The New York Knicks continued their remarkable playoff run on Thursday night, defeating the San Antonio Spurs 105-95 on the road in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals.
The victory was particularly impressive considering New York trailed by 14 points during the third quarter before completely taking control of the game. With the win, the Knicks accomplished one of their primary goals entering the series: stealing home-court advantage. They have now won 12 consecutive playoff games.
Despite the disappointing result, Victor Wembanyama did not appear concerned afterward. The young star expressed confidence that San Antonio can recover from the setback despite falling behind in the series. “We’ve been down in a series before. Never in the Finals obviously. I mean, I’m not worried the slightest.”
Victor Wembanyama takes tesponsibility for his performance vs Knicks
One of the biggest storylines from Game 1 was the way the Knicks defended Victor Wembanyama, particularly with Karl-Anthony Towns playing a major role in limiting his impact.
New York consistently made life difficult for the Spurs star and prevented him from controlling the game the way he has throughout much of the postseason. However, Wembanyama was not interested in crediting the defensive scheme alone for his struggles.
Instead, he openly admitted that he simply did not play well enough and expects to make the necessary adjustments before Game 2. “Every team guards differently. I’m going to figure it out. I was bad tonight. It’s not more complicated than that.”
