Mitch Johnson will have plenty of local fans cursing his name this weekend.
The San Antonio Spurs lost a heartbreaker in Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks on Friday. After rallying from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take the lead with less than a minute remaining, the Spurs fell by a tight final score of 105-104 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Perhaps the game’s most pivotal moment came after the Spurs forced a miss by Knicks guard Jalen Brunson with less than 15 seconds left in the game and the score tied 104-104. Instead of calling a timeout, the San Antonio head coach Johnson decided to let his team play.
That immediately blew up in Johnson’s face though as Spurs center Victor Wembanyama threw an outlet pass to his teammate Stephon Castle, who was not looking at the time (see the video here). Brunson then recovered the loose ball for the Knicks and was fouled en route to hitting the game-winning free throw.
Everybody on social media said the same thing after the brutal turnover. They blamed Johnson for not calling a timeout, especially with a young and inexperienced team in a situation where he could draw up a quality play for them in the halfcourt and simply go to overtime if the ensuing shot missed.
Mitch call timeout!!!
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) June 6, 2026
It's obviously a bad decision by Wemby but this is some atrocious coaching by Mitch Johnson.
— Scott Reichel (@ReichelRadio) June 6, 2026
The Spurs are obviously going to hold for the final shot anyway. Just burn a timeout and draw up a play.
Coaching incompetence. https://t.co/KRCh6UQ6VB
Also im screaming Timeout in my living room but Mitch Johnson doesnt call TO when he has a ridiculously young team… insanely bad coaching decision #NBAFinals
— BDub55 (@BDub5523) June 6, 2026
That’s on Mitch Johnson. You gotta call timeout
— (@30sLegacy) June 6, 2026
You could blame Wembanyama for throwing a bad pass, and you could also blame Castle for turning his head away from the play despite being the point guard there. But the play would not have even progressed that far if Johnson had simply called a timeout after the defensive rebound, a missed decision that will likely come back to haunt the Spurs as they now head over to New York down 0-2 in the Finals.
