SAN ANTONIO -- Karl-Anthony Towns has been where Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs are now -- the talented bunch that is trying to get over the hump but keeps making errors to put themselves in impossible situations.
Towns' experience, forged through some recent playoff failures, seems to be driving the bus for the New York Knicks, who held off a late surge by the Spurs on Friday night for a 105-104 win in Game 2 at Frost Bank Center and a 2-0 series lead in the NBA Finals.
Thanks to Towns' consistency on both ends of the floor, the Knicks are two games away from making history. New York joined the 1993 Chicago Bulls and 1995 Houston Rockets as the only teams to win the first two games of the Finals on the road. Both of those clubs came away as champions.
If the Knicks follow that script, their thrilling Game 2 win will be remembered as a catalyst for winning their first NBA title since 1973.
Towns wasn't on the floor for Wembanyama's last shot, a 20-foot jumper that couldn't find the net before the buzzer sounded. Mitchell Robinson guarded Wembanyama there, and on another critical possession in which his inexperience seemed to show.