Knicks’ NBA Finals opponent waiting game continues as Spurs force Game 7
· New York PostThe wait continues.
The Knicks won’t know their NBA Finals opponent until Saturday night after the Spurs forced Game 7 in the Western Conference finals with a 118-91 blowout of the Thunder on Thursday in San Antonio.
The Spurs led wire to wire.
It means the Knicks will have to go through practice the next two days not knowing who to prepare for.
“Obviously, you want to focus on being ready as a team, but you gotta prepare for both [teams],” Jalen Brunson said after practice Thursday. “Just understand the differences between the teams. You have two really good teams going at it right now. We gotta prepare for both.”
Regardless of opponent, the Knicks will have a significant rest advantage.
They will have had eight days between Game 4 of the conference finals against the Cavaliers and Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
The Thunder or Spurs, on the other hand, will have just three days between their Game 7 and Game 1 of the Finals.
“Just going out there, playing our way no matter what, whoever’s out there, don’t really care,” Mikal Bridges said Thursday. “Just go out there and just play our way, and whoever’s out there is out there. We just got to play the right way.”
With the way they are playing right now, the Knicks don’t seem to care who they face.
“If we expect to be who we think we are, then at the end of the day it doesn’t matter,” coach Mike Brown said. “If we play San Antonio, it’ll save me some money because my family lives in San Antonio. I don’t have to buy airline tickets. But at the end of the day, both teams are great and both teams will be a challenge for us.”
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Victor Wembanyama, after his no-show in Game 5, returned to form in Game 6 and finished with 28 points — on 10-for-21 shooting overall and 4-for-9 shooting from 3-point range — along with 10 rebounds and three blocks. Stephon Castle added 17 points.
After a big Game 5, league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just 15 points and missed all five 3-pointers he took.
Jalen Williams (hamstring) returned after missing the last three games but played just 10 minutes and did not make a field goal.
Williams has missed nine games this postseason with the hamstring injury and remains a major question mark for the Thunder.
Ajay Mitchell missed his third straight game with a calf injury and is also an uncertainty for the Thunder.
The past three games of the series have all been blowouts — two for the Thunder and one for the Spurs. Game 7 will be played in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder are 6-1 this postseason.