The Knicks complete the biggest Finals comeback ever as they recover from a 29-point deficit for a 3-1 lead on the Spurs.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Complete coverage:\u00a02026 NBA Finals<\/a> At this point in the 2026 Finals,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0about time for Ferris Bueller to pop up in the closing credits to ask, \u201cYou\u2019re still here?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n This site dutifully has been providing a\u00a0viewer\u2019s\u00a0guide before each game, a \u201c3 Things to Watch\u201d primer to offer some context and inside analysis to\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0likely to happen each time the Spurs and the Knicks tip it off. A shift in strategy here, a lineup\u00a0change\u00a0there, something up one of the coaches\u2019 sleeves or bonus motivation by a star or even role player can swing the outcome and\u00a0conceivably the\u00a0championship series.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n But now?\u00a0At 3-1 in favor of New York? The big picture couldn\u2019t be\u00a0more clear: Either the Knicks win their first NBA title since 1973, or San Antonio throws a wrench in those plans Saturday night at Frost Bank Center and sends everyone packing back to Manhattan, where the locals will pump up the volume to keep pace with their\u00a0anxiety.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Besides, the best stuff in\u00a0this\u00a0Finals so far has been thoroughly unpredictable. Who had the Spurs opening a 29-point lead on the road in Game 4 \u2013 and then losing every bit of it? Anyone claiming they\u00a0knew OG Anunoby would make\u00a0in a span of seconds two of the greatest clutch plays in NBA history \u2013 that late block of Spurs guard De\u2019Aaron Fox followed by his ridiculously perfect tip-in for the winning bucket \u2013 had better have receipts to prove it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Probably the\u00a0most certain thing to watch for Saturday is something\u00a0heretofore\u00a0unseen, a stunning play from an unexpected hero or someone like Victor Wembanyama or Jalen Brunson topping himself yet again for the viewing pleasure of millions.\u00a0<\/p>\n That said, here are three things to watch in Game 5 (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC<\/a>):\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n 1. Less Wembanyama<\/p>\n If you had a marvelously skilled 7-foot-4 matchup migraine of a player at your disposal, you\u2019d want him on the court, not just on the bench or the roster. This playoff run has been a coming-out party of sorts for Wembanyama, and like any guest of honor, he needs to be front and center. \u00a0<\/p>\n But\u00a0maybe not\u00a0all the time.\u00a0There have been signs that San Antonio\u2019s big man is wearing down, both in his body language and his production.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0a problem because in a series as close as this one has been, the Spurs need\u00a0Wemby\u00a0at his best near the ends of games, not at his most tired.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Victor Wembanyama talks with the media ahead of Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals.<\/p>\n Remember, this is a Kia MVP candidate who failed to top some voters\u2019 ballots simply because he didn\u2019t play enough. Wembanyama averaged 29.2 minutes and a total of 1,866 in the regular season. Because of various absences, he was on the court for fewer than half of San Antonio\u2019s 3,946 minutes. No MVP in league history ever averaged so few minutes and played only 47% of the available minutes, so despite the Spurs\u2019 62-20 record, the big fella finished third behind OKC\u2019s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver\u2019s Nikola Joki\u0107.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now\u00a0Wembanyama\u00a0is at the other end of the scale \u2013 only teammates Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle have amassed more playoff minutes than their center\u2019s 712. His average over the four rounds so far (33.9) is misleading, because\u00a0Wembanyama\u00a0has upped his participation with each round, now at 40.3 in the Finals.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Game 4,\u00a0a.k.a, the biggest collapse in Finals history when the Spurs squandered a 29-point lead and lost 107-106 Wednesday<\/a>, was San Antonio\u2019s 104th\u00a0game since the season began\u00a0almost eight months ago. However fresh Wembanyama felt as the night began, he\u00a0looked\u00a0anything but as the booming Garden closed in on him late.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Wembanyama\u2019s first half: 20:53 minutes, 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting with six rebounds, plus-28. \u00a0<\/p>\n His second half: 23:02, eight points on 3-for-14 with seven boards and a minus-27.\u00a0<\/p>\n He has made just one field-goal attempt in the final two minutes across four games.\u00a0The heavy\u00a0workload Wednesday\u00a0especially was\u00a0puzzling given how fat a lead the Spurs had for much of the game.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely [fatigue was] a factor, but it\u2019s the playoffs \u2014 everybody\u2019s just as tired,\u201d Wembanyama said. This guy is 7-foot-4 and he doesn\u2019t run up and down the middle of the floor in a straight line. He\u2019s moving inside and out, helping defensively from one side of the lane to the other.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNow we\u2019ve got two days between the games\u00a0[so]\u00a0it\u2019s not going to be a factor.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Spurs coach Mitch Johnson\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0sound Friday as if he was going to leave\u00a0Wembanyama\u2019s\u00a0stamina entirely to the schedule.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cLooking\u00a0back on it, I do believe that I have to make sure that I help him have the energy required to finish the game as strong as he needs to,\u201d Johnson said.\u00a0\u201cI could have done better in that regard.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n 2. More Harper<\/p>\n Rookie Dylan Harper, the No. 2 pick in last summer\u2019s Draft, was going to present a happy problem to the Spurs eventually \u2013 he projected to move into the starting backcourt next to Castle in a year or two. But the issue\u00a0has arrived\u00a0much sooner than later.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The 20-year-old Harper, son of NBA alumnus Ron Harper, has sped up the timeline with his savvy, often-veteran-like play. He is a prodigy at attacking the paint and either finishing at the rim or spraying the ball to a teammate his penetration has helped open.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Harper, averaging 16.3 points in the Finals after 11.8 during the season,\u00a0still is\u00a0coming off the bench. But teammate De\u2019Aaron\u00a0Fox\u2019s uneven play, particularly in Game 4, has some fans and media folks clamoring for minutes beyond Harper\u2019s current 32 per.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Consider each guard\u2019s work alongside the most important Spur so far this series:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Wembanyama and Fox have a -1.2 net rating in the four games, the Spurs scoring about 105 points per 100 possessions while giving up about 106.\u00a0 The basis for sticking with Fox has been the veteran\u2019s\u00a0know-how\u00a0vs. Harper\u2019s meager experience. But multiple bad decisions\/plays by Fox Saturday could swing their participation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Not that Johnson was the one suggesting or confirming it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have their opinions,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0care.\u00a0\u2026\u00a0De\u2019Aaron Fox will have the basketball in his hands at the end of the game\u00a0[Saturday], and I have the utmost confidence\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0going to deliver like\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0done countless times for us.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n 3. Better start by New York<\/p>\n Talk about irony: This has been one of the closest Finals on record, with the Spurs and the Knicks within four points in the final minute of all four games.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n And yet, every game has begun like a San Antonio blowout,\u00a0Wembanyama\u00a0and his crew leading by at least 10 points in each first quarter and by a cumulative\u00a047 points after 12 minutes of the four games.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s\u00a0a reckless way to go through any playoff series, let alone a Finals. Oodles of credit\u00a0belongs\u00a0to the Spurs for\u00a0executing from\u00a0tipoff, but the\u00a0flip side\u00a0is how shoddy or unfocused the Knicks have looked in digging holes each night.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Heading into Game 5, the race is on: Can New York play better at the start or can San Antonio protect an early lead?\u00a0First\u00a0to\u00a0accomplish\u00a0its goal either ends or significantly alters this series.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n * * *\u00a0<\/p>\n Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him\u00a0here<\/a>, find\u00a0his archive here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0follow him on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\nWemby and Harper are at +9.8, based on 111 points per 100 offensively and about 101 defensively. \u00a0<\/p>\n