Mitch Johnson explains Victor Wembanyama’s lack of early involvement in Game 2

The San Antonio Spurs entered Friday night’s game against the New York Knicks in a must-win scenario. After blowing a double-digit lead in the second half of Game 1, the Spurs desperately needed to avoid going down 0-2 against the Knicks.

But that’s exactly what happened.

The New York Knicks took a lead for most of the second half — and blew a 14-point fourth quarter lead — before coming back to defeat the Spurs, 105-104.

As it was in Game 1, the talk of the town was Victor Wembanyama’s performance. The Spurs star finished with 29 points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals, and four blocks while shooting 11-of-21 from the field, but his performance left a bit to be desired.

Wembanyama had five points on 2-of-3 shooting in the first quarter and just two points on 0-of-1 shooting in the second quarter, putting up a somewhat pedestrian half by his standards. Given his answers in his postgame interviews after Game 1, Wembanyama was expected to come out aggressive looking to score or get his teammates involved.

After the Game 2 loss, Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson broke down what has to change with Victor Wembanyama’s offensive involvement.

“We’ve had that discussion before and I understand the discourse around it,” Johnson said after the 105-104 loss. “It’s a little bit of both, but I have to make sure that there’s environments that the ball finds him. I think he’s got to make sure that he can’t rely on that to get shots as well and there are times when I think when he was open on rolls and around the paint and his teammates have got to give him the ball. So I think it’s a combination of all that. But yeah, four shots in a half on this stage is not acceptable.”

Mitch Johnson on why it was so difficult for Wembanyama to get involved offensively in the first half:

"I have to make sure that there's environments that the ball finds him. I think he's got to make sure that he can't rely on that to get shots as well..

But yeah 4 shots in the… pic.twitter.com/W19jgUY14L

— Wemby Alien Era (@WembyAlienEra) June 6, 2026

Victor Wembanyama went on to have a strong second half, recording 12 points in the third quarter on 5-of-8 shooting and 10 points in the fourth quarter on 4-of-9 shooting, leading the charge on a comeback that gave the Spurs the lead and nearly the victory.

The series, however, will now shift to New York, where the Knicks have played fantastic all season and even better in the postseason. Game 3 is set to tip off on Monday, June 8th at 8:30PM EST on ABC.

The post Mitch Johnson explains Victor Wembanyama’s lack of early involvement in Game 2 appeared first on ClutchPoints.