NBA Finals: Wembanyama Blames Himself After Knicks Go Up 2-0: "This Game Was Ours and I Threw It Away"

Victor Wembanyama was hard on himself following the San Antonio Spurs' loss to the New York Knicks in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. The French star took responsibility for critical late-game mistakes, acknowledged a lack of composure and control in the final possessions, and admitted the Spurs let slip a game they felt was in their grasp. Despite the setback, Wembanyama vowed to use the frustration as fuel for Game 3.

Q. Walk us through those final three possessions—the two mid-range misses and the turnover. What did you see? How do you respond?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: I still have it pretty blurry. That's the whole problem. I need to have more composure, more control over the game. I'm not going to go through every single possession, but that's the general picture.

Q. When you say it was blurry, you mentioned things were blurry. Was that just in those final three possessions or was it a problem all night?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: I'd say those final three possessions. I think we need to put ourselves in better positions. We're digging our own hole. That's been the theme so far.

Q. After two games, what are your impressions of your matchup with KAT? He's a very different center than the ones you've faced in these playoffs.

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: What do I think about it? It's very different from the previous series. He's putting us in tough spots because they're good players. He's a good player.

Yeah, I mean, we just have to find a way. We have to keep working on it. How many points did they score tonight? 105? We can do a little better. We can do better defensively.

Q. On that final shot specifically, did you get what you were looking for coming out of that play? How was the execution?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: Yeah, of course I liked the shot. I feel like in that moment you have to shoot to score. In moments like that, it's like the result matters more than the process, if you know what I mean. We just need to score. I just need to score. That's the whole thing.

Q. A week ago you won Game 7 in OKC, you were riding a real high. Now you have to come out of a really big low. How much of a challenge do you think that will be as you prepare for Monday?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: Yeah, okay, I understand.

Yeah, we never want to go too high or too low. Personally, I think I could have been better at recovering from the Conference Finals high. But I mean, here we are. We can't change the past anymore. We're already focused on Game 3.

Q. When that pass to Steph slipped out of your hands at the end, what went through your mind? How frustrating was it that after everything you'd done well down the stretch, that happened?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: That's the most frustrating part, throwing it away after all this work. What did I think? Urgency in that moment. It's like the body reacts faster than the mind.

Q. We saw you clapping several times as you headed into the tunnel. Can you explain your emotions coming off the court, given how the game ended?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: A lot of emotions of all kinds. I mean, not all kinds, just the negative kind (smiles).

Yeah, I threw that game away. I messed it up. We didn't play great as a team. We needed to win that game. This game was ours.

But at this point, it's done. Am I going to regret it? Yes, of course. Am I going to use that as fuel for me and for us in the next game? Absolutely.

Q. You had four field goal attempts in the first half and 17 in the second. What changed for you or in the way the team was organized for that to happen?

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA: That's a tough question right now. I need to reflect on this game. I played 40 minutes. I don't remember it.