Victor Wembanyama not concerned after Spurs lose Game 1 of NBA Finals

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Victor Wembanyama not concerned after Spurs lose Game 1 of NBA Finals image

Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

By Rafael Bandayrel

Victor Wembanyama is not losing sleep over the San Antonio Spurs' Game 1 defeat to the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals.

Despite scoring a team-high 26 points, the French superstar admitted he did not play well as the Spurs squandered a double-digit lead and fell to New York in the series opener.

Still, Wembanyama remained confident that both he and the team will respond when the Finals continue with Game 2 on Friday.

"I'm going to figure it out," Wembanyama said after the loss. "I mean, I was bad tonight. It's not more complicated than that."

The 22-year-old was also asked if there was anything about his performance that particularly bothered him.

"Nothing," he replied. "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."

Wembanyama also dismissed the idea that the magnitude of playing in the NBA Finals affected San Antonio's performance.

"It definitely felt special, for sure," he said. "But nothing close that could be an excuse. It was not a factor in our performance."

The Spurs star believes improvement will come naturally as long as the team executes the way it normally does.

"It's almost not like I have anything to figure out. It's almost like I have to play normal, not even good," Wembanyama said. "Doing the right things is enough. When we play bad, when I play bad, is when we shoot ourselves in the foot."

"This is why I'm not worried. We're going to be so much better. I'm going to be so much better."

San Antonio will look to bounce back and even the series when it hosts Game 2 on Friday.

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