Victor Wembanyama said the San Antonio Spurs have put their devastating Game 4 loss behind them and are focused on extending the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks.
The Knicks erased a 29-point deficit to claim a dramatic 107-106 victory on Wednesday, taking a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven championship series. New York now has the opportunity to secure its first NBA title since 1973 with a win in Game 5 in San Antonio.
“There were a thousand ways we could have not lost that game,” Wembanyama admitted.
However, the French star stressed that dwelling on the defeat is no longer productive.
“It felt like there was a time to process this, to really dwell on it, but not anymore,” he said after practice on Friday. “We’re over it. It’s the playoffs. There’s no time to regret things for too long.”
Wembanyama also brushed aside incidents involving unruly fans in New York, where eggs were reportedly thrown at him and a water bottle struck the team bus.
“I didn’t really think much of it,” he said. “Obviously it’s not good at all. But it doesn’t bother me.”
The 7-foot-4 center logged 44 minutes in Game 4, prompting head coach Mitch Johnson to acknowledge that he may have overextended his star player.
“I have to make sure I help him have the energy required to finish the game as strong as he needs to finish the game,” Johnson said. “Looking back on the game, I could have done better in that regard.”
Wembanyama, however, dismissed concerns about fatigue heading into the elimination game.
“It’s the playoffs. Everybody’s just as tired. It shouldn’t even be a factor in the game,” he said. “It’s not going to be a factor.”
Despite trailing 3-1 in the series, the Spurs remain confident they can mount a comeback. Wembanyama pointed to the team’s ability to learn from its mistakes throughout the postseason.
“We haven’t skipped any steps because we’ve made almost every mistake we could have possibly done, and we’ve learned from them,” he said.
Guard De’Aaron Fox echoed that belief, noting that San Antonio has held significant leads in every game of the Finals.
“Every game we’ve had some sort of a lead and we’re down 3-1,” Fox said. “We have to figure out how to sustain those leads. We have to figure out how to finish games.”
“These games have showed us we have a chance. It’s not like we’re going out there and getting steamrolled. We still have that belief we have a chance to win.”
Fellow guard Stephon Castle also expressed confidence that the Spurs can respond under pressure.
“Each game we’ve been up and pretty much controlled the game for most of the game,” Castle said. “We’ve had a 10-plus-point lead in every single game. Just trying to stay poised throughout that and keep our foot on the gas.”
Castle added that the team has repeatedly risen to challenges this season, including its Western Conference Finals victory over the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
“We’ve proven with our backs against the wall we can step up, so I don’t really expect this to be any different,” he said.
With their season on the line, the Spurs will look to keep their championship hopes alive when they host the Knicks in Game 5.