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The Spurs lost Game 4 of the 2026 Finals in heartbreaking fashion to go down 3-1, but they headed home to San Antonio for Game 5 with the belief that they can defy the odds and make a comeback.

“Everybody (on the Spurs) thinks – everybody knows – we’re going to do it,” Victor Wembanyama said, per Joe Vardon of The Athletic. “I feel like we need to isolate that one game and take it one game at a time. I think it would be a mistake to waste our energy on multiple games. It’s one game at a time.”

Wembanyama acknowledged that the heavy minutes load and Finals intensity have, at times, made it difficult to play his best basketball, but he made no excuses, saying that everyone is dealing with the same challenges. Besides, the two days off between Games 4 and 5 should ensure everyone is fully recovered from a draining Game 4.

“We still have this belief because we’ve seen it,” said De’Aaron Fox. “We’ve seen it be done, that teams have come back from 3-1. I think even with those series, the games that they lost, they were losing by double digits. The games that we’re losing have all been close games. We still have that belief that we have a chance to win.”

We have more from the Spurs:

• Luke Kornet has been listed as questionable for Saturday’s game due to an illness, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon notes (via Twitter). Due to Wembanyama’s increased workload, Kornet is averaging just 7.8 minutes per game this series despite being the Spurs’ primary backup center. He played just four minutes in Game 4.
• While Fox has taken a lot of scrutiny for his game management at the end of Wednesday’s loss, head coach Mitch Johnson has remained steadfast in his belief in the All-Star point guard, Michael C. Wright writes for ESPN. “People have their opinions,” Johnson said. “I don’t care. I care what the people that matter in our building, our organization, in that locker room, that they know how I feel. De’Aaron Fox will have the basketball in his hands at the end of the game tomorrow, and I have the utmost confidence he’s going to deliver like he’s done countless times for us.” Fox didn’t downplay his miscues, but he indicated he’s not letting outside criticism bother him. “I don’t watch those shows. It doesn’t matter,” he said. “It is what it is. Can’t change it now. It is what it is. We’re trying to move on from that, continue to learn from the mistakes we made, how we lost the lead, finished the game poorly. We think about the next game.“
• While putting the loss behind them is necessary, it’s also important for the Spurs to learn from their breakdowns in discipline, as keeping their composure will likely be the deciding factor in whether or not they win Game 5, ESPN’s Ben Golliver writes in a Game 5 prediction roundup. The good news for the Spurs is that most of the reasons they lost Game 4 were fixable errors. Now they just have to show they can hold onto a lead.
• If there’s one word the Spurs can always hang their hats on, it’s “belief,” Jeff McDonald writes for the San Antonio Express-News. It’s a word the head coach repeated to every player in the Spurs locker room after the heartbreak of Game 4. “You don’t get here without belief, without faith in each other, and that’s not going to change now,” Johnson said. “If it was easy, everybody would do it.” This young team has shown itself to be a resilient bunch, but to come back from a 3-1 Finals deficit, it will take all the belief it can muster. “Backs against the wall,” rookie guard Dylan Harper said. “If we believe we are who we think we are, then it’s going to show.”