Spurs' Dylan Harper on Not Finishing Game 1 vs. Knicks: 'Nothing to Hang My Head On'

SAN ANTONIO — Dylan Harper stood on the right block as Julian Champagnie stepped to the free-throw line with 4:04 left in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

The Spurs trailed the New York Knicks by five. Harper had 16 points on 60 percent shooting, becoming the youngest rookie in history to reach double figures in The Finals. He’d just helped San Antonio extend a chaotic possession that ended with Champagnie drawing a foul, but after watching his teammate connect from the charity stripe, he exited the game.

That was the last time he touched the floor on Wednesday night.

"It was a decision I made," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson acknowledged Thursday afternoon. "He did not finish the game (because of anything) he did or did not do."

In the four minutes Harper rode the bench, San Antonio took a one-point lead, thanks to a pair of free throws from Victor Wembanyama, before giving up an 11-0 run to hand New York a 1-0 series lead on the road. The Spurs failed to score in the final 2:16 of playing time.

"I think we let that one go," Wembanyama explained, placing the blame on himself. "I'm going to figure it out. I was bad tonight. It's not more complicated than that."

Jun 3, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots the ball against the New York Knicks in the second half during Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Wembanyama's response, simplistic as has largely been the case in his first postseason, provided credence to Johnson's explanation. Had the Spurs managed to stay in front of the Knicks in the final four minutes, a lack of Harper on the floor may have been glossed over.

Instead, shooting struggles stemming from De'Aaron Fox, who made the fewest field goals (3) of the Spurs' top six rotation players, contributed to a late-game collapse. Still, Harper maintained his trust in Johnson and the rest of the Spurs' coaching staff.

"Everyone wants to be out there in those times," the rookie said, "but we won 62 games. We made it this far. I'm going to keep trusting in the coaching staff ... if they think (me on the bench) is the best thing for the team and that helps us win the most, I'm all for it."

He continued: "Obviously, you want to be out there. But (it's) nothing to hang my head on."

Johnson admitted there was "definitely consideration" to allow Harper more minutes in Game 1, especially in crunch time, but chalked up his decision to the double-edged sword the Spurs have been wielding since training camp began in October.

As the age-old saying goes, with great depth comes a great lack of minutes.

"That comes when you have a lot of good players," Johnson said. "I understand that there would be logic in having Dylan in that (closing) group. But I thought that group that was out there did some things during that stretch, and that's what I rolled with."

Jun 3, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs coach Mitch Johnson speaks to the media after Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

The Spurs' final group consisted of Champagnie, Wembanyama, Devin Vassell, Stephon Castle and Fox, all of whom have been in the starting lineup when healthy since February. The five starters shot just 35 percent from the floor, compared to Harper's 60 percent.

Of course, Harper has a case to crack Johnson's first five. He'd likely be starting on just about any other team. But Fox's impact, despite his recent offensive struggles, is tangible. Leading San Antonio in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.13), the All-Star point guard has proven to calm down his teammates and facilitate more scoring.

In that sense, Johnson opted for calmer offense hoping the Spurs would be able to hit the shots they were creating. It proved to be the wrong decision, but hindsight speaks loudly.

"We can be much sharper on just a lot of game plan execution stuff," the coach said. "Old teams make bad decisions, too, at the end of games ... if you can recognize it, (you can) make a better decision next time or understand where there's a better opportunity."

While San Antonio shot itself in the foot offensively, the Knicks' shotmaking in the final stretch of the game — specifically by Jalen Brunson — helped push them to victory. That piece is what Harper knows the Spurs will be focusing on entering Game 2.

If he can match some of Brunson's production with more minutes, he'll do so.

"We have a chip on our shoulder from this game," Harper said. "I kind of feel like I can do whatever the team needs me to do to go out there and win ... the biggest thing for me is just stay in attack mode, but there's also a time and place to do it."

Harper would like for that to be while closing a game in the NBA Finals. He knows he's capable of it, but he's putting "blind faith" in the Spurs' decision-makers.

He just hopes his name will be called when San Antonio needs to fight for its season.

"I think all of us do just that," Champagnie said.

Add us as a preferred source on Google