Wembanyama’s late turnover and a timeout debate swing Game 2, Knicks go up 2-0

The 2026 NBA Finals turned on one possession in Game 2. After the Knicks and Spurs traded momentum late, San Antonio tied it at 104 when Victor Wembanyama corralled a defensive rebound with 13.5 seconds remaining. Instead of taking the ball up himself or calling for a set, Wembanyama took one dribble and passed it off Stephon Castle’s back while Castle’s body was turned the other way. Jalen Brunson recovered, was fouled, and converted the sequence that ultimately became the game-winning free throws. Wembanyama then missed a potential winner at the buzzer, and the Knicks escaped 105-104 to take a 2-0 series lead.

Wembanyama’s error was especially costly because the Spurs had positioned themselves for a clean ending after a strong close. noted that Wembanyama scored 29 points and had 22 of those in the second half, including a charge that helped keep San Antonio in the game long enough to engineer the final, tied possession. The final result left little room for context, though, because a single turnover plus a missed last shot is the kind of swing that disappears quickly from highlight reels and lingers longer in film review rooms.

CBS Sports framed the key issue as more than just execution. In its breakdown, the outlet questioned whether Spurs coach Mitch Johnson should have called a timeout after Brunson missed a mid-range jumper with about 16 seconds left. CBS described a sideline moment in which Johnson appeared to report for the Spurs to keep playing, and argued that the Spurs played out the scramble instead of stopping it for a planned inbound or half-court setup.

The coaching critique came with a built-in counterargument, also laid out by CBS: the Spurs had time to call a timeout, and even after the turnover and Brunson’s free throws they were able to take a timeout with 7.5 seconds remaining in that same stretch, suggesting the clock could have supported a cleaner, more controlled ending. On the other hand, CBS also noted that the Spurs had reasons to prefer transition chaos, including matchup considerations for New York’s late defensive personnel. In other words, Johnson’s decision was not purely a mistake-or-not question, it was a tradeoff between a designed late play and an accelerated sequence after a rebound.

CBS tied the storyline to personnel reality as well. It pointed out that the Spurs are extremely young for an NBA Finals club, describing them as the second-youngest team ever to make the Finals (behind the 1977 Trail Blazers). With Wembanyama at 22 and Castle at 21, the piece suggested that late-game composure can be harder to stabilize when players are experiencing their first long postseason stretch, and it referenced fatigue as part of the equation.

The Knicks, meanwhile, earned the win through the late-game framework New York has relied on throughout its postseason. highlighted Karl-Anthony Towns’ impact in Game 2, including a 21-point, 13-rebound showing that swung the tone after New York’s early pace lagged. The same recap pointed to how the miscommunication on the final Spurs possession created the exact sequence New York needed, with Brunson getting to the line after recovering the ball and drawing contact. New York took that advantage and closed it out, even after allowing a Spurs rally to reach the tying moment.

Looking ahead to Game 3, the question for San Antonio is whether it can tighten the endgame process on possessions that start as defensive rebounds and immediately become transition decisions. The practical focus will be communication and who initiates when the ball is secured in traffic. New York’s focus will likely remain the same: pressure the handling lanes and keep opponents in scramble mode, because this series has repeatedly shown that small late errors, not just talent, decide the margin.