SAN ANTONIO — The Knicks waited 27 years for this night.
Landry Shamet had been waiting all his life.
While several of his teammates struggled with the effects of a lengthy layoff and/or the magnitude of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Shamet delivered another strong performance off the bench, leading all reserves with 13 points (5-of-9 from the field, 3-of-6 3-pointers) in the Knicks’ 105-95 win over the Spurs at Frost Bank Center.
“Landry was huge off the bench,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “Not only [scoring, but] defensively he was huge for us.”
After losing his rotation spot early in the postseason, Shamet has become one of Brown’s most trusted options.
Shamet — who shot under 29 percent from the field and scored a total of 14 points in the first round, before adding three points in the first two games of their second-round series — clinched a place in franchise lore with his game-tying 3-pointer in the all-time comeback in Game 1 against the Cavaliers, then cemented his spot in the rotation by missing just one of his 12 3-pointers in the Eastern Conference finals.
Knicks guard Landry Shamet reacts after scoring during the first quarter of NBA Finals Game 1. Charles Wenzelberg / New York PostThe 29-year-old has now scored at least 12 points in five of his past seven games, while shooting nearly 77 percent on 3-pointers (20-of-26).
“My job is my job, and it remains the same: to be ready for whatever situation or moment you’re asked to step into, and that’s the only thing I think about,” Shamet said. “I’m not thinking about how it started, anything in the past. … We’ll do the whole reflection and look back thing when it’s all said and done.
“We are all focused on our job and how we can best help each other try to get a win.”
Shamet — whose seven postseason appearances rank first on the Knicks — expected to be on this stage long before coming to New York.
He was on a title favorite in the 2020 playoff bubble with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George’s Clippers. He was part of the Brooklyn superteam, whose title dreams died on Kevin Durant’s toes. He played for a top-seeded Phoenix team with Devon Booker and Chris Paul that fell in the second round.
Now, after seeing limited playing time under Tom Thibodeau — averaging just 7.5 minutes during last year’s playoffs — Shamet is making the most of a moment that may be passed down to future generations.
Spurs guard De’aaron Fox tries to steal the ball from New York Knicks guard Landry Shamet during the third quarter. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post“I’m a believer that everything you go through … prepares you for where you’re ultimately headed in one way or another, even if it doesn’t line up perfectly,” Shamet said. “I’m really grateful for all the highs and lows I’ve been through personally. All I know right now is that I’m here. Like I said, I’m trying not to get too reflective, open up that can of worms of looking back on everything, quite yet.”There’s [three] more wins between me and doing that, that I’m more worried about.
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“I definitely think that everything you go through, everything you live through, good and bad, prepares you for where you’re headed.”
