NBA Matchups: June 5

New York Knicks at San Antonio Spurs

Team Totals: Knicks 104.5, Spurs 110.5

Injury Report: Mitchell Robinson (P, hand)

Spurs projected starters: De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Victor Wembanyama

Knicks projected starters: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns

Offensive Ranks: Spurs 3rd (4th halfcourt), Knicks 4th (7th halfcourt)

Defensive Ranks: Spurs 3rd (4th halfcourt), Knicks 10th (14th halfcourt)

Season Series: 2-1 Knicks (including Cup game)

Noteworthy Missed Games: Josh Hart (1), Landry Shamet (1), Deuce McBride (1), Mitch Robinson (1)

Mitch quotes: Said Wemby missed some shots early and they need him to put more pressure on the rim, said he didn’t think the early-clock threes were egregious, said they didn’t score in the paint enough, said they made Brunson work but maybe they can limit him getting more shots up, said they just missed some good shots but maybe they should be more greedy on getting better shots.  

Brown quotes: Said they didn’t play well but the Spurs didn’t play well either, said the Spurs had 24 fast-break points by their math, said they have to push the ball more because they don’t want to go against a set defense, said they have to guard Champagnie better, said Shamet “was huge off the bench,” said Hart having 15 boards and four steals was a big impact for them, said he thinks Brunson is OK after the injuries to his leg, said they were able to draw Wemby in with Brunson drives, said Hart has to shoot the ball when he’s open and they know Wemby is going to help off at times, said Mitch didn’t look limited off his hand injury, said they have a resilient team with these comebacks, said Brunson can “just get it done” because he’s an MVP.

Stats and notes:

*The Spurs blew a huge chance for a win to start this series. They had a 14-2 edge in fast-break points early in the game, which the Knicks cut all the way down to 15-12 through four quarters. The Knicks also went just 11-of-36 from deep, while the Spurs went 11-of-43. The Spurs had three players get off six-plus C&S attempts (Julian Champagnie 10, Victor Wembanyama seven, Devin Vassell six), and they went 10-of-39 on C&S (25.6%) versus the Knicks making 9-of-24 (37.5%). Mitch Johnson said they are going to try to put more pressure on the paint, which means it should be a much more Wemby-focused attack. More on the NYK offense: They were really held in check from their red-hot stretch at just 109.4 points per 100 (89.7 in the halfcourt). Their rim frequency was nearly cut in half from their 11-game winning streak, and they weren’t efficient in the paint, either. They were still able to win the points-in-the-paint battle 50-42 because of the Spurs having such a low frequency down there, and of course, the fourth quarter resulting in a 29-19 advantage tells the story.

*Despite a couple of injuries, Jalen Brunson saved the day as usual, as he barely touched the rim down the stretch with his 13 points in just 7.5 fourth-quarter minutes. The Spurs did pressure him a good bit with Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, but he was able to hunt Julian Champagnie a decent bit. Even with Wemby around, Brunson still accumulated 15 shots on 25 drives for 14 points. He was able to avoid Wemby’s side of the play enough to get more than enough volume, and that should be on the table again. It’s a really tough matchup with so much Castle, but Brunson is just built differently.