Category: Basketball

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst spoke with CLNS Media’s and CelticsBlog’s Bobby Manning about the Celtics offseason and where everything stands with this summer’s most intriguing possibility.

On the Celtics potential pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Windhorst said, “the big question the Celtics would have is Giannis prepared to sign an extension in Boston? I don’t know the answer. Also, do you feel good about signing a guy that, I would say, has had chronic injuries to a $275 million contract when he is in his thirties. Does everyone feel good about that?”

“I have not heard that Boston is on Giannis’ list,” he continued. “I have not heard that Giannis is prepared to sign an extension with Boston. So frankly, the Jaylen Brown part is moot to me.”

When asked about the Celtics ability to get back to the Finals, Windhorst said, “I thought Boston was going to win the East this year. They looked great. They’re not that far.”

“I think everybody would agree they need more big-man depth. Do you believe that Queta is your franchise center? Do you honestly look yourself in the mirror and (ask), ‘can you beat Karl (-Anthony) Towns, can you beat Victor Wembanyama (in a series)’ because that’s the standard. Maybe they believe he can, I’m not saying he can’t but that’s the question they need have to consider.”

Windy also went on to talk about the ways the Celtics can use the $27 million trade exception they got in the Anfernee Simons for Nikola Vucevic trade in February.

“The Simons trade exception is a big asset. Team’s are going to be looking to get off contracts, that’s where we are in the apron era and the Celtics have decent control of their first round picks. They have those things two things to add a nice player. That’s probably at the front of mind.”

“Now if they get a call from Giannis’ agent in ten days and says he wants to be a Celtic, then let’s have a different conversation,” Windy continued. “Until I hear about that, I think they should focus on using the Simons trade exception and hitting on their draft pick.”

The Spurs have bounced back and shown their resiliency all season long, and that was no different Monday night, resulting in a 115-111 victory to cut the Knicks’ series lead down to 2-1.

The good guys were on fire to start. They prioritized paint touches and got Wemby going early, throwing him lobs and opening up the lane for drives. There was always an extra pass to find the open man, resulting in an early 7-0 run that soon turned into a double-digit lead. Defensively, San Antonio threw different coverages at the Knicks, sometimes matching Wemby up with KAT and at other times allowing him to roam off of Josh Hart. As a result, New York struggled to get anything going, turning the ball over and forcing up bad shots.

Similar to games 1 and 2, though, the Knicks mounted a comeback — using their bench no less, in the non-Brunson minutes. New York finally started running their offense more through KAT, who overpowered every Spur not named Wemby. Clarkson, Alvarado, and Shamet energized the crowd and the home team through their relentless effort, helping them knock down shots while the Spurs went cold. Steph Castle was the only one consistently scoring for the good guys, capitalizing on turnovers and attacking the basket fearlessly.

Then, things went from bad to worse in the blink of an eye for San Antonio. Josh Hart made a number of wide-open threes, and the Knicks’ ball movement was always one step ahead of the visiting team. After a slow start, Brunson started knocking down shots too, and New York suddenly turned a deficit into a 7-point lead going into halftime, outscoring the Spurs 42-24 in the second.

As has been the case all season long, the Spurs wouldn’t give up. They played methodically to start the third, regaining the lead. Wemby found his stroke from deep, making two threes that quieted the raucous MSG crowd. The bench logged key minutes too, keeping San Antonio above water while giving Wemby a breather. Then, both teams tightened up, playing some sloppy basketball at both ends. The Spurs started throwing the ball all over the gym while New York rushed shots, and the scoring dried up.

Then, the biggest play of the game happened. Up seven with eight minutes left, Wemby made a deep three that included a foul on Mitchell Robinson, potentially leading to a four-point play. However, the Knicks won a challenge to overturn the call after noticing that Keldon Johnson had pushed Robinson into the Alien. What could’ve been an 11-point lead was then cut down to five after Brunson made a quick bucket on the very next play, setting up another exciting finish.

Fortunately, that did not disrupt the Spurs’ focus. San Antonio continued to play good defense and capitalize on their chances at the other end, maintaining a two-possession lead until the final minute. Then, the Knicks’ magic surfaced again, but it didn’t last (for once). Brunson and Anunoby hit two straight threes (with a Fox bucket in between) to cut it down to a one-possession game, before Castle iced the game with two clutch free throws.

Game notes

• The Carter Bryant minutes remain a mystery to all of us at PtR. He’s had flashes of brilliance, even in this game, but it’s not a coincidence that the Knicks have made comebacks in all three games starting in the second, when he usually checks in. It’s absolutely baffling that Mitch insists on playing him against a veteran New York team that feasts on inexperience, when there are more minutes to be given to a guy like Harper.
• Another thing I don’t understand? The hesitancy to tweak the starting lineup and play Harper over Champagnie. The rookie has arguably been the best Brunson defender, while Jules is his favorite target to attack. Yes, the Spurs will be giving up shooting, but that’ll be offset by the added defense and ballhandling, and Harper hunting Brunson was one of the catalysts of San Antonio’s comeback in game 2.
• The Spurs changed their coverage on KAT: Wemby played him straight up at times, and he was guarded by smaller players on other possessions. It effectively shut down Big Purr, who had 11 points on 10 attempts, but it allowed Hart to go 4-7 from deep and score 16 points. If this scheme can limit KAT that much, I’m willing to bet on Hart’s shooting falling back down to earth. That’s a big if, though.
• Wemby had by far his best game of the series. He finished with 32/8/6 on 11-18 shooting and was aggressive from the tip, setting the tone for the rest of the team. We’ll need to see a similar performance in game 4 if this series is going back to San Antonio tied at 2.

Play of the game

More Fox-Wemby two man game, please!

PLAYIN' ABOVE THE RIM 🙌

📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/Ux06lNfUHq

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) June 9, 2026

Next game: @ New York on Wednesday

The Spurs will look to even the series on Wednesday at 5:30 central time.

Rowdy Knicks fanatics clashed with cops outside Bryant Park’s Game 3 watch party Monday night – including at least one who hurled a bottle at an officer.

The sea of fans was already teetering over the edge just one hour after tip-off, as many didn’t make it inside the official watch park of the Knicks-Spurs game in the Midtown park.

Huge brawls broke out and cops in riot gear rushed to control the unruly crowd, deploying pepper spray.

Rabblerousing fans started vaulting onto parked cars while chanting “We want Wemby!” One daredevil set fire to a Spurs t-shirt, while a mob chased a San Antonio fan across the street.

The troublemakers, who largely appeared to be young people, even knocked down a metal bus sign and broke off large tree branches.

Unruly youths took it in turns to try and knock over a bus sign near Bryant Park, wild video obtained by Freedom News shows.

The circular sign eventually fell off after the pole had been rigorously shaken – and the moment sparked jubilant scenes.

Cops in riot gear rushed to control the unruly crowd and deployed pepper spray, while fans tossed bottles at the officers.

But another shocking video showed the sign being used as a weapon during a brawl on 42nd Street.

One lunatic was seen smashing the sign off the heads of others in the chaotic scenes.

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More Coverage on the Knicks during the 2026 NBA Finals

• Spurs’ surprising Victor Wembanyama strategy is backfiring
• Meet the Knicks superfans who spend thousands on season tickets, host massive fan meetups and have ‘Knicks Nooks’ full of old-school memorabilia
• The underlying fuel that’s propelling the Knicks through historic postseason run
• MSG’s electric Knicks atmosphere will be on full display as NBA Finals makes ‘really special’ return

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Stray punches and kicks were hurled right in front of cops before they rushed to break apart the brawlers.

“Back up,” one officer was heard shouting repeatedly before several rabble-rousers were detained.

Some were even pinned to the ground before they were cuffed.

Rowdy youths also climbed NYPD barricade trucks and chanted “suck my d–k,” according to video shared by journalist Oliya Scootercaster.

Fans surrounded iconic yellow cabs, hitting windshields with lightsabers as cops tried to disperse crowds on 42nd Street.

Multiple individuals were arrested, a NYPD spokesperson told The Post.

The NBA Finals returned to Madison Square Garden.

And Landry Shamet returned to earth.

Entering Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Shamet had been one of the postseason’s best stories, riding the best eight-game 3-point shooting stretch in playoff history after being booted from the rotation in the first round.

But Mike Brown’s most trusted reserve finally collided with the law of averages, scoring just three points while shooting 1-for-8 from the field in the Knicks’ 115-111 loss to the Spurs on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.

Shamet, who made 1-for-7 on 3-pointers, had shot nearly 68 percent from the perimeter in the previous eight games and scored at least 13 points in his previous four games.

“Great process, got some great looks, had a few that were down and out,” said Shamet, who finished with a team-worst minus-20 rating. “Process over outcome. I’m more upset about some of the things defensively that I’ve been priding myself on. I had a few possessions where I didn’t do my job like I needed to. That’s fixable. Sometimes the gods give you in and outs and the ball doesn’t go in.”

While Jordan Clarkson (10 points, three rebounds) and Jose Alvarado (four points, three rebounds) provided energy off the bench, Shamet and Miles McBride (scoreless in nine minutes) contributed to the Knicks’ first loss since April 23.

Shamet’s lone make came on a 3-pointer late in the third quarter to pull the Knicks within two, but the veteran struggled down the stretch, missing three attempts in the fourth quarter, including an ugly, forced 3-pointer that induced groans from the largely electric Garden crowd.

“They came out, they made adjustments, they were more physical,” Shamet said. “They kicked our ass and we’ve gotta bounce back.

“We gotta look in the mirror and get better and we’ll do that. I feel good about knowing we can clean some things up. We’ll be better in Game 4.”

It is another chance to leave his mark on one of the biggest games in Knicks history. It is another chance to add another chapter to his unlikely tale.

“The city was crazy, you could feel it from Mars, I’m sure,” Shamet said of the Game 3 atmosphere. “New York was buzzing. A lot of energy. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a win from the home fans, but we’ll respond and we’ll be better.”

The tone, ominous for the Knicks, was set immediately.

The Spurs forced the ball inside to Victor Wembanyama.

Dunk and dunk.

It would be 48 minutes of San Antonio feasting in the paint, led by Wembanyama and Stephon Castle. The Knicks defense, so strong throughout this postseason, was a weakness Monday night.

They couldn’t slow down the Spurs’ young guns in a 115-111 loss at an electric Madison Square Garden.

“We weren’t as connected as we normally are,” OG Anunoby said after the Knicks allowed their most points in 17 playoff games this spring. “We had some mental mishaps and allowed some easy buckets, and also our transition defense wasn’t what we wanted it to be.”

So, basically, everything.

In the first two games, the Spurs averaged 14.5 turnovers. They only committed eight in Game 3. So they had more possessions by cutting down on their mistakes and took advantage of it.

But the biggest issue was the interior defense, allowing Wembanyama and Castle to combine for 55 points on 19-for-32 shooting.

They crushed the Knicks on the interior. The Spurs piled up 44 points in the paint and attempted 32 free throws.

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More Coverage on the Knicks during the 2026 NBA Finals

• Spurs’ surprising Victor Wembanyama strategy is backfiring
• Meet the Knicks superfans who spend thousands on season tickets, host massive fan meetups and have ‘Knicks Nooks’ full of old-school memorabilia
• The underlying fuel that’s propelling the Knicks through historic postseason run
• MSG’s electric Knicks atmosphere will be on full display as NBA Finals makes ‘really special’ return

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“I give San Antonio, their staff and their players a lot of credit. They just stayed with it, stayed with it, tried to execute, tried to execute, tried to execute, and we did not do a good job with the details,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “I think it’s a combination of both because they had to execute their actions, and then we had to make sure that we tried to execute our defensive responsibilities, and we didn’t do a really good job with it.”

The Spurs shot 35 percent from 3-point range in going 12-for-34. They did hit some big 3s. But that wasn’t what bothered Brown about his team’s defense Monday night.

“We allowed them to get to the paint, and we did not pay attention in detail to what we are supposed to do defensively,” Brown said.

Victor Wembanyama is known for many things.

He’s the next face of the league. He’s an “alien.” He’s a 7-foot-4 sensation who can make 3-pointers.

But he may have just added to his lore.

His newest act?

Knicks villain.

He played spoiler on a night when Knicks fans paid over $11,000 to get into Madison Square Garden. He ruined the team’s first Finals game on home soil in 27 years. He sent President Donald Trump, Timothée Chalamet, Spike Lee and Ben Stiller home disappointed.

Right now, Wembanyama is New Yorkers’ No. 1 enemy.

Wembanyama led the Spurs to a 115-111 win Monday in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, dealing a blow to the most populated city in America with 8.4 million residents who were foaming at the mouth to celebrate being one win away from their first championship since 1973.

Not so fast.

Wembanyama had 32 points on 11-for-18 shooting from the field, 2-for-4 from deep, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and three blocked shots to put the series at 2-1.

In a tight fourth quarter in which the Knicks cut the Spurs’ eight-point lead to 113-111 with 9.4 seconds left, Wembanyama was the best player on the court. He had 10 points. He had a blocked shot. He was aggressive on the defensive end, helping hold the Knicks to 3-for-10 shooting in the paint over that period.

It was nightmarish for New Yorkers, who are used to Jalen Brunson playing the hero in those types of tight situations.

Wembanyama not only played spoiler, but earlier in the game he shoved the King of New York, firmly embracing the villain moniker.

With under five minutes left in the first quarter, Wembanyama pushed the back of Brunson’s neck. The Knicks star fell onto his hands. Richard Jefferson said on the ABC broadcast that he should’ve been assessed a flagrant 1 foul.

But there was no whistle on the play.

Knicks fans weren’t pleased. In the second quarter, a “F–k you, Wemby” chant erupted as Karl-Anthony Towns shot free throws. Knicks fans also took to X to voice their displeasure. One Knicks fan wrote, “Wembanyama is turning into a punk.” Another added, “All my homies hate Victor Wembanyama.”

Welcome to a very elite club, Wemby.

Trae Young is its president. To this day, fans chant “F–k you, Trae Young” following games after he tormented them during the first round of the 2021 playoffs, including shushing the crowd after he hit a game-winning shot in Game 1 and then taking a theatrical bow after clinching the series in Game 5.

Tyrese Haliburton also recently joined the club when he wore a hoodie featuring Reggie Miller’s 1994 “choke” gesture after eliminating the Knicks in Game 7 of the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals.

Miller and Michael Jordan were also proud card-carrying members of that club during their battles against the Knicks in the 1990s.

When Wembanyama was asked if he’s now a Knicks villain, he flashed a smile.

“I guess,” he said. “I’m nowhere near Trae Young level, though.”

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More Coverage on the Knicks during the 2026 NBA Finals

• Spurs’ surprising Victor Wembanyama strategy is backfiring
• Meet the Knicks superfans who spend thousands on season tickets, host massive fan meetups and have ‘Knicks Nooks’ full of old-school memorabilia
• The underlying fuel that’s propelling the Knicks through historic postseason run
• MSG’s electric Knicks atmosphere will be on full display as NBA Finals makes ‘really special’ return

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For Wembanyama, this is an honor. It means he’s doing something right.

We all knew this type of performance was coming for him.

There was a change in Wembanyama after Game 2 when he threw the ball off Stephon Castle’s back with the score tied at 104-104 and 9.5 seconds left, leading to a 105-104 loss. Wembanyama took responsibility for that blunder. He blamed himself for the loss.

Wembanyama spent the next few days trying to reset. He went to Gramercy Park in Manhattan to sketch a statue. After the Spurs fell into a 2-0 hole, legendary coach Gregg Popovich advised the team to forget the last two games. Wemy took those words to heart.

In Game 3, Wembanyama was a different player.

He went from waiting for the game to come to him to playing with a sense of urgency from the moment the ball was tipped. He was physical. He was him.

And he did it in New York, under the brightest of lights, under the most crushing pressure.

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

Now Wembanyama is currently the most hated man in New York.

And there’s nothing that could make him happier.

The Utah Jazz will have the opportunity to draft a generational player regardless of who the Washington Wizards pick at #1. Two of AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Cam Boozer will be there to pick, depending on what the Wizards do.

But of all those three prospects, who will survive Utah Twitter the best? Let’s take a look.

Darryn Peterson

Twitter: https://x.com/Darryn_P1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darrynp1

Peterson doesn’t post much on his socials. They tend to be self-promotion and team-related tweets, and some Instagram stories about his puppy, Denim. His Instagram profile pic is Kobe Bryant, and his Twitter profile pic is Edward Scissorhands. There’s not a lot you can derive from these about Peterson, but that’s not a bad thing. Peterson is very much focused on basketball, based on his profiles, and it doesn’t look like he’s spending much time interacting. Overall, this is a very good sign for the future. I’m also a fan of his posts relating to Kobe Bryant. If that’s the player the Jazz are getting if they get Peterson, there’s a lot to be excited about for Jazz fans.

AJ Dybantsa

Twitter: https://x.com/AJ_Dybantsa

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aj.dybantsa

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@aj.dybantsa

Dybantsa is much more active on socials and gives a broader window into his life and basketball. Dybantsa also documents his basketball life on YouTube. If a dynamic social presence is what you want from your superstar, Dybantsa is your guy. This is definitely something that could help Dybantsa become an iconic player in the league.

Having a big social presence can be a double-edged sword. Will Dybantsa be satisfied in Utah if he’s not getting all the endorsement deals of a bigger market? Chances are he’ll be fine. He did choose to come to Utah for college, after all.

Cam Boozer

Twitter: https://x.com/CameronBoozer12

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cameronboozer

Boozer is similar to Darryn Peterson but probably gives a little bit more of a window into his life and his family. On Twitter, he promotes his basketball life as well as his twin brother Cayden Boozer’s.

It’s clear he isn’t spending a ton of time on his socials and uses it for promotion and basketball and not much else. The Boozer family has strong ties to Utah, which makes his socials really fun for Jazz fans. It’s also a bonus for Boozer that he has no connection to one of the colleges in Utah, which would help him avoid any issues with the local rivalry.

The Verdict?

The player most likely to survive Utah Twitter?

Darryn Peterson

Because Peterson almost never posts on Twitter, he has almost zero potential problems. Dybantsa will have a lot of BYU fans, but you can bet you’ll have some rivalry-related tweets coming his way. Boozer is very similar to Peterson on socials, with it being mostly milquetoast tweets. But with Peterson posting less, he gets the edge.

Congrats to Darryn Peterson, who clearly is all about basketball and not much else.

It’s not clear if social media will play into who goes #1 in the NBA Draft. Right now at FanDuel, AJ Dybantsa has the edge at -450 and Darryn Peterson is the second most likely at +380.

It was April 23 — all over again. 

It had been more than six weeks since the Knicks suffered a loss, 45 days since Mikal Bridges was benched in a scoreless effort that led to the Hawks taking a 2-1 lead in the first round. 

But after six-plus weeks as one of the driving forces behind the second-longest win streak in postseason history, Bridges reverted to the indecisive wing prone to disappearing acts, scoring just two points, before getting benched for much of the fourth quarter in the Knicks’ 115-111 loss in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. 

“We gotta be better,” said Bridges, who shot 1-for-5 from the field. “I gotta be better for next game.” 

Bridges, the only player on the Knicks roster with significant NBA Finals experience before last week, looked overwhelmed under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, needing just 29 minutes to lose the aggressiveness and confidence he’d built during the team’s previous 13 games. 

Barely three minutes into Monday’s game, Bridges was on the bench after committing two fouls, and he never gave himself a chance to get in rhythm, repeatedly looking away from the rim when the ball hit his hands. 

Though Bridges was brilliant in the Game 2 win in San Antonio — scoring 20 points, with six rebounds and six assists — he took just six shots in Game 1, the fewest he’d attempted since the first round. 

In the 2021 NBA Finals with Phoenix — when the Suns blew a 2-0 series lead — Bridges scored 27 points in a Game 2 win, then averaged just over four shots per game in four straight losses to the Bucks. 

“Offensively, we got a little stagnant,” Bridges said. “We just gotta keep moving and spacing. … They just played harder than us, more physical. … It starts with me defensively. I think I did a bad job defensively. They scored a good amount of times when I was in throughout the game. For me, it starts with defense and feeding off of that.” 

Two years of inconsistency and anger over the five first-round picks traded for Bridges had been forgotten when Game 3 began, when Bridges received a hero’s welcome during introductions. 

When the final buzzer sounded — crushing the thousands who spent thousands on one of the most anticipated games in the Garden’s history — Bridges was back in a familiar place, trying to make sense of a night to forget. 

“We’re gonna be all right,” Bridges said. “We’re gonna regroup and learn from our loss.” 

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

Karl-Anthony Towns’ strong NBA Finals has hit a roadblock. 

Suddenly, he’s not nearly as involved in the offense. In his last five quarters, Towns has attempted 11 field goal attempts and tallied two assists, and all of a sudden the Knicks’ path to their first championship in 53 years isn’t quite as clear. 

Towns was mostly a non-factor Monday night, as the Knicks’ franchise-record, 13-game playoff win streak came to a close in a 115-111 setback to the Spurs at the Garden. 

“It was the way we played and the things that we were doing offensively,” coach Mike Brown said. “We were just coming down and just basically playing ‘drag.’ We’d get the first screen, and then we literally just stood and watched. 

“There was no movement. Like, sometimes KAT has to flash to the elbow. Sometimes he’s got to post up. … They are junking the game up by just putting [Victor Wembanyama] in one of the two corners. So if they junk the game up, I can call a play.

“But sometimes you’re going to have to just move and cut and pass the ball quicker and drive the ball quicker, because it’s almost a zone that they are in to a certain degree, and we didn’t do a good job of attacking it.” 

Towns was held to 11 points on 4-for-10 shooting, after attempting just a single shot in the Game 2 victory in San Antonio.

For so much of this postseason, the Knicks were getting Towns’ best, as a scorer and playmaker.

He was terrific in Game 1, tallying 18 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. And he was on his way to a monster Game 2 before foul trouble. Since then, he has had trouble getting back into a groove. 

Brown, though, thinks Towns’ lack of involvement of late is a symptom of the Knicks getting stagnant and relying too much on their individual talent. It wasn’t a Towns problem — it was an everyone problem. 

“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,” Brown said. “So we have actions we can get into that we didn’t do a good job of getting into, first of all, but it’s OK because you’re not going to be able to run plays all the time, especially with how physical they are playing defensively. Sometimes you’ve just got to go by guys. 

“But you’ve got to be smart. You have to take care of the basketball. You have to space right. You have to move the ball. You have to move bodies. … We’ve done that quite a bit, and we didn’t do a good job of it tonight.”

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