As the San Antonio Spurs get ready for a do-or-die contest following the heartbreak in Game 4 of the NBA Finals vs. the New York Knicks, the squad’s emotional leader says his team is fine. The longest tenured Spur, Keldon Johnson, also serves as the team’s lightning rod.
ClutchPoints asked the seventh-year pro if he’s had to put any more effort than usual in raising his teammates’ spirits heading into Game 5.
“Nah, I feel like we’re all locked in, we’re all motivated,” Johnson responded. “I feel like it definitely (hurt), what happened and how the game went last game. It sucked in the moment, and it sucks to lose, especially on this type of stage.”
Averaging more than 13 points and around 5.5 rebounds per game during the regular season, Johnson won the award for the NBA’s top reserve, thanks in large part to helping the Spurs win 62 games.
Though his production has dropped off during the playoffs, the 2019 first-round draft pick has continued the locker room screams and yells that have become his trademark over the last several years. There have been plenty of opportunities for his boisterous ways, given San Antonio’s run to the Finals.
“We get another chance at it, and we get to stack days and, really, we get another crack at it to be able to go out there and perform,” Johnson said. “So, we’re just putting the game ahead. That’s our main priority right now. We’re locked in, ready to go.”
Keldon Johnson and the Spurs are not focused on NBA history
Because of the loss of the 29-point lead in Game 4, the Spurs now have the unenviable task of trying to match the 2016 Golden State Warriors as the only team in NBA history to rally from a 3-1 deficit to win the title.
ClutchPoints asked Johnson if the chance to replicate that feat matters at all to these Spurs.
“What matters to me is my teammates around me, my coaches, and our organization,” Johnson said. “Long as we win, that’s the main priority. As far as history, we don’t really pay attention to that. We just pay attention to getting the job done (in Game 5).”
"We're all locked in..all motivated..How the game went last game, it sucked in the moment…
We get another chance tomorrow…""As far as history…pay attention to getting job done tomorrow"
-talked w/#Spurs leader Keldon Johnson about his off- court role right now#NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/g3DVPrDrVQ
— Hector Ledesma (@HectorLedesmaTV) June 12, 2026
Some reporting suggests that, as in Games 1 and 2 of these Finals in the Alamo City, ticket sales data indicate there will be a good number of Knicks fans at the Frost Bank Center for a night that could crown New York NBA champions for the first time since 1973.
Johnson is confident in the Spurs faithful, no matter the circumstance.
“The energy’s great,” Johnson noted. “I feel like the San Antonio community is one of a kind, and the support hasn’t wavered for us. I feel like it just breeds into the locker room.”
Johnson insists it’s a locker room that’s still very much in this series. It has all season long, and the Spurs’ emotional leader intends to keep it that way ahead of their most important game of the year.
“We believe that we can get the job done,” Johnson said. “That hasn’t changed or wavered at all.”
The post While Game 4 ‘sucked’ for Spurs, Keldon Johnson’s ready for another chance in San Antonio appeared first on ClutchPoints.
