[SPEAKER_01]: Now playing open floor.
[SPEAKER_01]: This is open floor.
[SPEAKER_01]: Sports Illustrated's Chris Manix back at.
[SPEAKER_01]: An NBA podcast with Sports Illustrated Senior Writer.
[SPEAKER_02]: I think it's time that the world gets to know.
[SPEAKER_02]: My guy Chris Manix.
[SPEAKER_02]: I think your opinion's shared by everyone.
[SPEAKER_01]: And now it begins.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now it begins.
[SPEAKER_00]: Alright, it is close to three o'clock in the morning and I have a very early flight to catch just a few hours now.
[SPEAKER_00]: But we have to talk about what we saw on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
[SPEAKER_00]: We saw the greatest comeback in NBA Final's history.
[SPEAKER_00]: We saw the greatest game that I have ever seen in my 20-some-odd years of covering the NBA.
[SPEAKER_00]: And we saw the greatest shop that I can remember.
[SPEAKER_00]: since Ray Allen made that quarter three in the 2013 finals for Miami.
[SPEAKER_00]: So let's unpack what we saw in this game.
[SPEAKER_00]: 107106 is the final score in next 731 series lead in the first half.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's fair to say that the nicks, they just look completely lifeless.
[SPEAKER_00]: The spurs were sharp, they were getting the ball on the inside, they were driving and kicking, and they were shooting ridiculous percentages from beyond the three-point line.
[SPEAKER_00]: The nicks, they just looked preoccupied with other things.
[SPEAKER_00]: They looked preoccupied with complaining to the referees.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, the stems are this flows from what we saw in Game 3, with the issues with the refereeing.
[SPEAKER_00]: They seemed preoccupied with getting some form of vendrant vengeance retribution against Victor Wimbain Yamma for the cheap shot he took at Jalen Brunson in game three.
[SPEAKER_00]: You saw Mitchell Robinson take a shot at Wimbie You saw Jose Alvarado knock him down and the second quarter like they were they were bumping him all throughout the first half And it seemed like it was taking away from what they were trying to do.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was a 27 point lead
[SPEAKER_00]: in at halftime.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was a 29 point lead early in the third quarter.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was a 20 point lead with nine and a half minutes to play in the fourth quarter.
[SPEAKER_00]: You give a team like San Antonio, those kind of advantages, and 99 times out of 100, they come out of this game with a win.
[SPEAKER_00]: This one they didn't, so what happened in the second half?
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's start with what happened in the locker room at halftime.
[SPEAKER_00]: Because Mike Brown, some of the players, talked about this a little bit after the game.
[SPEAKER_00]: Usually, at halftime, the assistant coaches, the video coaches, have 10 minutes worth of film edits, queued up, ready to go for the team to go over.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's standard operating procedure.
[SPEAKER_00]: This time, they didn't look at any film.
[SPEAKER_00]: Mike Brown told the team to talk amongst themselves.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hi, and they did, you know, crawl towns.
[SPEAKER_00]: He brought up how the nicks have overcome this kind of adversity in the past.
[SPEAKER_00]: He talked about what they did against Boston in the second round of last year's playoffs, when they were down big.
[SPEAKER_00]: The first couple of games against the Celtics, they came back, won those games, wound up winning that series.
[SPEAKER_00]: OGN and Oby talked a little bit.
[SPEAKER_00]: Uh, Jose Alvarado talked a little bit, and as they were leaving the locker room, Mike Brown said to them, said, hey, let's get it within 17 by the fourth quarter, and that'll maybe give us a chance to win.
[SPEAKER_00]: So the next one out, and they started chipping away, you can't overstate how horrible San Antonio was in the third quarter of this game.
[SPEAKER_00]: was one of the worst quarters of basketball.
[SPEAKER_00]: I have seen in the playoffs this year, and I've seen in a very long time.
[SPEAKER_00]: as locked in as the spurs were in the first two quarters.
[SPEAKER_00]: In the third, they let go of the rope.
[SPEAKER_00]: They did not know how to come out with that kind of lead and play with the same intensity.
[SPEAKER_00]: They got three point happy.
[SPEAKER_00]: They were two of 12 from three point range in that third quarter.
[SPEAKER_00]: And they just kept shooting him.
[SPEAKER_00]: These were not good three pointers.
[SPEAKER_00]: On one possession, Wembanyama took two threes.
[SPEAKER_00]: One possession took two, three's got away from everything that made them successful in the first two quarters of this game shot 20% overall in that third quarter and allowed the nicks to get within 15 exactly where they wanted to be the fourth quarter.
[SPEAKER_00]: Spurs managed to build in that lead though.
[SPEAKER_00]: They were up by 20, nine plus minutes to go.
[SPEAKER_00]: That should be enough for a team like San Antonio with the kind of defense that it had, that should be enough.
[SPEAKER_00]: But the nicks did not stop coming.
[SPEAKER_00]: Brunson kept making shots and a no-be made shots.
[SPEAKER_00]: And the biggest adjustment in this game,
[SPEAKER_00]: It was Jose Alvarado.
[SPEAKER_00]: Jose Alvarado going into the fourth quarter.
[SPEAKER_00]: His numbers, oh of one, didn't do anything.
[SPEAKER_00]: Six minutes.
[SPEAKER_00]: It would have been very easy for Mike Brown to put him back on the bench.
[SPEAKER_00]: But Brown was looking for something.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was looking for a secondary ball handler.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was looking for somebody to get the ball into the paint, take the ball, out of brunch and his hands, make him
[SPEAKER_00]: more of a secondary, not a secondary offensive player, but a guy that can play off the ball, a little bit more, and that's what Alvarado did.
[SPEAKER_00]: He had eight points in about seven minutes, seven eight minutes of this fourth quarter.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was a plus 17 overall.
[SPEAKER_00]: in the fourth quarter.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was dynamic out there.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was a difference maker.
[SPEAKER_00]: He brought energy.
[SPEAKER_00]: He scored.
[SPEAKER_00]: He defended.
[SPEAKER_00]: He put this team back into the game in the fourth quarter and put them in a position to win.
[SPEAKER_00]: Two key plays.
[SPEAKER_00]: Down the stretch.
[SPEAKER_00]: One on San Antonio side.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is a play that I think if the spurs don't come back to win this series, it's probably going to haunt the franchise for many years to come.
[SPEAKER_00]: About 15, 16 seconds left.
[SPEAKER_00]: Prunts and misses a six footer.
[SPEAKER_00]: Ball comes loose, Darren Fox taps it into the front court, grabs it right around the, I want to say, free throw line extended with about 13 seconds left and he has a choice then.
[SPEAKER_00]: They're up by one, he can dribble the ball out, wait for the next to foul him, take some time off the clock, get to the free throw line, where he's a very good free throw shooter.
[SPEAKER_00]: or he can go to the basket and take his chances going up at the rim against OG and Adobe.
[SPEAKER_00]: He chose Option B.
[SPEAKER_00]: Option B was the wrong call.
[SPEAKER_00]: He challenged an Adobe at the rim, and an Adobe blocked the shot.
[SPEAKER_00]: The next got the ball back.
[SPEAKER_00]: After the game, Fox said he thought he could out-race and an Adobe to the rim, he was wrong.
[SPEAKER_00]: Catastrophic play.
[SPEAKER_00]: can't overstate how bad a play that was.
[SPEAKER_00]: A veteran player like Dearen Fox has to know better.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is a two-time all-star former clutch player of the year.
[SPEAKER_00]: Frankly, had been having a pretty good game up until that point.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, making some shots for the spurs.
[SPEAKER_00]: He cannot make a decision like that.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know what he was thinking.
[SPEAKER_00]: You get the ball in that situation.
[SPEAKER_00]: You've got to have an awareness for the situation.
[SPEAKER_00]: You've got to know how much time is left in the clock, the score, what's going to happen if you pull the ball out.
[SPEAKER_00]: He pulls the ball out.
[SPEAKER_00]: The next probably foul with, I'm gonna say, ten, maybe nine seconds left, Fox, excellent free throw shooter, probably makes him both.
[SPEAKER_00]: Force of the next either make a three to tie if he makes one you have to make a two three to win the better situation all around for San Antonio and He doesn't do it spurs get the ball back and they have the ball Six seconds to play in the they're own in the front court in the spurs front court With a chance to win now.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is where Anna noby made the play of his life
[SPEAKER_00]: uh, in bounds of the ball to a president.
[SPEAKER_00]: And I thought it was interesting.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like, they got the ball into Brunson, when Binyama was on Brunson, and they still sent Dieran Fox over to double team.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just seemed like with Wemba Nyama standing there and Brunson 30 some odd feet from the basket That's a pretty good advantage for San Antonio.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's not enough time for Brunson to drive get to the paint Tried to create his own shot.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was always gonna have to take a shot like that the double team Didn't seem like it was necessary there the double team left and a noby with a free path to the rim Before the game Mike Brown said he talked to Anna noby
[SPEAKER_00]: about needing to do a little bit more.
[SPEAKER_00]: And he talked to Anna Novice specifically about needing to dominate the offensive glass.
[SPEAKER_00]: So Ananobe, in addition to doing that anyway, had it in his head that he had to get to the offensive glass, he had a free run to the glass, Bronson shot, looked right online, just a little bit short, popped up in the air, Ananobe got that huge hand up there, redirected it, scored two seconds left, spurs called the timeout, didn't get a shot off on the final play next win.
[SPEAKER_00]: Uh, just a gut punch for San Antonio, which played outstanding basketball for two quarters, which had, you know, I keep mentioning these numbers, 27 point lead at half time, 29, the third.
[SPEAKER_00]: The big number for though for me is 20 points with nine and a half to play in the fourth.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can't lose leads like that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Not if you're a championship team.
[SPEAKER_00]: The next game print credit.
[SPEAKER_00]: That didn't stop playing.
[SPEAKER_00]: They just kept coming.
[SPEAKER_00]: Brunson once again 36 points for Brunson 12 of 25 from the floor.
[SPEAKER_00]: 3 of 7 from 3 9 of 11 from the free throw lot and a nobby
[SPEAKER_00]: Look, if the series ended right now, and I know we's probably the MVP of the series, not just because of that shop, but he has had great games and or great plays in every single game of the series.
[SPEAKER_00]: Lost in what happened in game three was the back of the Anobie was brilliant in that game.
[SPEAKER_00]: Highly efficient scoring, doing a little bit of everything.
[SPEAKER_00]: Game four, 10 to 15 from the floor.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is seven of nine from three point range.
[SPEAKER_00]: Ridiculous.
[SPEAKER_00]: Four rebounds, one assist.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, and it'll be back in 2019 was a bench player with the Raptors when they want a championship.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was an understudy to quiet Leonard back then.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now he is coi-lettered.
[SPEAKER_00]: He is the next version of coi-letter.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just moves in silence, makes big plays, hard to keep off the glass, a very good defender, efficient score.
[SPEAKER_00]: He's been outstanding in the series, and that shot Mike Brown said after the game, greatest shot in New York basketball history, hard to argue with him.
[SPEAKER_00]: hard to argue because the next, at halftime they were staring down, going back to San Antonio, tied it to losing home court advantage, losing momentum.
[SPEAKER_00]: and they get it all back and then some 3-1 lead.
[SPEAKER_00]: Is this series over?
[SPEAKER_00]: Spurs have been resilient.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is a tough one to come back from.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a really tough one to come back from.
[SPEAKER_00]: Just how this team just gagged away that lead down the stretch.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's tough to come back from.
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, nobody looked good in those final 24 minutes.
[SPEAKER_00]: I thought it was crazy.
[SPEAKER_00]: Frankly, that Mitch Johnson played Victor Wemmanyama as many minutes as he did in the third quarter.
[SPEAKER_00]: Wemmby overall played 44 minutes in the third quarter, as I'm looking at this right now, he played 11 minutes in the third.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's no reason for Wemby with a 27.5-time lead to be playing 11 minutes in the third quarter.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was out of gas down the stretch.
[SPEAKER_00]: When he got to the fourth, he's legs were just gone.
[SPEAKER_00]: Played all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter.
[SPEAKER_00]: Two of nine.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was one of four from the free throw line.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's two clutch free throws down the stretch that would have made a difference in this game
[SPEAKER_00]: nobody, nobody performed for the spurs in this game.
[SPEAKER_00]: And look, again, I know they've been resilient.
[SPEAKER_00]: They are wiser and more mature than their years suggest, but this is big a gut punch as you can possibly get.
[SPEAKER_00]: As far as contextually, like,
[SPEAKER_00]: is there been a better New York sporting better New York sporting game than what we saw on Wednesday night.
[SPEAKER_00]: 86 World Series ball goes through Buckner's legs, maybe.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh wait, Super Bowl David Tyree catch the ball of his helmet, maybe.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is right up there.
[SPEAKER_00]: This was just as good that building was dead.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was a tomb for two plus quarters.
[SPEAKER_00]: It came to life in the third and the fourth.
[SPEAKER_00]: That was the loudest arena I've ever been in in those final minutes of the fourth quarter when the nicks were making that come back.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was rockers in there.
[SPEAKER_00]: And now the nicks can smell blood.
[SPEAKER_00]: There'll be a lot of New Yorkers down
[SPEAKER_00]: I was at the first couple of games, I would say 20% of the arena was Nick Span's and the first two games, I bet it's close to 50 in this next one because there's probably no amount of money that Nick Span won't spend to go celebrate championship in San Antonio.
[SPEAKER_00]: and they'll do it because the nicks found a way to come through in what was the most incredible comeback I have ever seen, the best game that I have ever seen.
[SPEAKER_00]: And now we'll see, we'll see what happens Saturday.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's a burst of a couple of days to kind of rest, recover.
[SPEAKER_00]: When he has a pretty unique ability to kind of put stuff like this behind him, he did it in game three, did it for most of
[SPEAKER_00]: But a catastrophic finish for San Antonio and just an unbelievable ending for the next unbelievable win for the next, which has them now one step closer to ending the 53 year NBA championship drive.