NEW YORK — The San Antonio Spurs have some life in them.
Facing a 3-0 hole in the 2026 NBA Finals, the Spurs withstood a late charge from the Knicks on Monday, June 8 to claim their first victory in the series, 115-111, snapping New York's 13-game playoff winning streak.
And now, with Game 4 in two nights, we officially have a series.
San Antonio played with urgency and desperation from the start of the game, swarming the Knicks on defense and forcing them into turnovers and contested posssessions, but it was star phenom Victor Wembanyama who carried San Antonio, leading the Spurs with 32 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 blocks.
The Spurs, though, did have six players reach double-figures in scoring.
This came on a night when exorbitant ticket prices made this the most expensive NBA Finals game on record, and President Donald Trump also attended as a guest of Knicks owner James Dolan.
Here are live takeaways from Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs:
The Knicks, by and large, have played pretty well this postseason. Monday night, they beat the Spurs on the break (topping them in fastbreak points, 15-5), and they outworked San Antonio on the offensive glass (gaining a 21-10 edge in second-chance points).
The main reason the Spurs won, however, was ball protection.
The Knicks committed 13 turnovers — compared to just 8 from the Spurs — but that was just one part of the problem. San Antonio turned those plays into 21 points, while New York made up just 7 points off the Spurs giveaways. In a four-point loss, that was the difference between going up 3-0 and now having to defend home court in Game 4.
The turnovers stalled New York’s offense somewhat and prevented the Knicks from stacking quality possessions in the second half.
“Nah, that ain’t cost us the game,” Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said when asked about officiating. “We turned the ball over. We didn’t execute. We didn’t do what got us 13 straight wins. 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 throwing the ball away is a clear indication that you’re going to lose a game, especially in the playoffs.”
From the very first few minutes of Game 3, it became clear that Victor Wembanyama was on a mission to extend San Antonio’s season, at least a little longer.
Wembanyama, whose first 4 shot attempts Monday night were in the paint (three of those coming at the rim), finished with a game-high 32 points on an efficient 11-of-18 night, adding 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
Stephon Castle (23 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) was special, too.
But after settling for jumpers earlier in the series, Wembanyama brought an unmistakable intent to use his height and attack the basket. Eight of his 11 field goals came within the restricted area.
Wembanyama played with a ruthlessness that his team, frankly needed. In the first quarter, Wembanyama shoved Brunson off of his area, almost with disdain. And then, when Brunson approached him, Wembanyama laughed him off.
It riled up fans here so much that they shouted, in chorus, chants of “(expletive) you, Wemby.”
Wembanyama embraced that villain role and was asked after the game if that was the ultimate compliment.
“I guess,” Wembanyama said. “I’m nowhere near Trae Young level, though,” he added, referencing prior battles Young had with New York’s fans.
This is the same exact type of performance and mindset the Spurs will need from him game in and game out.
The Spurs, very clearly, did not want to leave things to chance. After coach Mitch Johnson had defended his team’s shot selection in the first two games of the series, lamenting open looks that simply didn’t drop, the Spurs got to work down low Monday night.
And it started with Wembanyama, whose first 4 shot attempts were in the paint, with three of those coming at the rim.
The Spurs constantly attacked the paint, asking guards De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper to wriggle and slash past New York defenders to finish at the rim.
It paid off. After scoring just 22 points in the paint in the first half of Game 2, the Spurs dropped 28 down low in the first half of Game 3. The problem was that 16 of those came in the first quarter.
The Spurs finished the game with 44 points in the paint
Through the first several minutes of the game, it was San Antonio that dictated the pace and flow of the game. The Spurs were playing with more speed and defensive intensity, forcing the Knicks into turnovers in two of their first three possessions.
New York, perhaps playing with some subconscious complacency, started rather sluggishly, missing two of its first six shots.
Yet, the Knicks emerged in the second quarter with some urgency of their own and launched an 11-2 run early in the period. It didn’t end there, either. The Knicks outscored San Antonio by 18 in the quarter and closed the half on a 14-3 run.
But every time the Knicks tried to mount a run to eat into San Antonio’s lead, the Spurs had a response. That was a departure from Game 1, when New York just overwhelmed San Antonio late.
“We allowed them to hit first at the beginning of the game,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “We allowed them to hit first in the beginning of the second half. We turned the ball over and we were stagnant offensively and we allowed them to get to the paint, and we did not pay attention to detail to what we are supposed to do defensively.”
The Spurs were called for 10 fouls in the second half. The Knicks were whistled for 15.
San Antonio shot 24 free throws, converting 20 of those. New York went just 6-of-8. Brown was disappointed after the game and cited a lack of consistency with officials. And while he should indeed be frustrated, his censure is misguided.
“I don't think I complain much about officials or the fairness when it comes to the free throw attempts,” Brown said. “San Antonio is a great team. They are a great team, okay. 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.”
Brown added the qualifier that the Knicks did not play well. And, to be frank, NBA officiating throughout the postseason has indeed been inconsistent. A closer review of the film will determine if Brown has legitimate beef.
But what’s undeniable is that New York did not match San Antonio’s defensive physicality multiple times throughout the game. It’s often that energy and determination that opens up the rest of the game. Perhaps officials responded to that.
Either way, the Knicks didn’t put themselves in position to take complete control of this series.
“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-(10),” Brown continued. “This is a four-point ballgame. Four-point ballgame. One-possession ballgame going down the stretch. It's tough to overcome.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Spurs, Knicks analysis: Wembanyama lifts San Antonio to NBA Finals win
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