On an off day during the NBA Finals, San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama visited a park, sat on a bench, and sketched the statue standing in front of him on a piece of paper.He could’ve been in the Tuileries or Jardin du Luxembourg or Jardin du Palais Royal in his native France. But no, he was in New York City, trying to find some peace and quiet and reset his mind after the Spurs had fallen behind the New York Knicks 2-0 in the finals.“Really tried to relax,” Wembanyama later said. “The playoffs, it’s like — I don’t know how to say that word — a whirlwind. It’s hard to put your head out of the water.” Sometimes he needed “some time off, let my brain cool down, recover,” he added. “Recover as much for the body as for the mind.”On Monday night, that park seemed so far away as Knicks fans rained vulgarities down on Wembanayma and his teammates inside Madison Square Garden. The Spurs responded with their best game of the series, a 115-111 win that required lots of mental fortitude and, in the end, sent Knicks fans home quiet.00:39How much Knicks fans paid for NBA Finals tickets00:0000:00This was a stark difference to how the finals had begun. In each of the first two games, the Spurs held double-digit leads, only to squander them away, while playing at home no less. Toward the end of Game 2 Wembanyama also committed a costly turnover, throwing an errant pass off the back of his teammate, Stephon Castle, when he wasn’t looking. These seemed like the mistakes of a young team cracking under pressure, not ready for the bright lights.No game was expected to be bigger than Game 3, the first finals game at Madison Square Garden in 27 years. President Donald Trump was in attendance, and so were a slew of celebrities, business titans, and athletes. Dylan Harper, a 20-year-old Spurs rookie, couldn’t help but look up at the video screen when a new one was introduced. Carter Bryant, another 20-year-old rookie, had a pinch-me moment with one of his favorite artists, Jay-Z. “I was standing right next to him during warm-ups,” Bryant said, “so that was super dope.” The game followed the same script as the first two at the start: the Spurs jumped out to an 11-point lead in the first quarter, only to let the Knicks soon re-take the lead. By the end of the second quarter, New York star guard Jalen Brunson hit a 3-pointer and the cheers were so loud, the Garden started literally shaking. How could a 20-year-old handle that?“We expected it to be loud in here,” Castle, the Spurs’ 21-year-old guard, said afterward. “I mean, we said coming into the game, they’re going to have their runs, they’re going to make shots. When that happens, just stick together, stay poised.”Down the stretch, the Spurs made several plays that showed their maturity. On one possession, less than five minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Knicks whipped the ball around the perimeter, and the Spurs gave chase, rotating for their teammates, until Wembanyama blocked Landry Shamet’s layup attempt, to preserve an eight-point San Antonio lead.Wembanyama finished with 32 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks. He battled the Knicks’ big men inside all night. But that one block, late in the game, showed a certain resiliency. “Victor was there to do what he does best, clean it up at the rim,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “It was a huge stop. We needed it at the time.”Over the next few minutes, the Knicks clawed back. The Spurs had the ball, up by 3 points with under 30 seconds remaining, and they put it in De’Aaron Fox’s hands. On this team, Fox is considered a veteran, though he’s only 28-years old. He had shot 3-for-13 on the night until that point. But with about 12 seconds left in the game, he sank a 15-foot jumper. “Having the ball in his hands late is like a comfort thing for us,” Castle said. “I feel like whether he’s shooting the ball well or not, he generates a good shot for us pretty much every time.”On the Spurs’ next possession, now clinging to a 2-point lead, the Knicks fouled Castle to send him to the free-throw line. There was no guarantee he’d make both shots. He made only 73.4% of his free throws during the regular season. The Garden erupted in noise, as the crowd tried to shake his nerves.Afterward, Wembanyama said he “didn’t even hear the crowd really” when Castle was at the line. He may as well have been back in the park, drawing a sketch on a sunny day. “I was focused on trying to get the rebound in case he missed,” he said. “But that was useless.” Castle made both free throws to ice the game, and Knicks fans headed for the exits.