yahoo - 6/9/2026 5:50:24 AM - GMT (+2 )
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 CastleThe former UConn Husky made the clutch late three to put this one to bed.
HighlightsThe 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!
— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 9, 2026
THE KNICKS CUT IT TO 2! pic.twitter.com/wGvIzWPdKp
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
What's nextJORDAN CLARKSON TO THE RESCUE! pic.twitter.com/AHE06OqOxE
— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 9, 2026
The Knicks will look to turn things around in Game 4 at the Garden on Wednesday night.
read more


