This series is no longer in the land of fantastic Tex-Mex food, but it is certainly quite spicy.

A confrontation between Victor Wembanyama and the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson ignited tempers early as the Frenchman got away with a physical collision with the star New York guard. And then after Josh Hart layup with three-and-a-half minutes left, Spurs backup center Luke Kornet laid out the former Villanova star under the backboard.

Hart got called for a technical foul for pushing Kornet. Wembanyama escaped any punishment for the forearm shiver to the back of Brunson’s neck.

The Spurs – particularly Wembanyama – have been accused of being a bit passive in the first two games of this series after they beat rivals Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals in an emotional seven-game series. Wembanyama admitted he had some trouble putting that victory, which left him in tears, behind him as the Finals began.

The evidence tonight is that the Spurs are fully locked in, even as most of Manhattan rains jeers down upon them.

It’s the first Finals game in New York since the 1990s and this one would do that squad proud so far as the physicality ramps up.

As the first quarter comes to a close, the crowd appears to be getting a bit restless as the Spurs are simply more physical than the Knicks right now. Wembanyama closes out the quarter with a failed drive, but the Spurs are up by 11, leading 33-22 after 12 minutes of play.

Fonte do Artigo
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Corinthia Mes