The NBA admitted Saturday what most of us watching could see in real time. The technical foul on Mitchell Robinson in Game 2 of the Finals should not have been called.
The league announced it was rescinding the tech that Robinson picked up in the second quarter at Frost Bank Center. The call came after a fairly mild shoving exchange with Victor Wembanyama, and yet only Robinson got whistled for it. The Spurs star got nothing.
That was the part that made no sense. If it was a technical at all, it should have been a double tech. If it was just two guys bumping into each other, it should have been no call. Whistling only Robinson was the worst possible middle ground.
Wembanyama did get to shoot the free throw, and he hit it. Given that the game ended 105-104 in the Knicks’ favor, that single point absolutely could have mattered. The league’s review acknowledges as much by reversing the call after the fact.
For the Knicks, this is vindication. For Spurs fans, it is the kind of post-game review that does not give back any points. Game 2 is in the books regardless of what the league office decides on Sunday.
The bigger picture is that Wembanyama still cost himself this game with his late turnover. He committed a brutal giveaway in the final minute that allowed Jalen Brunson to swoop in and steal the ball, which led directly to the Knicks closing it out. Robinson defended Wembanyama beautifully on the final possession too. The technical may have been wrong, but it was not the reason the Spurs lost.
This is the second straight Finals game that has come down to one possession, and the second straight one in which San Antonio has come out on the wrong end. The Knicks are not just winning. They are winning the close ones, which is exactly what veterans are supposed to do against a younger team in its first Finals.
Wembanyama is going to be a problem for the entire NBA for the next 15 years. He is not the problem right now. The Spurs are getting outplayed in the small moments, and championships are decided in the small moments.
For Robinson, the tech being wiped off the books does not change his game in any way. He is going to keep playing physical defense on Wembanyama, and he is going to keep making him miss. Country music or no country music, he is doing what coach Mike Brown is asking him to do.
The Knicks have a chance to take a 3-0 lead Monday at Madison Square Garden. The Spurs have a chance to do something no team has ever done. Both of those things start with whichever team handles the next 48 minutes better. The officials should not factor into it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
