Spurs Masterclass Schools Knicks in Game 3
Allowing 111 points and a little over 45% shooting does not scream out defensive masterclass, especially on the big stage of the NBA finals.
Yet if you watched Game 3 of the NBA finals Monday and were not consumed by President Donald Trump's presence, stories about insane ticket prices and lines to enter Madison Square Garden, you might have noticed how, for large stretches, the Spurs were quickly sealing things off when the Knicks tried to get into their free-flowing offense.
It all added up to a series that will go at least five games, thanks to San Antonio's 115-111 win, and will not be a sweep despite some people on social media and sports talk radio touching the money and thinking about Knicks' parade plans.
How the Spurs defended the Knicks well enough
This was not an NBA version of 48 minutes of hell since the Knicks ripped off a 42-point second quarter. The other three quarters were another story.
In the second quarter, the Knicks shot an absurd 14-of-19 (73.7%), hitting all eight attempts in the paint and six of nine 3-point tries. In the other three quarters, the Knicks shot 37.6%, 15-of-33 in the paint and 7-of-28 from 3-point range and the drop off was noticeable in a fourth quarter when both teams may have been playing on tired legs in a game that lasted two hours, 46 minutes.
Still, the Spurs found a way to win with their defense in the final 12 minutes with a three games to none deficit staring them in the face. During those final 12 minutes, the Spurs held the Knicks to 7 of 27 from the field, 2-of-14 from behind the arc and 3-of-10 inside the paint.
There also were several occasions when the Spurs clamped down so well, the Knicks threw up a shot late in the 24-second clock, hoping for the best.
"When we get teams in the late clock, there's a lot of times where you need to take advantage of that," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "Typically, that means they're not playing as organized basketball offensively. It also means sometimes you're not as organized defensively, but if you have the multiple efforts and then the connectivity of communication, hopefully can give you a good chance to get a stop."
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What was Victor Wembanyama's role in the defense?
Wembanyama's rough final possessions were the focus of Game 2 as he missed a game-winning shot at the final buzzer and committed a key turnover that led to Jalen Brunson's tiebreaking free throw.
Offensively, he put up an impressive 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three blocks. It was the seventh time such a line was produced in the NBA finals and each time it occurred in a win. Wembanyama joined LeBron James (2016), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1974), Kevin Durant (2017), and Tim Duncan (2003) as the only players with such a statistical line.
Going beyond that, Wembanyama's contributions to the defense were the Knicks shooting 11-of-25 when directly guarded by the 7-foot-4 star, including an impressive block on Landry Shamet's layup attempt with about four minutes left and the Spurs holding an eight-point lead.
On Friday, they were 9-for-20 when guarded by him and 5-for-21 in the series opener, but the most noticeable drop involved Karl Anthony-Towns.
Towns was 6-of-11 when Wembanyama guarded him in the first two games, and those were part of his combined 37 points. On Monday, Towns was held to 11 points, rarely heard his name mentioned on the telecast, and missed his only shot attempt against Wembanyama, who was guarding him effectively enough Towns could not move downhill towards the rims for easier shots.
Spurs also silenced other Knicks at times
Brunson scored 32 points, a figure you might expect, but did so on 11 of 25 shooting and the Spurs never allowed him to get on a heater unless you count the 12 points the guard scored in the fourth.
In the fourth, Brunson was 4-of-7 while his teammates were a combined 3-of-20. When the Knicks took a seven-point halftime lead, Brunson was 3-of-4 and his teammates were a combined 11-of-15.
In the fourth, the Spurs seemed willing to let Brunson shoot and limit chances by others, including Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby.
Early foul trouble set up Bridges for a two-point showing and he missed all three attempts in the fourth. Anunoby finished with 28 but only 11 were in the second half, though his 3 with 9.4 seconds left made it a two-point game after the Spurs led by eight with 4:50 left.
Did Foul Shot Disparity Help Spurs?
A day after joking about interacting with rapper Fat Joe at practice, Knicks coach Mike Brown was in a less jovial mood.
He spent the first few minutes of his press conference talking about the Spurs getting 24 of their 32 free attempts in the second half. And to further emphasize his annoyance, Brown was not even answering a question; this was an opening statement that was part of his 541-word opening statement.
Brown's statement covered many aspects of Monday, but the notable part of it was this:
"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. 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 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.
For the record, this was the 340th NBA finals game where one team attempted at least 32 free throws. It was the ninth time in the past decade and something that occurred four times last season when the Thunder beat the Pacers in a seven-game series.
What's Next for Spurs, Knicks?
Game 4 is on Wednesday, and based on how the series is unfolding, expect another competitive affair.
If the Knicks can win, their first chance to clinch is Saturday. If the Spurs can even the series, then it might become dicey for the Knicks and will create more outdoor watch parties in several locations, including the bars near Yankee Stadium.
Either way, this has been a compelling NBA finals, and a short series might diminish the chance for a classic series that goes the distance.
Related: Victor Wembanyama Gives Magic Johnson a Reason to Bring Up Lakers History
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This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 12:07 PM.