06/09/26 01:16:00
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06/09 13:13 CDT Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are undaunted on the road at
the Knicks in the NBA Finals
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are undaunted on the road at the Knicks in the
NBA Finals
By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --- Victor Wembanyama likens home-court advantage to having six
players on the court against five. On the road, it is like five on six.
Wemby likes it like that.
Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs thrived in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at
Madison Square Garden and are undaunted by the hostile environment and the
series deficit they face against the New York Knicks.
"I like lively crowds, active crowds," Wembanyama said Tuesday, roughly 13
hours after his 32-point, eight-rebound, six-assist dominance to pick up his
first career win in the finals. "At home, it's an extra motivation because you
want to give the people who support you a good show. On the road, you want to
do the opposite."
Fresh off silencing a sellout crowd of nearly 20,000, San Antonio now gets the
chance to even things up in Game 4 on Wednesday night back at the Garden in
what could be an even more intense situation as fans try to will their team to
the verge of its first championship since 1973.
"We find a comfort playing on the road, knowing when you're in this
environment, it's us versus them, and obviously everybody in the crowd," Guard
De'Aaron Fox said. "When you know that --- everybody behind you has your back
--- it allows you to settle into these games."
Backcourt mate Stephon Castle said he and the Spurs knew their season was on
the line after falling behind 2-0 in the series and credited their connectivity
for being 7-3 on the road in these playoffs. If Monday was a must-win game,
Wednesday is nearly that because only one of 38 teams to fall behind 3-1 in the
finals came back to win it.
"It's something you can't shy away from, especially with the goals and
aspirations that we have," Castle said. "Just focus on the things that matter
throughout the game and not really paying too close attention to the crowd.
They're going to be there regardless, especially cheering on their team. You
should want to play in those environments. I feel like that's when we play at
our best."
Wembanyama certainly was, shaking off his buzzer-beating miss to turn in a
performance fit for the bright spotlight at a place known as the world's most
famous arena. But the 22-year-old big man from France did not do it alone.
Castle, who's 21, scored 23 points and did not look bothered by the ankle he
injured in Game 2 on Friday night. Devin Vassell, who's 25, and Julian
Champagnie, weeks away from his 25th birthday, each hit some big shots and got
into double figures. Rookie Dylan Harper, who is 20, scored 13 off the bench.
Fox, who at 28 is among the elder statesmen, points to those young players'
demeanor to explain why they don't shrink under pressure.
"They just don't have the personalities that you would think that are just
going to be overwhelmed by something," Fox said. "I don't know what they're
feeling on the inside, obviously. What you see out there on the court with
them, just when you see it on their faces when New York is going on a run, you
don't see them panic."
There does not seem to be any panic in the Spurs, no matter how inexperienced
some of their core players are. Coach Mitch Johnson understands why there is so
much talk about youth and age, but like Fox he thinks it's more about the
makeup of guys like Wembanyama, Castle and Harper than how many years they've
been alive and playing basketball.
Perhaps being a little naive helps. Harper said this is the first time he has
been booed on the street walking out of a hotel in New York, though it only
served to fire him and his teammates up --- and could continue to do so.
"We just stay together in environments like this," Harper said. "When we come
to away games in the playoffs, for us at least, it's been just staying together
and holding each other accountable. I feel like with the level of desperation
and desire that we played with (in Game 3), I feel like we're pretty hard to
beat when we do that."
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
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