Game 5: Knicks fans pack Spurs’ arena, eyeing 1st NBA title in 53 years
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Larry O’Brien Trophy will be in the building, and the rehearsals for the presentation ceremony, if one is needed, are complete. Thousands of New York Knicks fans have made the trip to the San Antonio Spurs’ home court in Texas, looking to see something that hasn’t happened in 53 years.
The stage is set, leaving the final act to the Knicks. Up 3-1 in the series, New York enters Saturday night’s Game 5 against Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs with a golden opportunity to secure the franchise’s first NBA title in over half a century.
Knicks perfect in closeout games in playoffs
The Knicks are 3-0 in closeout opportunities this season, winning them by an average of 39.3 points — all of them on the road.
READ: Wemby, Spurs still believe they can write big piece of Finals history vs Knicks
“We’ve been preaching all year it’s about the next possession, the next possession, the next possession,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “We understand any time you try to play a closeout game, the level of desperation — for your opponents — increases (and) the level of desperation for the fans of your opponents is increased. You have to bring your best effort because even if you bring your best effort, it may not happen, especially on the road.”
New York got to the brink of this title by rallying from 29 points down in Game 4 to win 107-106 on OG Anunoby’s tip-in with 1.2 seconds left. It was the largest comeback in NBA Finals history and the biggest comeback in any game this season, regular season or playoffs.
Spurs led by double figures in all 4 games vs Knicks
The Spurs have led each of the four games entering Saturday by double figures and let three of those games become losses.
READ: NBA Finals have been close and still, Knicks are in command vs Spurs
“The biggest thing for us is just can’t take our foot off the gas in a sense,” Spurs guard Dylan Harper said. “Can’t get comfortable with a lead. It’s the NBA Finals. Anything could happen, like we just saw. But just at the end of the day, we’ve just got to stay together as a group.”
The referees selected for Saturday’s game were Scott Foster, James Capers and Tyler Ford. Foster and Capers both worked Game 1 and Ford worked Game 2 of the series.
If the Spurs win, Game 6 would be Tuesday in New York.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
