Category: NBA

Victor Wembanyama scored 32 points as the San Antonio Spurs cut the New York Knicks' lead in the NBA Finals to 2-1 with a 115-111 win at Madison Square Garden.

US President Donald Trump, in the crowd as the iconic venue hosted its first Finals game since 1999, was booed when he was shown on the big screen during the national anthem.

He is the first sitting president to attend the championship series.

Wembanyama, whose errors cost the Spurs in game two, added eight rebounds and six assists.

He was supported by 23 points from Stephon Castle and 13 off the bench from Dylan Harper as the Spurs avoided going 3-0 down - a deficit from which no team has recovered in the Finals.

Defeat ended a 13-game winning streak for the Knicks - two short of the Golden State Warriors' 2017 record - as they chase their first championship since 1973.

Only five of the 37 teams who have led 2-0 have failed to win the Finals.

"We've done what we were supposed to do but the job is absolutely not done," said Wembanyama.

"We're not even halfway. The hardest is yet to come."

The Spurs trailed 64-57 at half-time but went ahead with a 35-point third quarter.

A three-pointer from Castle with one minutes 53 seconds left extended their lead to 111-104 and - unlike in game one, when they came unstuck against a late surge from the Knicks - the Spurs held firm.

Although OG Anunoby hit a late three-pointer to cut the Spurs' lead to two points, Castle scored two free throws in the final 10 seconds.

Anunoby finished with 28 points and Jalen Brunson 32 for the Knicks.

The best-of-seven series continues at the same venue on Wednesday (01:30 BST, Thursday) before the teams return to San Antonio for game five on Saturday (01:30, Sunday).

• NBA fixtures & results

President Donald Trump made an appearance at Madison Square Garden as the New York Knicks hosted the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, which the Spurs won 115-111 on Monday, June 8.

It was a spectacle with the secret service and heightened protocol with Trump in the building. He was showered with boos when his face was shown on the arena jumbotron during the national anthem.

If that didn't anger New Yorkers enough, the Knicks losing surely did it. And one particular individual is casting the blame on Trump for showing up.

ESPN television personality Stephen A. Smith said during an episode of his podcast "The Stephen A. Smith Show" that he would blame Trump for his attendance at the game.

He explained how Trump going to the game would cause a stir with the added security and procedures in place that disrupted the atmosphere at Madison Square Garden.

"This is about an indivual engaging in a level of narcissism that really rakes my freakin' nerves. He's got no businesss here tonight. It has nothing to do with politics," Smith said. "It was everything to do with the ferver that exists around the New York Knicks and he is disrupting everything the Knicks have been vibing with."

After Game 3, Trump was asked about the game, the boos he received and particularly Smith's comments on the podcast.

"I think mostly cheers, it was loud and it was very enthusiastic," Trump said.

He continued after being asked about what Smith had to say about his attendance.

"I think he's a nice guy, but you need a certain aptitude to run for president. You need a high IQ. I'm not sure that Stephen has that. I don't think he does actually," Trump told reporters.

President Trump responds to Stephen A. Smith's comment, saying that he would blame Trump if the Knicks lost tonight. pic.twitter.com/0HUNj8IeC1

— Underdog (@Underdog) June 9, 2026

San Antonio Spurs (62-20, second in the Western Conference) vs. New York Knicks (53-29, third in the Eastern Conference)

New York; Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. EDT

LINE: Knicks -1.5; over/under is 216.5

NBA FINALS: Knicks lead series 2-1

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks host the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals with a 2-1 lead in the series. The Spurs won the last meeting 115-111 on Tuesday, led by 32 points from Victor Wembanyama. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 32.

The Knicks are 30-10 in home games. New York has a 9-4 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

The Spurs are 30-12 on the road. San Antonio is second in the Western Conference with 47.0 rebounds per game led by Wembanyama averaging 11.5.

The Knicks average 14.2 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.2 more made shots on average than the 13.0 per game the Spurs allow. The Spurs are shooting 48.3% from the field, 2.3% higher than the 46.0% the Knicks' opponents have shot this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Brunson is averaging 26 points and 6.8 assists for the Knicks. Landry Shamet is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

De'Aaron Fox is scoring 18.6 points per game and averaging 3.8 rebounds for the Spurs. Julian Champagnie is averaging 2.8 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Knicks: 9-1, averaging 115.6 points, 45.6 rebounds, 26.2 assists, 8.6 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 48.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 102.2 points per game.

Spurs: 5-5, averaging 110.3 points, 46.1 rebounds, 24.0 assists, 8.3 steals and 5.9 blocks per game while shooting 43.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.4 points.

INJURIES: Knicks: None listed.

Spurs: David Jones Garcia: out for season (ankle).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

We have a series!

The San Antonio Spurs snatched Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals from the New York Knicks 115-111 on Monday, June 8, raining on the parade of the first championship matchup at Madison Square Garden since 1999.

Victor Wembanyama had 32 points and eight rebounds in redemption from throwing a bad pass that turned into the Knicks' winning point in Game 2. The Spurs earned their first victory of the series cutting into New York's lead 2-1 and did so in front of President Donald Trump.

According to the NBA, this is only the second time in NBA history the first three games of the championship series were won by the road team. The only other time was in 1993 when the Chicago Bulls ultimately beat the Phoenix Suns in six games.

The NBA Finals stay in New York for Game 4, which tips off on Wednesday, June 10.

Here's the NBA Finals scores and schedule after Game 3:

2026 NBA Finals schedule

Every game of the NBA Finals starts at 8:30 p.m. ET. All matchups will be broadcast on ABC and can also be streamed on Fubo.

*- if necessary

• Game 1: Wednesday, June 3 | New York Knicks 105, San Antonio Spurs 95
• Game 2: Friday, June 5 | New York Knicks 105, San Antonio Spurs 104
• Game 3: Monday, June 8 | San Antonio Spurs 115, New York Knicks 111
• Game 4: Wednesday, June 10 | San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks | 8:30 p.m. ET | ABC
• Game 5: Saturday, June 13 | New York Knicks at San Antonio Spurs | 8:30 p.m. ET | ABC
• *Game 6: Tuesday, June 16 | San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks | 8:30 p.m. ET | ABC
• *Game 7: Friday, June 19 | New York Knicks at San Antonio Spurs | 8:30 p.m. ET | ABC

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA Finals schedule, results after Spurs beat Knicks in Game 3

NEW YORK — The San Antonio Spurs might have felt like they were living in the movie "Groundhog Day," but they made sure not to play a starring role in any more sequels.

For the third consecutive game, the Spurs blew a double-digit first-quarter lead, but this time their composure down the stretch – and some sloppy play by the New York Knicks – gave them a much-needed win to get them back into the NBA Finals after two straight home losses while snapping New York's 13-game playoff winning streak.

It won’t be "Knicks in four" after all.

San Antonio’s 115-111 win in Game 3 at Madison Square Garden was not aesthetically pleasing. The Spurs were outrebounded but, at least for one night, there is a sense of relief that they, too, can break a championship drought.

This is the second time ever – and the first time since 1993 – that the road team has won three consecutive games.

Game 4 is Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Spurs did everything right in the first 12 minutes, while sprinting to an early 12-point lead. They passed the ball with efficiency, found open teammates, and let Victor Wembanyama cook with easy buckets inside and ridiculous alley-oops that would put Stretch Armstrong to shame.

San Antonio had 11 assists on 14 made field goals in the first quarter. Those 11 assists for the Spurs were the most in a first quarter of an NBA Finals game since the Golden State Warriors also had 11 in Game 2 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018.

Wembanyama was excellent, with a game-high 32 points, adding eight rebounds and six assists, as all five San Antonio starters scored in double figures. Wembanyama became the third-youngest player to score 30 or more points in an NBA Finals game behind Magic Johnson (20 years, 276 days – 42 points vs 76ers in Game 6 of 1980), Alvin Adams (21 years, 316 days – 33 points vs Celtics in Game 3 of 1976).

New York did everything it could to help in San Antonio’s cause.

Jalen Brunson led New York with 32 points, and OG Anunoby added 28 for the Knicks, who lost for the first time in 46 days after their Game 3 defeat in the first round against the Atlanta Hawks.

The energy of the sold-out Madison Square Garden left within the first few minutes, as the Spurs scored the first seven points of the game and made eight of their first 10 shots. Not to mention the annoyance of many Knicks fans who had to show up to the game two hours early and adhere to strict security procedures upon entering "The World’s Most Famous Arena" early after President Trump and his entourage descended upon the city to take in the game.

After booing Trump during the national anthem, the Knicks faithful turned their jeers on the officials. New York committed four fouls in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, prompting a barrage of free throws for the rest of the game and constant chants of "refs, you suck." 

New York took control in the late stages of the second quarter, using several spurts and poor San Antonio shooting to claw back and take its first lead of the game at 50-49 on a Brunson 3-pointer, part of an 11-3 run that wiped away a double-digit deficit.

But that momentum left as soon as the Knicks came out of the locker room.

Two straight turnovers to start the third quarter for the Knicks, a four-point play by Julian Champagnie, and a flagrant foul on the closeout quickly erased most of New York’s seven-point halftime lead.

New York went scoreless and committed four fouls in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, leading to a barrage of free throws the rest of the game, along with chants of "bulls---." San Antonio committed 21 fouls, and the Knicks shot 22 free throws. New York committed 23 fouls, sending the Spurs to the line 32 times.

Stephon Castle’s last of his 23 points, a 3-pointer with 1:53 remaining, all but sealed the deal, and De’Aaron Fox’s jumper in the lane with 12 seconds left sent the sell-out Madison Square Garden crowd to the exits.

The thing that carried the Knicks to their 13-game playoff winning streak was missing in Game 3: balanced scoring. Mikal Bridges scored only two points in 29 minutes, and Karl-Anthony Towns was outplayed by Wembanyama, with a pedestrian 11 points and eight rebounds. Towns spent most of his night in foul trouble and was not aggressive attacking the rim, settling for outside shots.

For the Spurs to repeat the trick and make their Groundhog’s Day play turn into another positive, they will need to muck up the game once again, relying on Wembanyama's scoring and his constant presence in the lane. The defensive player of the year had three blocks and affected a dozen other shots, and did his best to intimidate any Knicks player who wanted to score in the paint.

The series will extend to at least five games, and if the Knicks can win the next two games (Game 5 is Saturday in San Antonio), the title drought since 1973 will be a thing of the past.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What Spurs’ Game 3 win means: NBA Finals suddenly back in play

The Knicks knew that the Spurs would come out with their best punch to open Game 3 coming into Madison Square Garden facing a 2-0 NBA Finals deficit. 

San Antonio was able to do just that, opening up an 11-point first quarter lead. 

New York shook off the slow start right away in the second, though, getting into a rhythm as they knocked down 14-of-19 shots to put up a finals franchise-record 42 points.

They carried a seven-point lead into the break, but quickly things changed. 

The Knicks’ offense stalled again coming out of the locker room, allowing the Spurs to regain the momentum and capture the lead heading into the fourth quarter.

With Jalen Brunson on the bench due to foul trouble, they wouldn’t score until the four-minute mark of the final frame, and never quite were able to get back into rhythm. 

Clutch buckets kept them alive down the stretch, but they ultimately weren’t able to overcome the woes, as they saw their 13-game playoff winning streak snapped. 

New York shot just 36 percent as a team, including 5-of-20 from three in the second-half. 

They dished out just 18 assists and turned the ball over a total of 13 times on the night. 

“We were as stagnant as I’ve seen us all year,” Mike Brown said.  “We just wanted to stand and watch one guy dribble a ton, and then when the ball got passed there were no quick decisions by the guy receiving the basketball.

“You have to be smart, you have to do a good job taking care of the basketball, you have to move the ball and move bodies, and we’ve done that quite a bit but we didn’t do a good job of it tonight.”

 

 

 

Now all the Knicks can do is learn from this, and make the adjustments heading into Game 4 on Wednesday night.

“I think win or lose as a team, our mindset is always get better the next day,” Jalen Brunson said. “We’ve tried our best to learn from wins over the past couple of weeks, but now we have to learn from a loss.

“But I think the most important thing was that we were going to learn regardless, because we knew that there were things we were gonna have to improve heading into the next game, so the mindset stays the same.”

The Knicks were unable to extend their playoff winning streak and take a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals on Monday night, falling to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3.

New York trailed after the first quarter, but scored 42 points in the second to take a 64-57 lead into halftime. Although, they were unable to hold onto the lead, coming out slow in the third quarter before their fourth-quarter comeback attempt fell short. 

The Spurs outscored the Knicks, 58-47, in the second half and attempted 24 free throws to New York's eight. That wide of a discrepancy was on the front of head coach Mike Brown's mind after the loss, saying he was shocked to see something like it on the NBA Finals stage.

"First of all, I want to get something clear. Coach Mitch Johnson and the Spurs, they won the game tonight. They came and took the game. But I will say this, I never thought I'd be in the NBA Finals and see a team get 24 free throw attempts in the second half to another team's eight," Brown said. 

"I don't think I complain much about officials or the fairness when it comes to the free throw attempts. San Antonio is a great team, they're a great team. It's going to lower our odds big time, big time, if we play Game 4 and in the second half they get 24 free throw attempts to our eight. And maybe we were fouling, maybe we were fouling, but they foul too... There were opportunities for fouls to be called. To at least try to even the free throws out. 

Brown made it clear the Knicks could have played much better than they did, but it was still "tough to overcome" the difference in free throw attempts in the second half.

"Now, we didn't play good. San Antonio played great. We could've played better, there were a lot of things that we didn't do that we did in Game 1 and Game 2. But to go 24 free throw attempts in a second half... compared to eight. All the shots we took, we got fouled four times roughly for eight free throw attempts. Again, I don't complain much, but I never thought I'd see that in an NBA Finals game, and I saw it tonight. That's tough to overcome when you're playing a great team."

Overall, San Antonio made 25 of their 32 free throw attempts, while New York went 18-for-22 from the line. 

Brown added that the Spurs "level of physicality was great," while his team's "attention to detail wasn't great." He also pointed to allowing Stephon Castle and De'Aaron Fox to get to the paint with ease and the Knicks' offense not moving the ball well as other main factors in the loss.

"Offensively, we were as stagnate as I've seen us all year. Which helped with the 13 turnovers... the turnover situation, the free throw situation, and our attention to detail about keeping them out of the paint and taking away the vertical threat, not good tonight."

The head coach said he spoke with the officials about the difference in calling fouls and hopes it will be different on Wednesday night in Game 4.

"If they do this in Game 4, where it's 24-8 in the second half, it's going to be tough for us to win... There are a lot of things that we can do better and we're gonna have to do better. But in the same breathe, like I said, hopefully they'll see some more fouls called against them where it's not 24-8. This is a four-point ball game, a one-possession ball game going down the stretch and it's tough to overcome."

Mike Brown is not happy with the officiating after Game 3:

"I never thought I'd be in the NBA Finals and see a team get 24 free throw attempts in the second half to another team's eight." pic.twitter.com/yk3PDJ8HQh

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 9, 2026

When the San Antonio Spur starting lineup was introduced, the loudest boos were for Victor Wembanyama. Before the national anthem was halfway finished, the loudest boos were for President Sex Offender. By the end of the night, the people’s ire was centered on the officials. And through it all, the Spurs did not care.

San Antonio played from ahead most of the night and this time, critically, finished ahead, winning 115-111 and making it a 2-1 series. Russell Richardson will dive more deeply into things in his recap, but I don’t think I’m stealing his thunder by saying this was the kind of game that has a feel unique to the NBA. The feel of some unseen agenda at work, one unconcerned with the merits of fair play.

Did the Spurs deserve to win? They did. They had the best player on the floor tonight, and he was the biggest difference. The Knicks have been playing string theory basketball for nearly two months; you don’t have a lead over them in the final two minutes of the first two games if you’re not a bit of the real deal yourself. The Spurs were physical. They were improved. They were lots of things, some of which I didn’t care for. At the end of the day, they are all they cared to be: Game 3 winners.

They were always going to come out swinging and, per usual this series, those early swings were connecting. Victor Wembanyama led San Antonio to their third first-quarter double-digit lead of the Finals (ordinals!), opening the scoring with a dunk, then dunking again, then single-handedly destroying an entire Knicks possession before blocking a seemingly safe Mikal Bridges corner 3.

The visitors were in the zone pretty much the entire quarter, with 11 assists in the 12 minutes. Early foul trouble for Jalen Brunson meant early minutes for Jose Alvarado and Jordan Clarkson, after which the Knicks began chipping away at the lead. One reason they were down but never out: the Spurs either scored on their first shot or they didn’t score, period, going nearly the entire half without a second-chance point.

The prolific efficiency of Josh Hart and OG Anunoby kept the Knicks coming and the deficit going; a Brunson 3 over Wembanyama gave them their first lead at 50-49. As hot as the Spurs were in the first, the Knicks were hotter, hitting 14 of 19 shots while getting to the line 14 times in what became a 42-point frame (a franchise Finals record, and boy isn’t that sweet to type) and a seven-point lead at the break.

San Antonio was aggressive the first two games; this time they turned it up a notch. Wembanyama got away with a grossly unethical assault on Brunson’s head. On one Spurs’ set Castle ran baseline at Brunson like you’re taught to in practice — football practice. Devin Vassell gave Landry Shamet, minding his business, a bit of the extracurricular. Wemby laughed at a visibly pissed Brunson after his cheap shot. Vassell laughed after his dickery with Shamet. What a bunch of creeps.

And yet while none of those acts was deemed flagrant-worthy, even after video review, Brunson was called for a flagrant for being in Julian Champagnie’s landing area after a 3, a call Tim Legler immediately disputed. Maybe it was the assault and battery, maybe it was the magnitude of the moment, but the Knicks had a ton of different-wavelength turnovers, where the passer threw the ball to someone who didn’t cut when expected or who cut when it wasn’t. Still, heading into the fourth it was only a one-point game in the Spurs’ favor.

With Adam Silver in the arena the bluetooth was probably a little better than usual in the officials’ earpieces, so when the final quarter got going so did the whistles, putting San Antonio in the penalty faster than you can say “James Bowie was a nudnik.” Alvarado and Hart are both beautiful players, and probably people, but having two shooters who don’t wanna shoot — even making four 3s tonight, Hart never *wants* to shoot — against that defense is like waking up to a boa constrictor wrapped around you and nodding off again, hoping it all works out. However long that plan takes to fail, it’s gonna fail.

The teams went at each other back and forth, both relentless. Dylan Harper nearly put the Spurs up nine midway through the fourth, only to be stopped on the break by Anunoby, leading to a Brunson 3-point play that cut the gap to four. Soon after, a Brunson turnover ended with Wembanyama free throws, pushing the edge back up to eight. The stats will say the Knicks had offensive rebounds. That’s a lie. The Spurs seemed to move a little faster and jump a little higher when it came to the defensive glass.

Brunson checked in with seven and change left and took it to the cup for a lay-up, making it 100-95 Spurs. Video replay should be abolished, but in this game it saved the Knicks from getting screwed by the whistle even more times. The Knicks very nearly got a great look a few times, only for Wembanyama to erase the space. A Towns 3 would have made it a three-point game, but it wouldn’t stay down. A Brunson jumper at the buzzer pulled the Knicks within four.

As the clock passed the two-minute mark, Castle replied with a 3-point buzzer beater to make it 111-104. With precisely 33.3 seconds left, another Brunson 3, New York’s first of the fourth in 10 tries, made it 111-108. It felt like one more stop and the Knicks would find a way to tie it, take it to overtime, take a 3-0 series lead. De’Aaron Fox doesn’t care about our feelings. The rich man’s Avery Johnson pulled a ‘99 Game 5, hitting the jumper that felt like the nail in the coffin.

But this team doesn’t know when it’s dead. OG caught an inbounds tight in the corner, turned and busted out the Evan Fournier, making a difficult trey to cut it to deux. If Castle would simply have obliged by missing one of his two free throws with 6 seconds left, we could have looked forward to the drama of a last-second shot to settle a Finals game. Though knowing the Spurs, they would have fouled before letting the Knicks get a shot off. And Castle made both free throws anyway. Creeps.

That’s all for now. Check back in for Russell’s take. One day at a time, loves.

The San Antonio Spurs prevented the New York Knicks from taking an insurmountable lead in the Finals with their Game 3 win behind enemy lines. They came out playing with a higher level of force and much of it had to do with the team’s blazing shooting, and Victor Wembanyama (32 points, eight rebounds, six assists) being a destructive force on defense. Their third-quarter storm matched their early intensity, trickling over into the final stretch.

Despite the offense having its dry spells, it still was very effective, particularly in the half court. Additionally, one of the main reasons for their win was not getting careless with the ball for most of the night and the extra hustle at key moments bailing them out. Stephon Castle was a man possessed in the first half (23 points, five rebounds, five assists), and then Wembanyma stepped up with the game in the balance, hitting big shots and rejecting them, too.

Observations

• Wembanyama’s early burst had to do with him working more at close range off catches. Switching it up made him work less hard and put extra pressure on New York’s defense. Then Karl-Anthony Towns made it tougher for him as the game went on, and the Knicks also tightened up their coverages to allow fewer clean passes to Wemby on the inside. Still, he countered with successful shooting at the rim and arc.
• The first two non-Wemby minutes were a critical part of the game because the Spurs didn’t give up much ground in part by not falling apart offensively. They were only outscored by one point after both stretches of the first half, and then Luke Kornet did a nice job as Wemby rested in the third. 
• The Spurs had shaky moments, like early in the second quarter when they committed two bad fouls that derailed rhythm, and the period then turned into a Knicks avalanche while the Spurs couldn’t make a field goal in the last three minutes. The Knicks scored 42 points on 73.7 percent shooting in that span. 
• Julian Champagnie has been the Spurs’ only consistent deep threat in the Finals, and this time he got some help from Devin Vassell (11 points on 75 percent 3-point shooting). The team cooled down eventually from deep, but their early marksmanship made it up for their spotty free throw shooting.
• Castle’s paint strikes helped set the mood. He was making them when not much else was falling for the team, and he was carrying them during the non-Wemby minutes. He still had some mistakes but played more in control and his late 3-pointer in the fourth was the best biggest shot of his career.
• The valiant effort in the third quarter showed a lot of the team’s real character. The public was waiting to see how they’d handle adversity after losing the first home games, and they could have rolled over, and many teams probably would have there, but they didn’t. Wembanyama and Champagnie deserve the most credit for keeping the offense going in that span with three baskets apiece.
• De’Aaron Fox, despite his seven assists at the time, and Keldon Johnson, hadn’t done much in the game, but were on the floor at the start of the fourth and helped add to the lead by the first substitution of the period. Their stats won’t impress anyone, but they gave it their all on defense and those were crucial minutes that helped swing the game. Further more, Fox also hit the biggest shot of his career, breaking down to the left side for a 15-footer to put the Spurs up five with 12.2 seconds left.