June 8, 2026 2026 NBA Finals – Game 3: New York Knicks vs. San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden – San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle #5 defends...
The number is somewhat stunning, considering how well Karl-Anthony Towns has performed up until recently in the NBA Finals.
He has logged 30 minutes across the fourth quarter of the three games of the series, and the Knicks center hasn’t scored a point.
Not a single field goal or free throw. He has only taken six shots and tallied one assist.
Knicks forward Karl-Anthony Towns drives with the ball against San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle in Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“It’s extremely important that he’s getting touches, that he’s involved, not just in the fourth quarter, but obviously throughout the ballgame,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said Tuesday. “I got to continue trying to do a better job of getting him involved throughout the course of the game, as well as late.”
Lately, Towns hasn’t been involved much, taking just 11 shots over the past five quarters. In that span, the Knicks have been outscored by 12 points.
When asked about his fourth-quarter donuts, Towns mostly sidestepped the question.
“We have a game plan, and we want to execute it,” he said. “So just trying to execute our game plan, especially when we get in the fourth, is vital, and just doing what I can to execute it at the highest level.”
Towns’ emergence has been a major storyline of the postseason for the Knicks, ever since Brown tweaked the offense to run more through Towns midway through the first round against the Hawks. The Knicks are 12-1 in the playoffs when Towns has four or more assists.
Spurs forward Julian Champagnie defends against Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
In Game 3, he had only one assist. An involved Towns typically means a productive Knicks offense. Their attack was not at its best in that loss, too stagnant and overreliant on isolation. They shot 36 percent from the field in the second half and notched a playoff-low 18 assists.
On Monday, the Spurs went away from using Victor Wembanyama on Towns and guarded him with smaller defenders. It worked for them. Now the Knicks have to adjust.
“Execute our game plan and get back to what’s made us special — that ball movement and getting the ball zipping around the court, and allowing it to judge who shoots the ball,” Towns said. “So I think we have to get back to the details and our fundamentals that made us special in the 13-game winning streak.”
Victor Wembanyama left Stephon Castle out to dry, giving him the ball with less than a second left on the shot clock, forcing him to quickly fire a 25-footer from the wing. The buzzer screamed and thousands groaned as the game-changing 3-pointer fell with less than two minutes left.
When the 21-year-old next looked at the rim, he was standing at the free-throw line with 6.8 seconds left, sinking the clinching shots of the 115-111 win in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden.
“He might be the most mature player on our team,” Wembanyama said. “He’s shown over and over again he’s capable and that we are right to put our trust in him.”
Stephon Castle handles the ball during the Knicks’ Game 3 loss to the Spurs at the Garden. NBAE via Getty Images
Castle inflicted even more damage before his late-game heroics.
The second-year standout from UConn — who won the national championship in his only season with the Huskies — punished the Knicks perimeter defenders from the tip by attacking the paint at will, finishing strong at the rim and sending Knicks defenders scrambling in rotations.
Castle scored 18 of his 25 points in the first half — combining with Wembanyama to become the first pair of teammates who are 22 or younger to each score at least 20 points in an NBA Finals game — and also finished with five rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal in 38 minutes.
Dylan Harper, 20, set the tone in San Antonio, barely a year removed from Rutgers, now repeatedly bullying his way into the lane to put up 14.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in the NBA Finals.
Dylan Harper reacts during the Spurs’ Game 1 loss to the Knicks. Getty Images
“For the most part, we kind of dictate where we want to go on the court,” Castle said Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. “I think that’s a skill that me and [Harper] both have, and it’s very useful. We’ve just got to keep continuing to use it.
“I don’t think we’ve let the defense force us to do anything all year.”
In Game 4, the Knicks need to try to make the unproven shooters beat them from deep, taking away the young guards’ confidence-building drives.
Castle has shot 5-for-14 on 3-pointers in the series but is a career 30.5 percent shooter from the perimeter. Harper is shooting 60 percent on 2-pointers in the series but is just 2-for-15 on 3-pointers in the NBA Finals, including two wide-open misses in the final 70 seconds of Game 3.
“I feel like every night is not going to be your night,” said Harper, who had made 30.5 percent of 3-pointers in the playoffs. “[In Game 3], I couldn’t make a shot. That’s just the reality of the game. I’m going to keep on shooting them because [of] the confidence I have in myself, the confidence the team has in me.
“I can’t really hang my head too much because we’ve got a lot more basketball to be played.”
Stephon Castle shoots a free throw during the Spurs’ Game 3 win over the Knicks at the Garden. NBAE via Getty Images
Hart wouldn’t reveal whether the Knicks would employ a similar strategy against the Spurs’ young guards, but part of the game plan is no secret.
“I’m sure we’re going to change some things and switch up some schemes to protect the paint,” Hart said. “Obviously, those guys are very dynamic when they touch the paint.”
The league reviewed the play after San Antonio’s 115-111 win at Madison Square Garden and will not upgrade it to a flagrant foul, a person with knowledge of the decision confirmed to USA TODAY Sports' Lorenzo Reyes. This despite NBA head of officiating Monty McCutchen going on ESPN to acknowledge that the officials got it wrong.
Wembanyama shoved Brunson hard with both hands as Brunson tried to set a screen. Brunson didn’t fall all the way to the floor but he had to brace himself from the push, which drew an immediate reaction from the MSG crowd. Brunson got up and got in Wembanyama’s face before the game moved on.
No foul was called. No review was triggered at the time.
McCutchen addressed the missed call on ESPN’s "NBA Today."
“Well most certainly, I think we can all agree that a foul was missed on that play. We have a big part of our job is to, on-ball, off-ball exchanges between referees. We did a poor job of that here where we got two people on-ball and we don’t see the screening action. Lots of fighting over screens throughout the game and if we break down in our fundamentals, in even the smallest amounts, we have the opportunity to miss a clear foul, as we missed here.”
Replays appeared to show Brunson grabbing Wembanyama’s jersey before the shove, which may have factored into the league’s decision not to escalate. Still, Wembanyama’s reaction was to aggressively shove Brunson in the upper back and neck area, sending him toward the floor.
After the game, Brunson said it was obvious.
“Whatever you saw is what you saw,” Brunson said to reporters.
The ruling keeps Wembanyama at two flagrant foul points for the postseason, both from his Flagrant 2 ejection against Minnesota in the second round. Had the shove been upgraded to a Flagrant 1, he would have been at three points, one shy of an automatic suspension.
The contrast with how officials handled a similar moment later in the game was not lost on the Knicks. In the third quarter, with New York leading 71-67, Brunson closed out on Julian Champagnie on a 3-point attempt. Their feet tangled and officials upgraded the contact to a Flagrant 1 on Brunson. Champagnie completed a four-point play, the Spurs cut the deficit to one and went on to win.
San Antonio outshot New York 24-8 at the free throw line in the second half, a gap that left Knicks coach Mike Brown openly questioning the officiating.
“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.
The Knicks lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.
The Spurs, after Jalen Brunson’s huge fourth quarter carried the Knicks to their Game 1 victory, have made a clear effort the past two games to be as physical with Brunson as possible and rough him up. It seemed to cross the line a few times, though no flagrants were given.
Most notably, Victor Wembanyama shoved Brunson to the ground by the back of his head as Brunson was trying to set a screen on him in the first quarter of the Knicks’ 115-111 Game 3 loss to the Spurs on Monday night at Madison Square Garden. Brunson got up and jawed at Wembanyama while the play was still ongoing, but not even a common foul was called.
Other times in the first half, Stephon Castle and Carter Bryant lined Brunson up and trucked him while pretending to go for rebounds. Those were both called common fouls, but neither was upgraded to a flagrant.
At the end of Game 2, De’Aaron Fox pushed Brunson, got in his face and sparked a brief scrum.
“I think that’s not basketball,” Jose Alvarado said Tuesday of Wemby’s shove. “That’s something that they gotta look at. But he got away with one. That’ll be the last one.”
While Alvarado’s sentiment is nice, it’s not exactly a shock that the feisty and brash backup from Brooklyn was ready to talk tough.
It would not be wise for the hardly 6-foot Alvarado to try to fight the 7-foot-4 Wemby.
And the Knicks don’t need to start fighting. What would be more impactful is if they help Brunson fight through all that physicality.
Jalen Brunson drives to the basket and is fouled by Stephon Castle (5) during the second half of the Knicks’ Game 3 loss to the Spurs. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
Brunson has shot just 37.0 percent from the field and 31.8 percent from deep along with 13 turnovers across the three games of the Finals. The Spurs have succeeded — where every other team this postseason has failed — in preventing Brunson from being at his best.
The Spurs are picking up Brunson the full length of the court, causing the Knicks to get into their sets much slower than they’d want. They are holding, pulling and bumping Brunson off the ball to make it harder for him to get open. When he has the ball in his hands, they are getting right up into him and daring the refs to make a call.
It all led to the Knicks offense growing stagnant Monday — a problem that had disappeared since Games 2 and 3 of the first round against the Hawks.
Jalen Brunson grimaces after falling to the floor in the second quarter of the Knicks’ Game 3 loss to the Spurs. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“We just wanted to stand and watch one guy dribble a ton,” Brown said after the game. “And then when the ball got passed, there were no quick decisions by the guy receiving the basketball.”
Brunson’s usage rate was at 38.4 percent Monday, up from his mark of 31.3 percent for the entire postseason. Across the three games of the series, he’s taken 44 shots after touching the ball for six or more seconds — the next closest in the Finals is Fox at 13 shots.
On Monday, it felt like Brunson was trying to force his way through all that physicality rather than allowing his looks to come more organically. It’s hard to remember the last time he had as much of a reaction as he did to Wemby’s shove.
What only made it worse was a lack of help from his teammates — Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, after their terrific first two games of the series, were nonfactors. They shied away in crunch time, and the Knicks offense as a whole was content to watch Brunson try to play hero ball.
The Spurs were able to double and blitz Brunson without others making them pay for it, like they did the first two games.
Jalen Brunson shoots over Dylan Harper during the first quarter of the Knicks’ Game 3 loss to the Spurs. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
The slow decisions and lack of movement by Brunson’s teammates allowed his defenders to recover after pressuring him. And their screens have not been effective at taking Brunson’s defenders out of the play.
“There’s a way for us to do things we have to do, the things that we’ve done throughout these playoffs,” Brunson said. “They’re just game plan discipline. I don’t think the discipline we had in those situations was good enough. We just got to be disciplined in those moments.”
The 13-game winning streak showed just how dynamic the offense can be when there is an emphasis on ball movement, spacing and quick decisions.
The Knicks got away from that Monday.
“We have to play to what our concepts or play to what our strengths are,” Brown said. “It’s been pace, it’s been space, it’s been getting the ball reversed, it’s been touching the paint, and more importantly it’s been making quick decisions. There were a lot of times where the decisions weren’t made quick last night. One guy caught, held, held, held, held, held. Now the defense settles in. Now you’re in trouble.”
Wembanyama will stay at two flagrant points, which he received for a flagrant 2 penalty after throwing an elbow at the Timberwolves’ Naz Reid earlier in the playoffs. If Wembanyama had — or does — earn two more flagrant points, he would be suspended for one game.
Victor Wembanyama (1) shoves Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) in the back of the head during the Knicks’ Game 3 loss to the Spurs in the NBA Finals on June 8, 2026 at the Garden. ABC
The Spurs big man, with a little less than five minutes left in the first quarter of San Antonio’s 115-111 win over the Knicks, shoved Brunson in the head from behind, sending the New York guard to the Madison Square Garden floor.
Immediately, former NBA star and ESPN/ABC analyst Richard Jefferson called for Wembanyama to be called for a flagrant 1. No foul was called on the play.
NBA senior vice president of referee development and training Monty McCutchen said on “NBA Today” earlier on Thursday that while the league missed a foul on the play, it would need something “clear and conclusive” to upgrade the play to a flagrant 1 or 2.
“I think we can all agree that a foul was missed on that play. A big part of our job is on-ball, off-ball exchanges between referees. We did a poor job of that here, where we got two people on-ball, and we don’t see the screening action,” McCutchen said.
Victor Wembanyama looks to box out Karl-Anthony Towns in the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ Game 3 loss to the Spurs. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“If we break down in our fundamentals, in even the smallest amounts, we have the opportunity to miss a clear foul, as we missed here.”
The shove has drawn sharp criticism from a number of former NBA players, including ex-Knick Stephon Marbury, who labeled the play “dirty.”
The NBA has ruled that Spurs star Victor Wembanyama will not be assessed a flagrant foul for his actions in Monday's Game 3 win over the Knicks.
The league determined that Wembanyama's shove of Knicks guard Jalen Brunsondid not meet their criteria for the center to be assessed a flagrant foul retroactively.
Wembanyama and the Spurs dodged what could have been a series-shifting moment. If the Spurs center were assessed a flagrant-1 foul, he would be one flagrant foul away from a mandatory one-game suspension in the NBA Finals after he was given a flagrant-2 foul after he threw an elbow on the Timberwolves' Naz Reid in the second round of the playoffs.
Karl-Anthony Towns struggles to make a move on Julian Champagnie during the Knicks' Game 3 loss to the Spurs at the Garden.
The Knicks may have overlooked the Spurs after becoming the third road team in NBA Finals history to take the first two games of the series.
At least, that’s what Karl-Anthony suggested was one issue in their Game 3 defeat.
“The details that made us special, we were too relaxed in them, and we didn’t execute them at the level that you guys are used to seeing,” Towns said Tuesday. “So doing that and also just the fundamentals of what our team is and how we play, we didn’t do that for 48 minutes. It’s something that has got us that 13-game winning streak.
Karl-Anthony Towns struggles to make a move on Julian Champagnie during the Knicks’ Game 3 loss to the Spurs at the Garden. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“Playing around with the game against a great team, you’re asking for a disaster, and that’s what we got.”
The Knicks had talked plenty after Game 2 of playing with desperation with a 2-0 series lead and treating the Finals like the series was 0-0. They had done a remarkable job of handling success and avoiding complacency throughout the franchise record playoff win streak.
But they lacked that sense of urgency in the first Finals game at MSG in 27 years.
They started each half poorly. The Spurs scored the game’s first seven points and led by double figures after just 4:26. The Knicks recovered to build a seven-point lead at halftime, only to see San Antonio start the third quarter just like the first stanza, ripping off a 15-4 burst.
“I just saw us not executing the little details that made us special,” Towns said. “The game they brought to MSG yesterday, we didn’t meet their level.”
It manifested itself in the Knicks allowing a playoff-high 115 points and producing a playoff-low 18 assists.
They also committed 13 turnovers, many of them unforced, leading to 21 Spurs points.
Team captain Jalen Brunson echoed Towns that the Knicks were lacking when it came to minor things. One of them was sending the Spurs to the free-throw line 32 times.
While coach Mike Brown was critical of the officiating — the Knicks attempted 10 fewer free throws than the Spurs — Brunson didn’t use that as an excuse Tuesday.
“There’s a way for us to do things we have to do, the things that we’ve done throughout these playoffs,” he said. “They’re just game plan discipline. I don’t think the discipline we had in those situations were good enough. We just got to be disciplined in those moments.”
Legendary basketball coach Rick Pitino has some thoughts on the officiating in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Pitino appeared on The Post’s “Schein Time” on Tuesday, the morning after attending Game 3, which the Knicks dropped to the Spurs 115-111.
“It was unreal,” Pitino said of the fans at MSG Monday night. “The fans were up. I’d say I was on my feet for 90% of the game, and that’s the type of magic it was.”
Rick Pitino reacts during St. John’s loss to Duke in the Sweet 16 in March. JASON SZENES FOR THE NEW YORK POST
On a less positive note, there’s been some controversy surrounding the officiating.
Postgame, Knicks head coach Mike Brown commented on the free throw disparity, as the Spurs took three times as many free throws as the Knicks did in the second half.
Pitino sees the complaints and understands them.
“Look, there were a couple of plays where I was like, OK, that’s the wrong call. And I’m a die-hard Knicks fan. … I credit San Antonio. I didn’t think the Knicks played their game.
“I got the sense watching it live that Mike Brown wanted to either shift the conversation or kind of go Phil Jackson on everyone and let the officials know for next game, hey, we want some calls at home.”
Pitino also credited the Spurs’ physicality for helping them escape with a close win in Game 3, especially in a raucous environment like that of MSG, which was hosting its first Finals game since 1999.
“I think San Antonio last night knew what to do to win that game from a coaching standpoint, strategy standpoint, that was extremely physical…It was a game like it was when I was coaching the Knicks. It was back then they allowed physicality.”
The Knicks look to win their first NBA Finals game on their home floor in 25 years tomorrow, with tipoff at 8:30 pm.
Jeremy Lin knows better than anyone how it feels to excite New York.
Before Jalen Brunson carried the Knicks within two games of winning the franchise’s first championship since 1973, Lin imbued a flailing organization with the most joy it had experienced since its playoff runs in the 1990s.
Lin went from being an undrafted, Harvard walk-on to becoming a global superstar after carrying the Knicks on a seven-game winning streak while averaging 22 points during the 2011-12 season. He brought Spike Lee back to Madison Square Garden. He inspired ticket prices to soar. He famously scored 38 points on Kobe Bryant after the Lakers superstar asked, “Who is this kid?”
Knicks alumni Jeremy Lin poses for a photo before Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
Lin will forever be celebrated by New Yorkers, who cheered wildly when his face was shown on the jumbotron.
He arrived at MSG clad in Knicks gear, representing a franchise that will forever hold a piece of his heart even though he left after his lone season with the organization after it declined to match a three-year, $25 million offer from the Rockets in the summer of 2012.
Lin brought beleaguered New Yorkers happiness and he’s thrilled they’re experiencing it once again. Many are even calling this the greatest Knicks team of all time.
As for whether Lin agrees?
“I don’t think I know enough about the history of the older teams to fully know,” Lin told The California Post. “But forget the Knicks, this is one of the most dominant runs we’ve seen in NBA history.”
Karl-Anthony Towns (left) greets guard Jalen Brunson during the second half of the Knicks’ Game 3 loss to the Spurs. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
Lin praised Brunson for igniting the Knicks’ fanbase, saying the man known as “The King of New York” is finally showing the world what New Yorkers have known all along.
“He is starting to get [the attention] now and definitely deserves it,” Lin told The California Post. “I don’t think enough people are talking about him giving up $113 million to build a team full of players that want to win. I think that speaks volumes. That’s also historic. It’s not talked about enough. Now he’s starting to get some of the recognition he deserves as a player, but he’s the consummate teammate and professional.”
Lin went on to praise Karl-Anthony Towns, who this postseason has shed the “soft” narrative that plagued him throughout his career.
Towns has been dominant on both ends of the court against the Spurs, often getting the better of Victor Wembanyama, who’s considered the next face of the league.
“It’s huge because, one, he’s rising to the occasion,” Lin said. “Two, he’s doing it on the defensive end as well. Three, he has turned up his playmaking abilities. We’re seeing three different areas of KAT that had certain narratives already written about him, so credit to him. And from all of his interviews, he seems so centered, so grateful. It has been great to see.”
The Knicks, who have a 2-1 series lead over the Spurs and will host Game 4 on Wednesday, are so close to ending 53 years of suffering for their fanbase.
But New Yorkers shouldn’t celebrate yet.
If the Knicks allow the Spurs to become the first team in NBA history to win a Finals series after losing their first two games at home, this iteration of the blue and orange would go from being the city’s savior to its greatest flop.
Things are still precarious for the Knicks.
As Lin knows all too well, in this city things can change in the blink of an eye.
“Obviously, it’s not over until they finish the job,” Lin told The California Post. “If they don’t finish the job then that will forever be a knock. Until this point, [their run] is about as dominant as it gets.”
Players from the Knicks and Spurs denounced the fights between fans of their teams during Game 3 of the Finals.
“We can’t forget it’s a game,” Victor Wembanyama said Tuesday. “We’re just playing a game out there. I am all for passion, but to the respect of each other. It’s unacceptable.”
Multiple videos went viral of fans clashing at a Bryant Park watch party during the Knicks’ 115-111 loss to the Spurs on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
Dozens of enraged Knicks fans surrounded a Spurs fan on the streets and tore apart his Victor Wembanyama jersey from his back after Monday night’s loss in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. X / @NICHETONOTABLE
More than 20 people were arrested for offenses including assault on a police officer, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, menacing, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration.
Multiple videos went viral of fans clashing at a Bryant Park watch party during the Knicks’ 115-111 loss to the Spurs on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
“The game is built off of respect and passion,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “We want everyone to respect each other. We want everyone to enjoy basketball at its purest state. It’s the NBA Finals. There’s no better place to watch basketball. Leave the physicality to everyone on the court.”
Watch parties in other locations, including Bryant Park, were organized in its place.
The Bryant Park party turned chaotic, though.
Getty Images
Even some of the most famous fans were critical of it.
“Being a Knicks fan doesn’t mean being disrespectful to Spurs fans in any way,” Ben Stiller posted on X. “We get caught up during the games but we gotta show respect to our fellow humans.”
Game 1 led the way, averaging 16.93 million viewers on ABC and peaking at 19.63 million.
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) is double-teamed by San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) and San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24) during the second quarter of NBA Finals Game 2. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
Two days later, Game 2 followed suit, hitting 19.42 million people in the 11:15 p.m. ET quarter-hour and averaging 16.63 million viewers throughout the contest.
ESPN shared that Game 2’s thriller, a Knicks 105-104 win, was the most-watched program “across all of television” on Friday.
Viewership marks are based on Nielsen’s final same-day ratings.
The Game 1 numbers are up 90 percent from last year’s series between the Thunder and Pacers, which drew 8.91 million viewers. It is also up 3 percent from that Finals’ Game 7 viewership.
Game 2 was up 88 percent on last year’s series and marked the most-watched Game 2 since the 2018 NBA Finals between the Warriors and Cavaliers.
If the trend continues, the NBA could be in for a huge ratings boost for the entirety of the Finals.
New York Knicks fans stood in long lines and gathered in Central Park to watch the Game 3 of the NBA finals. ZUMAPRESS.com
The four Warriors-Cleveland Cavaliers Finals during the 2010s are the only other series to draw more than 16 million viewers in Games 1 and 2.
Compared to other sports, Game 1’s mark of 19.63 million outpaced the first five games of the 2025 World Series between the Dodgers and Blue Jays.
It also bests any MLB World Series Game 1 since the Chicago-Cleveland series in 2016.
A handful of Knicks fans gathered outside Madison Square Garden on Tuesday to burn cleansing sage, hoping to purge whatever bad energy was left behind from Monday’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Maybe it’s working, because New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced on X.com Tuesday evening that a watch party for Game 4 is back on outside MSG.
"We have approved a ticketed MSG watch party for Game 4. More details soon," Mamdani said. "As we prepare to watch together, let me be clear: this is a historic, joyful moment for our city. We will not allow it to be disrupted by violence. Be safe, take care, and celebrate responsibly."
ESPN’s Shams Charania had already reported Trump will not attend, citing “scheduling conflicts and obligations."
Madison Square Garden Sports in a statement, though, said it has been told "that the NYPD will once again implement the same 'frozen zone' restrictions for Game 4," even with Trump not attending.
"The complete closing of areas around MSG is going to affect not only the celebration but also all the small businesses that rely on Garden fans for their livelihood," MSG said.
Trump became the first sitting president in history to attend an NBA Finals game when he showed up at MSG on Monday at the invitation of Knicks owner James Dolan. He was booed when shown on the Jumbotron during the national anthem. His presence also forced the cancellation of the outdoor watch party outside MSG and triggered a security perimeter that had fans waiting two hours or more to get inside.
The Knicks had won 13 straight games before the Spurs snapped the streak, 115-111, and fans wasted no time blaming Trump on social media.
With the president staying away, New York City approved a permit for a ticketed watch party at Plaza 33 outside MSG on Wednesday night. Watch parties will also be held at Wollman Rink in Central Park and the Brooklyn Bowl.
It's been a while since New York has been in this position: The team coming off a playoff loss and having to adjust. It's the first time since April 23rd, 13 wins ago.
That's the Knicks reality after San Antonio came into Madison Square Garden and took Game 3 behind 32 points from Victor Wembanyama, making it a 2-1 series.
"We have a veteran group. Nobody is 'panicking' or anything like that," Knicks coach Mike Brown said. "Everybody is disappointed that we didn't go out and execute and play to what we feel our standard is. That's not taking anything away from San Antonio, but we feel like we can play a lot better than what we did."
"We learned from film today, and we'll be better tomorrow," is how Josh Hart put it.
The Spurs made some key adjustments in Game 3, both on offense — relentlessly attacking the rim even when the Knicks packed the paint — and defensively, where Victor Wembanyama spent more time on Josh Hart (even when he hit 3-pointers) and around the basket than matched up on Karl-Anthony Towns. What do the Knicks do now in a critical Game 4? Here are three things to look for on Wednesday night.
More Karl-Anthony Towns
Jalen Brunson rightfully drew praise for scoring 32 points in Game 3, a dozen of those in the fourth quarter. However, he wasn't efficient getting there — he was 11-of-25 shooting in Game 3, and that was better than he has been in these Finals. Brunson is shooting 37% from the floor through three games with as many turnovers as assists — and the Knicks are -13 for the series when he is on the court (they are +31 with Towns on through three). This is not a knock on Brunson, in the previous two rounds the Spurs turned Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Anthony Edwards into inefficient scorers (compared to their regular-season selves).
The Thunder and Timberwolves didn't have the depth to overcome that. New York is supposed to, but when Brunson came out in the second half of Game 3 overdribbling and trying to hunt mismatches — of which there are no great ones, there is no James Harden to target on the Spurs — it took the Knicks out of their flow. Brown talked about it after the game. The Spurs are doing a lot more cross-matching of wings and guards on Towns, rather than Wemby, that was a change that seemed to throw the Knicks off balance. New York needs more Karl-Anthony Towns — like the guy we saw in the first two games of the series. The Knicks wins. His quiet 11 points in Game 3 are not enough (and Towns remains scoreless in the fourth quarter for the Finals). There were actions the Knicks ran in the first two games that got Towns touches near the basket, those seemed to go away in Game 3 and need to return for Game 4.
"It's extremely important that he's getting touches, that he's involved, not just in the fourth quarter, but obviously throughout the ballgame," Knicks coach Mike Brown said.
Protect the paint
San Antonio took 40 of its 84 shot attempts in Game 3 either at or within a few feet of the rim. That included drives from Stephon Castle and more alley-oops to Wembanyama.
It was a change from the first two games of the series, when the Knicks controlled the paint.
"I'm sure we're going to change some things and switch up some schemes to protect the paint because obviously, like you said, those guys are very dynamic when they touch the paint. Obviously, Wemby, when he rolls, he brings in a crowd," Josh Hart said.
Part of that is physicality, but the bottom line is in a series with two elite defenses, the team that gets more easy buckets is going to get the win.
Spray the ball
One number from Game 3 told the story: New York had 18 assists on 40 made baskets (45% of their buckets). In the first two games of this series, the Knicks assisted on 64.5% of their baskets, nearly two-thirds.
"We've got to pick up the ball movement, for sure," Towns said of adjustments for Game 4. "We have what, 13 games in a row, 50 days of film to show what it looks like when we're at our best. So we've got good film. We'll get back to our fundamentals, what makes us great, what made us great, and get back to work."
Brown's term is to spray the ball — have a guard or Towns get the ball in the paint then, if the defense collapses, kick out to shooters. On Tuesday, Brown talked about his players making quicker decisions to move the ball, noting that there was too much isolation and too much holding on to the ball, which let the defense reset.
That's easier said than done against the long, athletic defenders of the Spurs, but the Knicks need to get those defenders in rotation and keep moving the ball until a good shot opens up. Taking contested ones against Wembanyama is generally a bad idea.
Following their nail-biting loss in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday night, Knicks fans gathered outside of Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, June 9, to cleanse the arena with sage.
President Donald Trump, a New York City native, made an appearance at Madison Square Garden on Monday for Game 3. Fans who were in attendance were forced to arrive at the area about two hours before the start of the game and had to wait in long, TSA-style security lines.
Once inside, Trump was greeted with a chorus of loud boos when he was shown on the large video screens during the national anthem. The president was saluting and smiled slightly as the boos grew. Once the feed showed Knicks players, the cheering returned.
After their 111-115 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, which snapped a 13-game win streak, Knicks fans accused Trump of placing a “curse” on the team, prompting a “cleanse” to try to change the Knicks’ fortunes ahead of a potentially series-altering Game 4 on Wednesday, June 10.
See video of the cleanse
Kazeem Famuyide, an Emmy award-winning host of several podcasts, including the Knicks podcast, Big Apple Buckets, called on Knicks fans to join him outside of the arena for a cleanse on Tuesday.
"All Knicks fans meet in front of MSG at 1:30 PM and bring your sage," he wrote on X. “We gotta clean this bih out before Wednesday."
Following that initial post, Famuyide followed up with a video, several hours later, showing him and his friends holding sage outside of Madison Square Garden.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Trump is not expected to attend Game 4 due to “scheduling conflicts and obligations.”
USA TODAY’s Mark Giannotto and Lorenzo Reyes contributed to this report.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
