Wemby, Spurs not panicking

SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama refused to hit the panic button on Wednesday after the San Antonio Spurs blew a double-digit lead to suffer a potentially crucial NBA Finals Game 1 defeat to the New York Knicks.

The French superstar led San Antonio’s scorers with 26 points but had a poor shooting night before ultimately being upstaged by the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson.

A relaxed Wembanyama was staying calm after the disappointing opening loss, noting that there was still a long way to go in the best-of-seven series.

“Nothing,” Wembanyama replied when asked what aspects of his performance he was kicking himself over. “We’ve been down in a series before. Never in the Finals, obviously. 

“But I’m not kicking myself about anything really. I mean, I’m not worried the slightest.”

The 22-year-old is confident San Antonio will bounce back in time for Game 2 in Texas on Friday.

“I’m going to figure it out,” Wembanyama said. “I mean, I was bad tonight. It’s not more complicated than that.”

Meanwhile, a fan who crashed the court in San Antonio in a bid to take a selfie with Spurs star Victor Wembanyama during Game 1 has been banned for life from all league arenas, an NBA spokesperson said Thursday.

“The individual who entered the court area during Game 1 of The Finals was arrested and will be banned for life from all NBA arenas,” the spokesperson said.

“A second individual will also receive a lifetime ban for his role in the incident,” the spokesperson added.

US President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden on Monday, saying he accepted an invitation from New York Knicks owner James Dolan.

“The answer is yes,” Trump told reporters at the White House, when asked if would attend. “He’s invited me, I’m going.”