Playoff Grades: San Antonio Spurs vs. New York Knicks – Game 5

The run that no one saw coming is over. The San Antonio Spurs blew a 16-point lead and lost to the New York Knicks at the Frost Bank Center in Game 5 by a final count of 94-90.

The good guys built big leads in every game of the 2026 Finals but they could never figure out how to close out fourth quarters. Although the Spurs didn’t reach the ultimate destination, ’twas a fun ride.

Stats: Spurs vs. Knicks

Spurs vs. Knicks — Final Grades

Victor Wembanyama

Wembanyama played great in the first half. His work on the defensive end was legendary. At halftime, he had five blocks and nine rebounds. Unfortunately, his defense wasn’t as sharp in the second half. While he was 4-for-6 from two-point range after intermission, he was 0-for-3 from deep. Wembanyama only scored three points in the fourth quarter. All in all, he lacked efficiency offensively but he was good enough defensively for the Spurs to win this game. Alas, not enough of his teammates played well enough offensively to pick up the slack.

Grade: C+

De’Aaron Fox

Sadly, Fox had a game to forget in San Antonio’s final contest of the season. He was 3-for-15 from the field. Even worse, he had two points in the second half and no points in the fourth quarter. For a guy who was looked upon as the team’s go-to clutch player, that’s suboptimal, to put it kindly. I thought Fox played pretty good defense and he had only one turnover in this pressure-packed game but, yeah, his inability to get things going offensively will be what’s remembered.

Grade: D

Stephon Castle

Like Fox, Castle had a rough go of it on the offensive end. He was 1-for-10 from the field, including 0-for-3 from downtown. He also turned it over three times and only had four assists. Defensively, Castle couldn’t have been too satisfied considering Brunson’s 45-point explosion. The second-year guard competed but there wasn’t much positive to write home about.

Grade: D

Devin Vassell

Well, damn, Vassell did what he could. To cap his impressive playoff run, he had 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting from the field, including 2-for-5 on three-pointers. In retrospect, he probably should have carried more of the offensive load. His decisions were good and he limited his mistakes. Other than a late costly foul, I thought Vassell was pretty darn good defensively. He also had seven rebounds and two of the team’s six steals. Job well done.

Grade: A-

Julian Champagnie

Like Vassell, Champagnie’s season ended on a high note. He had 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field and 4-for-8 shooting from three-point territory. He played good defense and pulled down seven rebounds (including a couple big ones). Champagnie did lead the team with four turnovers but, overall, he did well enough for the Spurs to get this win.

Grade: B+

Dylan Harper

If there was any doubt about Harper’s potential, he cleared it all up in Game 5. When the chips were down and the Spurs were looking for an offensive savior, it was this rookie who rose to the challenge. He led the team with 25 points. He was 10-for-19 from the field and 2-for-4 on threes. He also totaled four assists without turning the ball over. Harper’s ability to take and make big shots in the biggest moments told the world he might just be a superstar in the making. I also thought his defense was really good. Net-net, the rookie played a brilliant brand of basketball in the brightest of lights. It was a blast watching Harper as a rookie and let’s hope he keeps building in the right direction because the future looks glorious.

Grade: A+

Keldon Johnson

Johnson didn’t have a very good playoff run and was especially iffy in the Finals but, hey, he did pretty well in Game 5. He scored seven points thanks to him hitting 2-of-3 from three-point range. Johnson also did his job by pulling down five rebounds. There were some mistakes on the defensive end, but they were rarely too damaging.

Grade: B

Luke Kornet

Kornet was questionable heading into this game with an illness. He was okay-ish in his 10 minutes. He held down the fort pretty well. His rebounding could have been better but he got his hands dirty in the paint. Offensively, Kornet could have done more but at least he was rarely in the way.

Grade: C+

Carter Bryant

Bryant got six first half minutes. He had a bad turnover but other than that he played fine. He pulled down a couple rebounds and played with an intensity that seemed to bolster the team. The moment didn’t look too big for the rookie so that was a good sign.

Grade: B-

Mitch Johnson

Coach Mitch could never figure out the formula to allow his troops to hold onto a big lead. In this game he obviously tried resting Wembanyama more to see if that would help — and, unfortunately, it didn’t really make a difference. I know some fans wanted him to send Fox to Siberia but, eh, it was a difficult situation with Castle also struggling and no other bench player truly emerging outside of Harper. I’m sure Coach Mitch has some regrets but there were no easy fixes for what ended up being San Antonio’s downfall.

Grade: C-

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