Additional Coverage:
- Jalen Brunson teammate warns Victor Wembanyama he won’t get away with another cheap shot (themirror.com)
New York Knicks Guard Jose Alvarado Issues Stern Warning to Victor Wembanyama Following On-Court Incident
NEW YORK CITY – Tensions flared in the NBA Finals after San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama forcefully shoved New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson to the floor during Game 3. The incident occurred early in the first quarter of the Spurs’ 115-111 victory, as the two players battled for position near the top of the key.
Wembanyama, the towering 7-foot-4 French center, grabbed Brunson by the back of the neck with his left hand and tossed him down with significant force-so much so that Spurs teammate Stephon Castle, standing behind Wembanyama, was accidentally struck in the face during the motion. Despite the aggressive nature of the play, referees did not call a foul.
Brunson addressed the incident cautiously in his postgame comments, stating simply, “Whatever you saw is what you saw.” However, Knicks guard Jose Alvarado did not mince words when discussing the play the following day.
“I think that’s not basketball,” Alvarado said, according to New York Post reporter Zach Braziller. “That’s something that they gotta look at.
But he got away with one. That’ll be the last one.”
The NBA reviewed the play but chose not to assign a flagrant foul to Wembanyama, a decision that relieved Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson. An upgraded foul would have brought Wembanyama dangerously close to a suspension, as he already carries two penalty points from a previous incident involving an elbow to Minnesota’s Naz Reid, which resulted in an automatic ejection.
The episode also drew criticism from former NBA players and analysts. Golden State Warriors legend Draymond Green, now an analyst for the Finals coverage, pointed to the Knicks’ lack of response during the altercation.
“He pushed him down, and none of the guys on the Knicks team did anything,” Green said on the Kevin O’Connor Show. “Don’t not for one second think that didn’t matter.
Oh, that mattered.”
Adding to the calls for a stronger Knicks reaction, franchise icon Stephon Marbury issued a pointed message to Wembanyama. Marbury urged the Knicks to retaliate if the Spurs center attempts any similar “dirty” play in future games.
“If he throws somebody like that again, the next game, I’m gonna pop him in his rib cage so hard with my elbow that he’s gonna fall and drop to the ground and wish he never put his hands on me,” Marbury declared. He emphasized the need for the Knicks to respond with equal intensity moving forward.
As the series progresses, all eyes will be on how both teams handle the heightened physicality and whether the Knicks heed the warnings issued by their veterans.