accountable to ourselves than the people in the locker room and each other.”

The Spurs know they can win. Three of the games in this series have been decided by four points or fewer. San Antonio lost two of them. It had a one-point lead with two minutes left in Game 1. It was an open Wembanyama 20-footer from winning Game 2. Game 4 … yikes. The Spurs spent most of the third quarter looking for a kill shot.

“There was a lot of things that we did, where it felt like we could have put our energy into the right spots in that third quarter,” said Johnson. “Some things that I could have done to help that, as well.”

They can win. Do they believe? It’s impossible to know what a defeat like that does to you. The last few days have been rough. For Fox: “It doesn’t matter. It is what it is.” For Johnson: “I think I’ve been fired 212 times, and we’ve traded Fox 72 times.” For Wembanyana: “There was a time to process this, to really dwell on it. But not anymore.”

This isn’t a veteran team. It’s a collection of (mostly) early 20-somethings. That could be a good thing. There’s been an irrational confidence to the Spurs all postseason. They have refused to buy in to the suggestion that they had to fail before they succeeded. They proved it against Minnesota and Oklahoma City. They believe, at least publicly, that they can do it again.

“It felt like we haven’t skipped any steps because we’ve made almost every mistake we could have possibly done, and we’ve learned from them,” said Wembanyama. “I’m counting on the fact that we’re going to learn before this series is over and apply.”

Said Stephon Castle, “I feel like we’ve made history all year, and we’ve proven that with our backs against the wall that we can step up. So I don’t really expect this to be any different.”

If San Antonio needed a little extra juice, the Knicks fans gave it to them. It was bedlam in New York on Wednesday. Some of the reactions were good. Many were bad. Some Knicks fans reacted like first-time drinkers, recording it all, thirsty to become social media stars. They assaulted Spurs supporters. They threw things at the team bus. Hundreds of them concluded that the best way to celebrate arguably the greatest win in franchise history was by storming the area around the San Antonio hotel. Some of them threw stuff. Wembanyama got clipped with an egg.

“I mean, I didn’t really think much of it,” said Wembanyama. “It’s O.K. I don’t dislike it. Obviously it’s not good at all. But it doesn’t bother me.”

The Spurs know they can turn the tables. If they believe. Early odds have San Antonio favored to win Game 5. Some books have the spread at more than five points. On Wednesday, Wembanyama said the team would either give up or get stronger. As Wembanyama’s news conference wrapped up on Friday, he was asked if he had a feel for which way they would go.

“Everybody knows,” said Wembanyama, “we’re going to do it.”

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