New York (AFP) – Handling physicality from the New York Knicks and hostility from New York supporters has helped boost the San Antonio Spurs as they try to pull level in the NBA Finals. The Spurs trail the best-of-seven championship series 2-1 ahead of game four on Wednesday in New York, where Spurs supporters were attacked at several watch parties.
“Fans got attacked? I didn’t know that,” Spurs star Victor Wembanyama said on Tuesday. “My thought of course it’s a game. We’re just playing a game out there. I’m all for passion, but to the respect of each other. That is unacceptable.”
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New York Police arrested 21 people at a watch party in Bryant Park, upsetting Spurs forward Julian Champagnie, who grew up in Brooklyn. “It’s just not necessary,” he said. “No one should be coming to the game getting assaulted like that. It’s not what we’re playing for.”
Spurs guard Dylan Harper, from the New Jersey suburbs, said he sees hostility as part of the experience. “I feel like it’s New York, hostile environment,” he said. “I don’t think it would feel the same if it wasn’t this hostile.” Wembanyama, a 7-foot-4 (2.24m) French center, drew a picture of a statue in a park to relax his mind before game three then scored 32 points to lead the Spurs’ victory.
“It was not really New York City. It was just playoffs,” Wembanyama said of his mental tensions, although he refused to say what else he might do to relax his mind before game four. Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox dismissed the notion “Wemby” has a villain role, even though Knicks fans heckled him the most in game three.
“I don’t think it’s a villain role. If you get hit, you hit back. That’s life. If life hits you, you need to figure out a way to get on your feet and hit it back,” Fox said. “Every time he rolls, he gets tagged, he gets hit. If he’s trying to go set a screen, box out, whatever it may be, he’s getting grabbed, getting held. It would be crazy for him to think he’s going to get open by not hitting somebody. That’s basketball. It’s going to be physical. No one expects anyone to come out here and not have bumps and bruises or injuries or all these things. I don’t think it’s trying to be a villain. You know that team’s going to be physical with you, so you go out there and you try to hit first.”
Harper said Wembanyama can handle the pressure from hecklers. “He just steps up to the moment all the time, no matter what moment it is, where we’re at, what game it is. He’s just going to step up. That’s just the type of player he is,” Harper said. “We understand who we are. We understand what we need to do to win games in this type of environment.”
It hasn’t shaken the Spurs, Castle said. “Since the end of game two we’ve still been confident we’re going to win this series,” Castle said. “That’s what we plan to do.”
– ‘Be relentless’ –
Wembanyama, in his first playoff run, has seen past clubs lose in the Final before later taking their first title. He expects the Spurs can learn quickly enough and adapt to win first without a loss. “We will see but my bet would be yes, it’s possible,” Wembanyama said. “And what we’ve learned? Many things over these playoffs. Brace with your hands and not with your chin. Hit below the head if you do… but most importantly, be relentless.”
That means aggressiveness from Wembanyama is vital. “Early in games you have to pressure at the rim because it’s the most efficient shots. Then you are ready for other options,” he said. “The goal is always to go inside. Breaking down film for years, I was just shooting shots, but the efficiency, the purposefulness, is so much better now.”
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