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
D.J. Short
