For one half, the San Antonio Spurs looked like the best team in the NBA Finals. They led the New York Knicks by 29 points, quieted the building on the road, and stood a half away from tying the series and seizing control. Then it all came apart.
San Antonio's 107-106 Game 4 loss on Wednesday night dropped it into a 3-1 hole, the result of a second-half collapse that was equal parts cold shooting and young mistakes. The Spurs let a golden chance to even the series get away, and they have now lost two games in this series by a single point, with the Game 2 loss coming after an avoidable Victor Wembanyama turnover remaining in the back of mind. There is a very reasonable scenario where the Spurs are up 3-1 if it weren't for these mistakes, not down.
Yet the same youth that cost them is the biggest reason their future looks so bright.
The Spurs in the NBA Finals:
— Onyx (@OnyxOdds) June 11, 2026
Game 1: Blew a 14-point lead
Game 2: Blew a 12-point lead
Game 4: Blew a 29-point lead
Not built for this pic.twitter.com/U3lLxJxETy
A 24-Minute Masterpiece, Then a Collapse
The Spurs were almost perfect in the first half, sinking 11 of their first 16 3-pointers, establishing the largest halftime lead by a visiting team in Finals history at 76-49, and extending it to 81-52 early in the third quarter before what proved to be a drastic shift.
San Antonio scored only 30 after the half, shooting 8-for-39, including 3-for-17 from 3-point range, and committed 9 turnovers. Meanwhile, New York outscored the Spurs 58-30 after halftime.
"We got on our heels, missed some shots," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "It's disappointing, to say the least."
He kept coming back to how stark the drop-off was.
"76 points one half and 30; that's a stark difference in a lot of surface-level things," Johnson said. "You don't get to peel too many layers and dig too deep to find some differences."
The Mistakes of a Young Team
The collapse was caused by their own actions. San Antonio ceased the efforts that originally created the lead, and Wembanyama explained it clearly.
"Stopped moving the ball. Stopped executing," Wembanyama said.
The late-game margins proved costly. Wembanyama missed two free throws with 1:47 remaining while the Spurs led 104-103. In the final seconds, De'Aaron Fox drove for a layup rather than draining the clock, but missed. Wembanyama also received a flagrant foul that brought him one such call away from a one-game suspension.
For such a young team, those close moments build up, and a pattern has emerged. San Antonio has lost two games in this series by just one point each. Stephon Castle wasn't making excuses.
"They're a good team. We expected to be in close games with them," Castle said. "But when we take leads like that, there's really no excuse."
Johnson consistently framed the entire series in the same manner.
"We feel like we've decided the outcome of all four games," Johnson said. "We need to be better in the next game."
"I just thought I'd be able to outrun [OG Anunoby]."
— ESPN (@espn) June 11, 2026
De'Aaron Fox explains his late game shot that was blocked by OG Anunoby.
(via @BenGolliver) pic.twitter.com/HbWQvzPZ5M
The Foundation Is Real
Here's another perspective: the Spurs are in the Finals during Wembanyama's third season, at just 22 years old. Castle and Dylan Harper are even younger, while Fox provides a veteran lead guard in his prime. This roster is designed for sustained contention, and it achieved this through determination, winning a Game 7 on the road against Oklahoma City in the conference finals.
The confidence within the locker room remains strong, even after being down 3-1. Keldon Johnson affirmed this.
"We gave this one up. It hurts. Our belief is as high as ever. You don't get here without belief, without faith in each other," Keldon Johnson said. "If it was easy, everybody would do it."
Wembanyama, who has throughout the postseason discussed the importance of learning quickly, said the loss could either motivate the group or set it back.
"The bad one would be giving up. The good one would be getting stronger through this, getting more together," Wembanyama said. "I'm convinced we're built that way, and we're going to use the better of this. It's going to tighten us up."
Still Alive, but a Steep Climb
The Spurs must win three straight games, starting at home, to continue their season. Game 5 is Saturday night in San Antonio, with a potential Game 6 in New York on Tuesday. It's tough against a Knicks team that just made the largest comeback in Finals history.
Johnson told players to sit in disappointment and then let it go.
"I told them to feel the emotion tonight, because they're competitive," Johnson said. "Tomorrow, take all the emotion out. They better be ready to play in two days and win."
Whatever happens the rest of this series, the Spurs left Madison Square Garden as the youngest team in the Finals and one of the most promising. The mistakes they made on Wednesday are typical of teams that learn and grow. This group is just getting started.
Game 5 of the NBA Finals featuring the Knicks and Spurs will take place on Saturday, June 13, at 8:30 p.m. on ABC in San Antonio.
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