The San Antonio Spurs let a 14-point second-half lead slip away in a 105-95 loss to the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals on Wednesday night at Frost Bank Center, and head coach Mitch Johnson pointed to several correctable issues afterward.
While Victor Wembanyama finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds in his NBA Finals debut, Johnson said the Spurs never established the interior pressure needed to put the Knicks on their heels.
“Felt like he missed a few shots early and we got to get him moving in space and towards the rim, whether that’s on rolls or running in transition, but we need the pressure on the rim and the force in the paint,” Johnson said. “They did a good job obviously being physical and showing crowds, but we need to do a better job of establishing that early on for sure.”
Wembanyama shot 6-for-21 from the field and committed six turnovers. Despite the inefficient night, Johnson expressed confidence that the franchise centerpiece would respond.
“I would say that he’s definitely holds himself accountable and I would suspect that he’ll learn a lot of things from tonight’s game and come out with a good approach in game two,” Johnson said.
San Antonio struggled offensively throughout the night, shooting 36% from the field and 26% from three-point range. Johnson repeatedly returned to one theme when discussing the defeat: the Spurs played too much from the perimeter.
“We definitely again didn’t have enough pressure on the paint all night,” Johnson said. “We can’t work outside in. We got to go more inside out for sure.”
The Spurs recorded only 16 assists on 32 made field goals, a figure Johnson viewed as one of the clearest indicators that his team was not playing its preferred style.
“Missing shots or not, 16 assists for us is not our brand of basketball,” Johnson said. “That’s something that is not up to the standard even anywhere close to what we’re used to and how we play.”
The turning point came late in the fourth quarter. San Antonio led 95-94 with just over two minutes remaining, but New York closed the game on an 11-0 run behind Jalen Brunson, who scored 30 points and 13 in the final period.
Johnson highlighted the Knicks’ work on the offensive glass as a major factor in that stretch. New York converted 10 offensive rebounds into 23 second-chance points.
“We’re up one point,” Johnson said. “Get them to miss. They get a rebound. Brunson hits a three. They go on an 11-0 run. Makes it tough. Got to be able to close out possessions with rebounds when you make a miss.”
Johnson also credited Brunson’s ability to create offense under pressure.
“He’s a tremendous player that’s skilled, picks his spots, knows his angles, shoots contested shots without being sped up,” Johnson said. “He’s a phenomenal player and we just got to keep making him work.”
Despite dropping the opener, Johnson stressed that the Spurs’ approach will not change before Friday’s Game 2.
“No different,” Johnson said. “We played a game. We didn’t get the outcome we wanted. There’ll be a lot of feedback from the film and breaking this down that will lead to game two.”
The Spurs entered the Finals after surviving a seven-game Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
