“They closed the game really well,” Wembanyama said. “We’re going to watch film, we’re going to learn from it, and get better.”
New York’s 11-0 finish was just one part of what was a strong all-around night for the Liberty, who outscored San Antonio in every quarter except the third.
Sabrina Ionescu led New York with 22 points and six assists, while Kayla Thornton added 15 points on a night where Jonquel Jones was limited by early foul trouble.
New York also outrebounded San Antonio 41-28 despite missing Breanna Stewart and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton for the opening game of the season.
How the Knicks closed it
Defence was a big part of New York’s late push. Hart’s pair of steals made the difference, with his first leading to a Brunson layup that put the Knicks up 92-86 midway through the quarter. His last one helped seal it for good.
In between, Brunson hit a crucial three after Wembanyama’s free throw, then later knocked down a 15-footer with just over half a minute left. New York forced 13 Spurs turnovers, notched eight steals and turned them into 19 points on the other end.
San Antonio only managed 19 points in the fourth, while Brunson scored 13 on his own for New York. The Spurs leaned heavily on Wembanyama late, but he struggled to find clean looks, finishing with 26 points on 6-of-21 shooting and six turnovers. Fox’s drives didn’t generate much pressure, and perimeter options were tightly covered by the Knicks. Champagnie, who was hot early with five threes in the first half, missed all five attempts after halftime. The Spurs ended up with just 16 assists for the game.
The third-quarter swing put the Spurs under pressure
San Antonio built a 14-point lead in the third quarter, only for the Knicks to rally and level the score at 76 heading into the fourth. After letting such a lead slip away, San Antonio needed to regain control late, but their execution down the stretch wasn’t up to the task.
San Antonio will need to respond with more structure in Game 2. The ball can still go through Wembanyama, but they have to be quicker with their reads when New York pressures him. Stephon Castle finished with 17 points, and Dylan Harper and Champagnie both added 16, so the support was there. Still, late possessions relied too much on one-on-one play.
New York managed to win despite shooting just 41.5 percent from the field. Brunson, dealing with knee and ankle issues throughout, still put up 30 points on a tough shooting night (12-of-31). Even he admitted: “Wasn’t really our night, wasn’t really my night most of the night.” For San Antonio, improving late-game organisation may be just as important as shooting better in Game 2.
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