Who's Really To Blame for San Antonio Spurs' Historic NBA Finals Game 4 Loss vs. New York Knicks?
The San Antonio Spurs had a 29-point lead over the New York Knicks on Wednesday night. The NBA Finals returning to San Antonio, tied 2-2, seemed inevitable.
But the New York Knicks had other ideas, pulled off the biggest single-game comeback in Finals history and now have a 3-1 stranglehold on the series.
In the immediate aftermath of the historic collapse, as we all try to wrap our minds around what we just witnessed, we're here to divvy up the blame pie.
Who's most responsible for the disappearance of that 29-point lead? Scroll below to find out.
5. The Spurs Wings
1 of 5
You may classify Stephon Castle as a guard, but his size and issues taking care of the ball this postseason (particularly in the games De'Aaron Fox missed) are enough to classify him as a wing for tonight's discussion.
And along with Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie, San Antonio just didn't get enough from this group, especially during the Knicks' slow, persistent push throughout the second half.
After halftime, the Spurs mustered just 30 points. Vassell and Champagnie combined for exactly zero of them. Of course, part of that has to do with teammates getting them the ball, but they were 1-of-7 from the field. And they weren't really making up for the misses with defense. OG Anunoby and Jalen Brunson, both of whom were hounded by San Antonio's wing trio, had 36 by themselves.
As for Castle, he had eight points in the third and fourth quarters, but he also had a couple of turnovers and wasn't able to contain Brunson in the same way he did in the first three games of the series.
4. Mitch Johnson
2 of 5
Most of the focus on the Spurs' lack of experience has been directed at the players, but this is still Mitch Johnson's first full campaign as an NBA head coach. And while he's obviously done a spectacular job, the learning curve has gotten mighty steep in the Finals.
Throughout the playoffs, including Wednesday's Game 4 third quarter, he's seemed a little too stingy with timeouts (or too trusting of his players). Beyond giving yourself the ability to discuss what is or isn't working, those stoppages can be crucial for slowing momentum. Johnson could've been quicker on that trigger in the second half.
He probably needed to rein in his young team's shot selection a bit, too. San Antonio was just 3-of-17 from deep after halftime. It's had its most success in this series when pounding the ball inside with Wembanyama. All those threes gave New York too many opportunities to counterattack off missed shots.
And though he did have Dylan Harper on the floor to close Game 4, it's taken him too long to fully embrace his rookie point guard as the lead playmaker of this team.
Fox's ankle injury from earlier in the playoffs may be a factor, but he simply hasn't been close to Harper's level during this series, and it's past time for the minutes to reflect that.
On Wednesday, Harper was plus-12 in 32 minutes.
3. Victor Wembanyama
3 of 5
Wembanyama certainly doesn't deserve the top spot on this list.
He had 24 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Turnovers have been a problem for him in some games this postseason, but he had zero on Wednesday. And he was a plus-one in a one-point loss.
But he also needed 25 shots to get his 24 points. He went 2-of-8 from three after dominating Game 3 without relying on that shot at all. On too many possessions, he bailed the Knicks out with jump shots instead of cutting or driving to the basket.
In the second half, when the Knicks' surge was still in its infancy, he got a little reckless with an elbow and drew his fourth flagrant foul of the playoffs. It wasn't a backbreaker, but it did rob the Spurs of a little momentum.
Most importantly, he missed two clutch free throws that would've extended his team's lead to three with under two minutes to play.
Beyond all that, Wemby is (or should be) the best player in this series. To prove it, he has to be able to step into the middle of a run like the one the Knicks had and make enough winning plays to slow it down.
He didn't, and now his Spurs have a steep mountain to climb to win this series.
2. De'Aaron Fox
4 of 5
The ankle injury may still be affecting Fox. At the very least, it may have thrown off his rhythm to the point that he doesn't have it back yet.
But he was acquired last season as a steady veteran presence and point guard to guide the young stars through difficult moments. Instead, he's often looked more like a rookie or sophomore than Harper and Castle.
He hit a huge shot in the Spurs' Game 3 win and drilled a three that almost saved them in Game 4, but he also committed all four of his turnovers in Wednesday's second half. And with just over 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter and his team up a point, Fox made a disastrous decision.
After Brunson's miss above, Fox was wise to tap the ball away from the Knicks. His speed helped him get to it before anyone else. And then his instincts betrayed him.
Instead of veering out to the corner and forcing New York to foul him, Fox challenged Anunoby at the rim, lost and kept the door open for the Knicks.
One possession later, they smashed it off the hinges.
1. The 2025-26 New York Knicks!
5 of 5
They still need to snag one more win, but after Wednesday, it's really starting to feel like this specific version of the Knicks is one of those teams of destiny.
Like the 2010-11 Dallas Mavericks or 2003-04 Detroit Pistons before them, these Knicks seem determined to demolish whatever obstacles might appear in front of them.
A 2-1 deficit after two game-winners from CJ McCollum? No problem. The Philadelphia 76ers, with a healthy Joel Embiid and the momentum that came from beating the Boston Celtics? Light work. The Cleveland Cavaliers might be thinking of drastic changes after seeing how easily New York handled them.
And now, these Knicks, who entered the Finals as underdogs, have overcome double-digit leads in the second halves of all three of their wins against the Spurs. At different points in the series, they've gotten heroic performances from each of Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Anunoby, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges. And Wednesday, they authored the biggest comeback in Finals history.
Everyone played a part in the 58-30 second half (including Jose Alvarado, who had eight points on 3-of-4 shooting!), but no one deserves more credit than Brunson and Anunoby (the likely leaders in the clubhouse for Finals MVP now).
The former had 17 in the second half, hit big shot after big shot and added four assists to boot. The former had 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting and hit the game-winning tip-in that could be the lasting memory of this run.
Clearly, there is plenty of blame to go around that San Antonio roster. But no Spur deserves the top spot on this list.
Like the Game 4 victory itself, that honor was stolen by the Knicks.
.png?w=600 "99 Best Players at World Cup 🌟")
.jpg?w=600 "Texas Tech Defends Playing Brendan Sorsby (AP)")
