Wemby rues costly turnover as Spurs fall in Game 2 of NBA Finals - ESPN

SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle caught eyes with 12.7 seconds left on the clock and the score tied at 104-104, eagerly anticipating the payoff for the 14-point comeback San Antonio mounted in the fourth quarter of Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

Having just contested a Jalen Brunson miss, Wembanyama grabbed his ninth rebound and looked to initiate the fast break for what could have been the game-winning basket. The Frenchman would later admit urgency got the better of him, ultimately leading to the Spurs falling 105-104 to the New York Knicks to go down 2-0 in the series.

With Castle sprinting up the floor near the scorer's table just past San Antonio's bench, Wembanyama fired a pass that bounced off the back of the unsuspecting point guard and into Brunson's waiting hands.

Wembanyama quickly fouled, and Brunson sank what turned out to be the game-winning free throw.

«That's the most frustrating thing: to throw it away after putting in all this work,» Wembanyama said. «I threw that one away. I messed up. It's like the body reacts quicker than the mind. 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 to fuel me and fuel us to the next game? Absolutely.»

Castle explained that he was focused on giving Wembanyama space to dribble up the court.

«I didn't see him throw it to me,» he said. «I see Vic has the ball, tie game. I was just trying to give Vic space.»

Somehow, the Knicks would grant Wembanyama one last chance to pull off a Spurs victory, but his 20-footer with seconds remaining over a contesting Mitchell Robinson hit the back of the rim. With the miss, Wembanyama is 1-of-9 on go-ahead field goal attempts in the