Category: NBA

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 bench keeps on producing, and this time, one of the contributors was unlikely.

Jose Alvarado was expected. Jordan Clarkson was not.

Their production, however, wasn’t enough to extend the franchise-record 13-game playoff winning streak, as the Knicks started slow and faltered late in a 115-11 setback Monday to the Spurs in Game 3 of the Finals.

Both players, though, provided key moments as the reserves continued to perform well.

Alvarado gave the Knicks a spark after they quickly dug themselves a double-digit deficit and Clarkson provided significant shotmaking in reaching double figures for the first time this postseason.

Clarkson, in fact, had fallen out of the rotation. He didn’t appear in Game 1 and hadn’t logged more than nine minutes since Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Cavaliers. But on Monday he scored 10 points and hit both of his 3-point attempts in 13 minutes. Clarkson also had three rebounds and a plus-eight rating.

Alvarado had four points and three rebounds in 12 minutes, and a plus-five rating. The guard from Brooklyn, who came over in a trade in early February from the Pelicans, has made his mark in this series in limited action. In Game 1, when Jalen Brunson injured his knee, Alvarado made an impact at both ends of the floor.

“He was huge,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “We talked about it during our film session. When Jalen went out of the game, he came in and he kind of stabilized us because we were floundering a little bit. He got us into our offense.”

The Knicks bench has been a major factor in their postseason run back to the Finals for the first time since 1999. A year ago, they ran out of gas, and lost in six games to the Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals.

But when the starters have struggled in these playoffs, Brown has been able to bring guys off the bench who make a difference.

Did Charles Barkley put a hex on the Knicks? 

The NBA analyst declared the series over at halftime of Game 3 as the Knicks held a 2-0 series advantage over the Spurs. By the end of the game, the Knicks had fallen 115-111 and the Knicks’ NBA Finals lead was cut in half.

“Listen, man, I told you tonight, this series is a wrap,” Barkley proclaimed during the “Inside the NBA” segment at the half, with the Knicks leading 64-57.

"This series is a wrap…"

Charles Barkley at halftime of Game 3 of the NBA Finals. pic.twitter.com/x4POzqeGl9

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 9, 2026

“Oh hell yeah,” he responded when someone attempted to clarify and ask if he thought the series was over. “I think it’s over.” 

The bold prediction seemed to catch the rest of the panel off guard.

“I’ll put my house against your little house,” Barkley fired off after Shaquille O’Neal suggested they put a wager down since he was so confident. 

Things didn’t go exactly as Barkley expected as the Spurs regained the lead against a Knicks team that shot 25 percent from 3-point range in the second half and just 36 percent from the field. 

And the prognostication led basketball fans to poke fun at Sir Charles online. 

“And this why he never won a ring,” one person wrote on X. 

“Chuck ‘guarantees’ stay the worst curse of all time,” another social media user chimed in with crying laughing emojis. 

“Knew Spurs were good after this,” a third person wrote. 

Barkley couldn’t escape being called out on air, either, with his analysis being thrown in his face postgame — and Shaq ready to accept payment.

“I thought the Spurs were gonna lose,” Barkley said.

“Gimme the damn keys to that house today,” Shaq told him, adding, “Usually when we talk about realty, it’s a 10-day close — I want your ass out my house tomorrow.”

Game 4 of the NBA Finals will take place on Wednesday as the Knicks look to take a 3-1 lead and keep the Spurs from getting back into the series. 

Otherwise, there may be some very angry Knicks fans looking for Barkley. 

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

Mike Brown wasted no time. 

He came into his postgame news conference and immediately railed against the officiating in the Knicks’ 115-111 Game 3 loss to the Spurs on Monday night at Madison Square Garden, which cut their Finals lead to 2-1. 

“I never thought I would 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 are a great team, OK. 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. Maybe we were fouling. Maybe we were fouling. But they fouled, too.” 

The Spurs came out, like in Game 2, and made it a point to be as physical with Jalen Brunson and the rest of the Knicks as possible. In the first quarter, Victor Wembanyama blatantly shoved Brunson by his head area, though a foul was not called. 

“I never thought I’d see that in an NBA FInals game. And I saw that tonight.”

Mike Brown rails against the officiating: pic.twitter.com/Ih7PCzt7uG

— Jared Schwartz (@jschwartz115) June 9, 2026

It was actually the Knicks who were given a technical (Josh Hart) and a flagrant (Brunson) when there were a few cases in which one could have potentially been called on the Spurs. 

“Again, I don’t complain much,” Brown said. “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 against a great team. … But as a team, if you take away the fouls and the free throws that should have, in my opinion, been a little bit more even, again maybe we fouled that many times but they fouled, too. And it’s not shown at the end of the day on this boxscore.” 

Karl-Anthony Towns did not exactly agree with his head coach. 

“That ain’t cost us the game,” he said. “Turned the ball over. Didn’t execute. Didn’t do what got us 13 straight wins in a row. That’s how you lose a game. We didn’t do what we’ve been doing for 13. We decided to do something different, and it ain’t going to work.” 

The Knicks were called for three fouls in the first 64 seconds of the fourth quarter and were in the penalty for the final 8:10 of the game. 

The Spurs got 10 free throws in the fourth quarter and made all of them. They got another 14 in the third quarter — when they erased the Knicks’ seven-point halftime lead — and made 10 of them. 

“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,” Brown said. “… There are a lot of things we can do better and we are going to have to do better, but the same breath, like I said, hopefully they will see some more fouls called against them, so it’s not 24-8. This is a four-point ballgame. Four-point ballgame. One-possession ballgame going down the stretch. It’s tough to overcome.”

Giants Super Bowl champion Eli Manning was counted among the celebs who took in Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, taking a seat near the court alongside his wife and Yankees legend Derek Jeter. 

The trio was spotted walking to their seats before the Knicks’ 115-111 loss on Monday night, with wife Abby McGrew walking ahead of Manning and Jeter in the bowels of the home arena.

Manning was shown on the video board during the game, earning himself a roar from the MSG crowd. 

Derek Jeter & Eli Manning have arrived to MSG for the Knicks first NBA Finals appearance since 1999. Presented by Tri State Cadillac. #sponsoredpic.twitter.com/aP1Euy23Pa

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) June 9, 2026

Some of New York sports’ biggest names joined Manning, aside from Jeter.

The Garden was flooded with familiar faces, including Alex Rodriguez, Rick Pitino, Francisco Lindor, John Franco, Juan Soto, Todd Zeile, Woody Johnson, Jonathan Quick, Adam Fox and Vincent Trocheck.

The Knicks celeb fans were hard to miss as well, with Timothée Chalamet and Ben Stiller — who was also joined by his wife Christine Taylor — Tracy Morgan, Tina Fey and “Law & Order” stars Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni.

The latter two had a major hiccup with their courtside seats throughout the game, as they were getting blocked by a referee.

Unfortunately for the home supporters on hand, the Knicks suffered their first loss in the postseason since their first-round series against the Hawks, putting an end to their 13-game win streak.

It also ends the Knicks’ first chance to close the series at home as the series goes to 2-1.

Following Game 4, the series will head to San Antonio on Saturday.

If necessary, the Garden will host Game 6, which is scheduled for Tuesday, June 16.

Heroes and zeros from the Knicks’ 115-111 Game 3 loss to the Spurs in the NBA Finals on Monday night at the Garden:

Hero

Victor Wembanyama started the game with two dunks and didn’t stop attacking. The Knicks couldn’t slow down the 7-foot-4 Frenchman. He torched them for 32 points on 11-for-18 shooting along with eight rebounds, six assists and three blocks. 

Zero

Mikal Bridges was invisible Monday night. After his stout Game 2 performance, the two-way wing attempted just four shots, making only one of them. He was also benched for most of the fourth quarter and was tentative upon finally reentering the game. 

Unsung hero 

Wembanyama needed help from his friends, and he got plenty out of Stephon Castle. The former Connecticut star played a pivotal role in the Spurs’ first win of the Finals. Castle came up clutch, making two key free throws with the San Antonio lead down to two and 6.8 seconds remaining. He finished with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists in 38 strong minutes. 

Key stat

9: The Knicks missed their first nine 3-pointers of the fourth quarter and went 13-for-37 from distance. 

Quote

“I never thought I would be in the NBA Finals and see a team get 24 free throw attempts in the second half to another team’s eight.”

— Knicks coach Mike Brown on the officiating in the second half. 

Mariska Hargitay’s courtside side seat came with an exclusive view — just not one that you’d expect from the pricey position.

The “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” star’s courtside seats at Madison Square Garden had their view blocked by the referee when the official was on her side of the court during the Knicks’ 115-111 Game 3 loss to the Spurs in the NBA Finals on Monday night.

The actress can be seen looking around the ref to see the play with co-star Christopher Meloni.

Spending the entire game watching Mariska Hargitay courtside as she tries to look around the referee pic.twitter.com/X3hB4wnGHN

— Adam Aaronson (@SixersAdam) June 9, 2026

For someone who said she “wouldn’t miss [Game 3] for the world,” not being able to actually watch must be quite the letdown.

While not every ticket was as expensive, two courtside seats went on auction for $1 million — though Hargitay is a regular at Knicks games and likely a celebrity row invitee.

In general, Game 3 is the most expensive ticket in NBA Finals history, with an average price of $7,149, per SeatGeek.

Knicks guard Jalen Brunson and Hargitay have an unlikely friendship thanks to the former Villanova player’s SVU fandom.

Brunson grew up watching SVU, first with his dad.

“It’s a pregame show for me. I’ve always loved that show,” Brunson said on his podcast “The Roommates Show” co-hosted with teammate Josh Hart. “I’ve never been like super super like starstruck — super starstruck. I saw her, I was like ‘Oh shit.’ The first time we met, it was awesome. We talked and everything.”

After multiple interactions on the court, the two have sparked a relationship that led Brunson and his wife to the premiere of “My Mom Jayne” at the Tribeca Film Festival last year.

Hargitay also said she drew inspiration from the guard during her Broadway debut in “Every Brilliant Thing.”

“He is so singular and magnificent. He’s a magnificent human,” she said.

Brunson is leading the Knicks with 26.6 points per game in the postseason, also adding 6.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds coming into Game 3. He scored 35 points in Monday night’s loss.

The Garden will host Game 4 on Wednesday night before the series heads back to San Antonio on Saturday.

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.

The spectacle at Madison Square Garden on Monday night was such that the basketball almost took a back seat to everything else. The president in the suites. The mayor in the crowd. Movie stars along the sideline. The culmination of days of talk over $10,000 tickets, heightened security and cancelled watch parties alongside the anticipation for New York City’s first home NBA finals game since 25 June 1999.

By the end of the game, Victor Wembanyama had given New York something fresh to talk about. The San Antonio Spurs snapped the Knicks’ 13-game postseason winning streak with a 115-111 victory, playing spoiler to the Garden’s party and cutting the deficit to 2-1 in this year’s finals. Game 4 is Wednesday in New York.

Related: The human in excelsis: why Victor Wembanyama is unlike anyone basketball has ever seen

Wembanyama put together his best performance of the series, finishing with 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocks. Stephon Castle, who had 23 points, hit two free throws with 6.8 seconds left in the third nail-biting finish in as many games.

Jalen Brunson fueled the Knicks with 32 points and OG Anunoby added 28, but the rest of their team went cold in the fourth quarter. It was the most points New York have allowed these playoffs, and they finished frustrated by a discrepancy in foul calls.

After a standout regular season and an enthralling Western Conference finals, Wembanyama had yet to fully break through in this series. The 7ft 4in French phenom ended Game 2 in San Antonio with an errant pass that bounced off his teammate’s back and a missed potential game-winner.

“Really tried to relax [after Game 2]. The playoffs, it’s like ... a whirlwind. It’s hard to put your head out of the water,” he said of his approach to Monday night. “I need some time off, let my brain cool down.”

He opened Game 3 with a new sense of energy and urgency, scoring nine points in his first nine minutes and giving the Madison Square Garden crowd a hint of what was to come the rest of the night.

“At home it really feels like playing six against five. Here it feels like five against six,” Wembanyama said with a smile. “It really shows what teams are made of.”

Before Monday, New York’s postseason run had carried an air of inevitability, with the bruising Brunson consistently coming up clutch, forward Karl-Anthony Towns playing some of the best basketball of his career, and their depth carrying them through games. It all came amid the fervor of a city anxiously hoping for its first NBA championship since 1973.

Monday night’s atmosphere brought perhaps the fiercest test of their focus yet. Donald Trump, a longtime Knicks fan invited as a guest of team owner James Dolan, watched from a suite, received heavy boos when he appeared on the jumbotron during the national anthem. New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani attended separately; he said earlier Monday he paid about $1,000 for his standing-room-only ticket. Spike Lee, Timothée Chalamet, Ben Stiller, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan and Larry David were among the stars on celebrity row.

They – and the thousands of fans watching across the five boroughs – were left at a loss for the first time since 23 April.

“We’ve done our best to try to learn from wins over the past couple weeks. But now we have to learn from a loss,” Brunson said. “But I think the most important thing is that we are going to learn regardless, because we knew there were things that we were going to have to improve on going into next game. So mindset stays the same.”

When asked if the fanfare of the occasion influenced their struggles, Towns demurred and praised the crowd for their energy.

“Of course our fans brought it,” said Towns, who had a quiet night of 11 points and eight rebounds after back-to-back double-doubles in San Antonio. “Of course they lived up to the expectations. Exceeded them. We didn’t do our job to give them something to cheer for [during] the game.”

After the Spurs raced out to an 11-point first-quarter lead, the Knicks swung the momentum back in their favor and out-scored San Antonio 42-24 in the second. Each time the Spurs threatened – at one point Wembanyama hit a three and slammed an alley-oop dunk in a span of 38 seconds – New York found an answer. Brunson lit up the crowd on a three with 41 seconds left in the first half, and Wembanyama’s missed floater meant the Knicks went into the break up 64-57.

Outside of Wembanyama and Castle, who combined for nearly half of their team’s total points, the Spurs found a lifeline with 21 points off the Knicks’ 13 turnovers. Neither side managed to pull away in the third quarter, with the largest lead by either team being five.

The Knicks’ frustration over the officiating – “refs, you suck!” chants broke out at least three times throughout the night – boiled over in the fourth quarter. New York were whistled three times in the first 64 seconds of the period, and took just eight free throws in the second half to the Spurs’ 24.

As Wembanyama ticked past the 30-point mark, Brunson kept the Knicks in the game with 12 points in the final period, but his teammates went just 3 for 20 from the field. A pair of threes by Brunson and Anunoby gave the crowd a jolt of hope, but a countering triple by De’Aaron Fox and Castle’s free throws silenced them.

No NBA team has lost the first two games of the finals on its home floor and come back to win the championship, but the Spurs’ hopes of doing so remain alive.

The Knicks were defeated by the Spurs 115-111 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night.

New York's 13-game playoff winning streak has come to an end, and the series sits at 2-1. 

Here are some takeaways...

-- MSG was unsurprisingly jumping from the get-go in the first home Finals game since 1999, but it was the Spurs who got off to a strong start. With Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle leading the charge, they were able to make 10 of their first 13 buckets from the field to establish an early double-digit advantage (11). 

Wemby was somehow not called for a foul after shoving Jalen Brunson in the neck in the first. 

-- New York struggled to get into a groove as a team, but Josh Hart was doing what he could to keep them in the game. Hart came into the night with just three points over the first two games of the series, but he started 3-of-4 from the field to more than double that total. 

Hart received a technical foul for retaliating on Luke Kornet following a collision after the whistle. 

-- The Knicks trailed by 11 after one, but quickly came storming back with as good a quarter as they've had all series. Led by OG Anunoby (17) and a suddenly hot Hart (13) they knocked down 14-of-19 shots to put up a franchise finals record 42 points and open up a seven-point lead. 

Jordan Clarkson (5) and Jose Alvarado (4) also stepped up with big minutes off the bench. 

-- San Antonio came out of the locker room with some fire and they were eventually able to regain the momentum. They trailed for most of a back-and-forth quarter until they were finally able to jump back in front after Brunson picked up his fourth foul of the night with four minutes to go. 

New York's bench stepped up again in the non-Brunson minutes, but they still trailed going to the fourth. 

-- The Knicks' offense looked a bit lost with their captain sitting early in the fourth, as they didn't record a bucket until Mitchell Robinson had a putback just over four minutes into the quarter. New York quickly found themselves in the bonus as well, and the lead was stretched back out to seven. 

-- Every time it looked like the Knicks were going to cut into the deficit, Wemby and the Spurs had an answer. New York missed their first nine threes to open the fourth, before Brunson and Anunoby drilled back-to-back clutch ones to keep them alive in the closing seconds. 

-- Castle knocked down two clutch free throws in a two-point game to put this one to rest. The UConn product backed up his talk about the Spurs winning the series following their Game 2 loss, finishing with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting, five rebounds, and five assists. 

-- The stars, Wemby and Brunson, led all scorers with 32 points apiece. 

-- Anunoby had 28 points and Hart chipped in 16, but the rest of the Knicks' starting five was quiet. Karl-Anthony Towns had just 11 points on 10 shot attempts and Mikal Bridges finished with just two points. Landry Shamet also struggled, making just one of his eight shot.

Game MVP: Stephon Castle

The former UConn Husky made the clutch late three to put this one to bed. 

Highlights

The Wollman Rink watch party reacts as Josh Hart knocks down the first points of the night for the Knicks pic.twitter.com/DPaJrSC3B3

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 9, 2026

No foul is called as Victor Wembanyama shoves Jalen Brunson pic.twitter.com/awN400ir13

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 9, 2026

Josh Hart gets a technical foul after getting into it with Luke Kornet pic.twitter.com/8L4QeO82Ra

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 9, 2026

OG FOR THREE!

THE KNICKS CUT IT TO 2! pic.twitter.com/wGvIzWPdKp

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 9, 2026

Jalen Brunson with a LONG three! pic.twitter.com/HtW7EPyA2E

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 9, 2026

A 10-1 run for the Knicks to end the first half 🔥 pic.twitter.com/p9lR1J3k2r

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 9, 2026

JORDAN CLARKSON TO THE RESCUE! pic.twitter.com/AHE06OqOxE

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 9, 2026

What's next

The Knicks will look to turn things around in Game 4 at the Garden on Wednesday night. 

The San Antonio Spurs have found life in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, gutting out a 115-111 win over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden to avoid facing elimination and a sweep.

Victor Wembanyama, fresh off a blunder to finish Game 2, responded with a 32-point, 8-rebound, 6-assist night to go along with three assists. Six more Spurs scored in double figures to withstand yet another late New York rally.

The Knicks, however, still hold home-court advantage and with a 2-1 lead in the series, they have an opportunity to get that commanding third win in Game 4 before the series shifts back to San Antonio.

When is Game 4? Here's everything you need to know:

When is Game 4 of the NBA Finals?

Game 4 between the Knicks and Spurs will be played on Wednesday, June 10 at Madison Square Garden. It could potentially be the final game of this NBA season in New York if the Knicks are able to close out the series in San Antonio.

NBA FINALS TICKETS: Spurs win Game 3, ticket prices soar for crucial Game 4 at MSG

NBA Finals remaining schedule

Here is the full remaining NBA Finals schedule:

Wednesday, June 10

• Game 4: Spurs at Knicks, Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, 8:30 p.m. ET

Saturday, June 13

• Game 5: Knicks at Spurs, FrostBank Center, San Antonio, Texas, 8:30 p.m. ET

Tuesday, June 16

• *Game 6: Spurs at Knicks, Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, 8:30 p.m. ET

Friday, June 19

• *Game 7: Knicks at Spurs, FrostBank Center, San Antonio, Texas, 8:30 p.m. ET

*If necessary

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When is Game 4 of the NBA Finals? Spurs vs. Knicks date, time, TV

It’s almost hard to remember this feeling.

The Knicks faltered for the first time since April 23. Forty-five days of euphoria across New York City as the Knicks rode a remarkable 13-game winning streak.

But there would be no 46th day.

It’s been such a long time since the Knicks had a hiccup. Since they fell to an early deficit that they couldn’t overcome. Since they had to experience disappointment.

Since any sort of doubt has crept in, even if ever so slightly.

Madison Square Garden was an event even more exclusive than the Met Gala. The celebrity list — including President Trump — was so long it was almost comical. It was on the verge of fully erupting like so many had envisioned. It had the potential to be a party the likes of which the arena and city have rarely ever seen.

But the Spurs came in and spoiled the fun. The Garden Party will have to wait at least two more days, as the Knicks fell 115-111 Monday night and saw their Finals lead cut to 2-1. The road team has won all three games of the series.

“We’ve done our best to try to learn from wins over the past couple weeks,” Jalen Brunson said. “But now we have to learn from a loss.”

Brunson’s 3-pointer cut the deficit to three points with 33.7 seconds left. The possibility for more late-game magic was there.

De’Aaron Fox responded with a bucket to put the Spurs back up five, however. OG Anunoby’s subsequent 3-pointer made it a two-point deficit with 9.4 seconds left, but Stephon Castle, after the Knicks fouled him, hit both free throws to restore the Spurs’ two-possession lead.

That was that.

In truth, the Knicks deserved to lose. They outscored the Spurs by 18 in a record-breaking second quarter (their 42 points were the most they’ve ever scored in a quarter in the Finals), but across the other three quarters were outscored by 22 points. Their perimeter defense was too loose. They had too many turnovers, many of which were unforced. Their offense grew stagnant.

It was the most points they’ve given up this postseason.

“We weren’t as connected as we normally are,” Anunoby said. “We had some mental mishaps and allowed some easy buckets.”

Victor Wembanyama finally had his Finals coming-out party. He had 32 points along with eight rebounds, six assists and three blocks. He finished off a few alley-oops in which he used his 7-foot-4 frame and simply skied over Knicks defenders. He clearly made it a point to operate in the paint more than he had in the first two games of the series, and it worked. He owned his matchup with Karl-Anthony Towns.

Brunson got almost no help in the fourth quarter outside of Anunoby — they had a combined 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting in the period, but their teammates combined to score two points and shoot 1-for-16. Brunson finished with 32 points on 11-for-25 shooting.

The Spurs were incredibly physical with him. They took a couple of blatant cheap shots — Wembanyama got away with shoving Brunson by his head in the first quarter. Later in the first half, Carter Bryant and Castle both lined him up and trucked him while going for rebounds.

And it actually appeared to get under Brunson’s skin. He was more visibly angry than he almost ever is. After Wembanyama’s shove, Brunson got in his face and jawed at him while the play was still going on. It felt like Brunson was forcing it a bit on the offensive end as a result, resulting in some of his supporting cast being uninvolved. He got into foul trouble himself. He committed five turnovers.

Coach Mike Brown, more emotional than usual, went out of his way to rail against the officiating for, in his words, not calling that physicality evenly.

“I never thought I’d see that in an NBA Finals game, and I saw it tonight,” Brown said. “That’s tough to overcome when you’re playing against a great team.”

Towns, after his magnificent first two games of the series, had just 11 points and did not score in the fourth quarter, missing all four shots he took. Mikal Bridges was invisible, offensively at least, with just two points on 1-for-5 shooting. He did not score his first — and only — points until the very end of the third quarter.

Anunoby was the only non-Brunson scorer who made a real impact, chipping in 28 points.

“You knew they were going to come out with a sense of urgency and a sense of desperation,” Towns said. “We should have started the game off better. We should have started the third quarter off better. So, you know, back to 0-0.”

For so long, it felt like the Knicks simply forgot how to lose. For so long, it felt like nights like this might never happen again.

But now, we have a series. Now, we wait and see how these Knicks respond.