The NBA finals are heading back to Game 4 with new life after San Antonio’s 115-111 victory at Madison Square Garden.Victor Wembanyama delivered the signature performance of the series, finishing with 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocks. The Spurs’ 7ft 4in center controlled long stretches of the game at both ends and repeatedly came up with answers whenever the Knicks threatened to regain momentum.
While Wembanyama provided the headline act, Stephon Castle supplied critical support with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists. The rookie kept the Spurs afloat during stretches when De’Aaron Fox struggled and provided San Antonio the secondary scoring punch it had lacked earlier in the series.
The Knicks still hold the advantage, but the tone of the finals has changed. New York managed just 47 second-half points and got only four combined points after half-time from Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges.
San Antonio’s win continues a rare trend. For just the second time, the road team has won the first three games of an NBA finals. The first took place back in 1993, when Charles Barkley’s Suns lost the first two games at home to Michael Jordan’s Bulls before winning a triple-overtime thriller at the old Chicago Stadium (an all-time classic which the Guardian’s own Andrew Lawrence was in the stands for alongside his dad, very much past his bedtime).
Bridges misses a three from the top of the key and Brunson scampers to collect the long rebounds, but they’re going to run out of time. This one is over. The Knicks’ 13-game win streak, spanning an incredible 46 days, is finally over. And the Spurs are very much alive in this best-of-seven NBA finals.
Castle is fouled immediately and will head to the stripe for two shots. He makes the first. He makes the second. Two-possession game with 6.8 seconds left for the Knicks, who expend their final time-out.
Anunoby hits a corner three directly off the inbounds pass from Hart! The Spurs call a time-out with 9.4 seconds left in regulation. The Knicks missed their first 11 three-pointers of the fourth period but have hit two in a row right when they’ve needed them most.
The Spurs decide to run it up without calling a time-out ... and De’Aaron Fox hits a stepback jumper to put the Spurs ahead by five with 12.2 seconds to go!
Into the final minute with the Spurs ahead by six. Harper misses a corner three and Brunson answers with a three-pointer to cut it to three and ignite the crowd!
San Antonio’s smothering defense is really humming now, but Brunson manages to squeeze out four points to cut the deficit to 108-104. A crucial possession for the Spurs now … and Castle answers with a massive three late in the shot clock to stretch it to seven and silence the Garden crowd.
Wembanyama deposits another alley-oop off a feed from Fox, giving the Spurs a six-point edge. Then following a Brunson turnover, he twists and turns his way toward the goal before getting fouled. He makes both shots, his 31st and 32nd points, and the Spurs lead by eight. The Garden crowd has grown quiet and anxious.
The Knicks just won’t go away. Just after the Spurs stretch the lead to seven points on a Fox driving lay-up and look poised to break it open, Brunson muscles his way to the rim and converts to an old-fashioned three-point play, closing it to four. It looks like we’re headed to a third nail-biting finish in as many games.
Both teams missed each of their first four shots from three-point range in the fourth quarter. But Wembanyama finally hits one from 28 feet, opening a 10-point lead for the Spurs. And he was fouled by Mitchell Robinson, giving him a chance at a four-point play.
Or not! The play was challenged by Knicks coach Mike Brown and it was determined that Johnson pushed Robinson into Wembanyama. That is a massive swing.
Wembanyama flushes an alley-oop from Castle to open the fourth, then Fox hits a couple of free throws to put the Spurs ahead by five. The Spurs appear to have a clear path to another basket, but it’s broken up by a Mikal Bridges hustle play that ends with Jose Alverado flying into the stands into the lap of ... former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg. A thing like that!
Moments later, Brunson checks into the game with four personal fouls.
Harper almost immediately answers with a step-back three for the Spurs, but Bridges closes out the scoring with a pull-up jumper from 15 feet. It’s a one-point game entering the final period.
After a pair of Kornet free throws, Shamet and Champagnie trade three-pointers. Wembanyama makes his way to the scorer’s table and will enter the game at the next stoppage. Before it can happen, though, Towns makes a put-back lay-up and Clarkson hits a three as the shot-clock expires! The game is tied! That’s 10 points for Clarkson in 11 minutes off the bench.
No Wemby on the floor. No Brunson on the floor. A bit of a stalemate over the past couple minutes. Spurs lead by three with the end of the third period in sight.
San Antonio peel off seven unanswered points capped by a looong Wembanyama three, turning a four-point deficit into a three-point lead. Mitchell Robinson breaks the run with a tip lay-up, but moments later Brunson gets whistled for his fourth personal foul. Mike Brown is going to take him out of the game.
Anunoby responds with a step-back jumper from 15 feet, then Hart follows with a three-pointer. The Knicks are back in front by four and the Garden is throttling.
After a slow shooting start by both sides to open the second half, Brunson converts an old-fashioned three-point play. He’s got a game-high 20 points on 7-for-14 from the floor. But Wembanyama answers with a 17-foot jumper followed by a Vassell three, putting the Spurs back on top.
There’s no outdoor watch party outside Madison Square Garden tonight for well-documented reasons. But thousands of fans have relocated to a gathering at Bryant Park, less than a mile from MSG and about a 15-minute walk away.
Why does Game 3 of the NBA finals on a Monday night have its own specialty half-time show? Because it’s the Knicks, of course.
Cardi B performed a quick two-song set on a stage at mid-court moments after the teams left the court for the locker rooms. The Bronx native gave a big “Newww Yorkkkk!” before going into her 13-time platinum hit Bodak Yellow backed by the Knicks City Dancers.
The Knicks fans in the rows below me are happy with how that second quarter went. New York outscored San Antonio 42-24, and Victor Wembanyama’s missed floater as time expired got big cheers. (Not as loud as the cheers after Jalen Brunson’s three with 41 seconds left made it a five-point lead.)
Cardi B performs during half-time of Game 3 of the NBA finals. Photograph: Yuki Iwamura/AP
The Spurs appeared in control for most of the first half. But the Knicks came alive at the end of it and completed a 19-point turnaround to head into the intermission with a seven-point lead.
OG Anunoby and Josh Hart led the charge with 17 and 13 points respectively, while Jalen Brunson chipped in 15 despite an uneven shooting night. Victor Wembanyama kept the Spurs close with 15 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Stephon Castle contributed 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting.
The home fans are not pleased with the officials’ determination that there was no unnecessary contact after Stephon Castle took a forearm to Jalen Brunson’s chin. One side of the arena broke out in ‘Bull-shit, bull-shit’ chants. The other answered with a staccato “Refs you suck”.
But it doesn’t last for long. Wembanyama drains a three-pointer, then flushes an alley-oop on the following possession and San Antonio nose ahead by four. That’s 14 points for Wembanyama on 6-for-9 shooting.
Moments after an Anunoby three, Brunson drains a 25-footer to give the Knicks their first lead of the night after they trailed by as many as 12 points earlier.
Stephon Castle is on a heater for a Spurs. He’s answered that New York run by scoring seven of San Antonio’s next nine points to stop the bleeding and extend a five-point lead for the visitors. Castle has a game-high 18 points on 7-for-8 from the floor.
Castle’s finger roll makes it 40-30 for the Spurs with 9.34 left. Then it happens. Jordan Clarkson, fresh off the New York bench, drains a three on his first shot of the game. Castle misses a shot on the other end then Towns responds with another floating jumper that tickles the twine. And before the Spurs can even get a shot up on the ensuing possession, Castle coughs up a turnover and Anunoby cans a three, igniting bedlam in the Garden stands. Eight unanswered points in 82 seconds and suddenly the Knicks are within a basket.
Knicks guard Jose Alvarado controls the ball as Spurs forward Carter Bryant defends in the second quarter. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
In a tense atmosphere, trailing 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, the Spurs needed to start Game 3 strong. And they did. Victor Wembanyama seems to have put his mistake-filled finish to Game 2 behind him and has nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks in nine minutes. San Antonio have six points off the Knicks’ four turnovers.
Wembayama takes a seat for his first breather. The Knicks outscore the Spurs by an 8-6 margin while he’s out, but they’re still ahead 30-21 when he returns. A quick Champagnie three pushes the lead to 12 points, before Robinson splits a pair of free throws to close out the scoring for the opening period.
A blistering shooting half for the Spurs, who shot 60.9% from the field and 57.1% from three to take a double-digit lead. San Antonio also piled up 11 assists on 14 made baskets, repeatedly carving up the Knicks’ defense. New York struggled to find rhythm offensively, with Jalen Brunson shooting 2-for-7 and Mikal Bridges held scoreless despite Josh Hart’s team-high eight points.
It’s another fast start for San Antonio, who stretch it to 24-13 behind a Harper lay-up and a Vassell three. But the Knicks answer with a Towns floater and a Hart running lay-up in transition, prompting a Spurs time-out and some pushing and shoving after the play between Hart and Luke Kornet.
Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) drives past Knicks guard Mikal Bridges (25) during the first quarter. Photograph: Yuki Iwamura/AP
Finally, it’s time for basketball. The Spurs rattle off the first seven points behind a couple of Wembayana dunks and a Vassell three, doing their best to take the steam out of a deafening atmosphere. Hart answers with a three-pointer, but another Wembanyama lay-up and a Castle three makes it 14-5 to San Antonio. The Spurs have made six of their first eight shots while New York look quite scattered on the defensive end. Play continues well past the first TV timeout and by the time of the first whistle, San Antonio lead by 10.
Wemby and Castle are a combined 7-for-7 with 16 points. A promising start for the visitors.
Meanwhile, here’s our news story on Madison Square Garden’s reaction to the president.
Donald Trump was shown on the jumbotron while the Star-Spangled Banner was being performed by Avery Wilson and a large chorus of boos broke out. The US president was shown for about 10 seconds and held a salute the whole time. A few seconds later, the video board showed Knicks players along the sideline and the crowd turned to cheers.
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The only thing louder than the boos around Madison Square Garden when the Spurs took the floor was the cheers when the Knicks ran out to the other end. This building feels fully full now, with under 10 minutes to tip-off.
The city of New York has waited a long time for this game. The last time Madison Square Garden hosted an NBA finals game was 25 June 1999, against this same opponent. The Spurs won that series in five games, but this is a different time. Those Knicks were the No 8 seed, playing without injured star Patrick Ewing. These Knicks are riding a winning streak of 13 (!) games and enter this Game 3 red-hot.
A win here tonight would put New York on the brink of a sweep. The NBA finals last saw a 4-0 finish in 2017, when the Warriors brushed aside the Cavaliers.
After days of talk about ticket prices and presidential appearances - Trump is here, by the way, and in a suite behind glass - I wasn’t exactly sure what the vibes of this one would be. But the Garden is loud and rocking. We should have a good game on our hands.
Less than a half hour before tip-off, Madison Square Garden is nearly full. I’m situated in the 300s with a bird’s-eye view of the court, and the fans at this level were some of the earliest arrivals. (I was also among the early arrivals, as my Apple Health step count tracker has made clear: I walked 5,293 steps around the entirety of this arena just to find a security access point that would let me inside.)
Celebrity Row is starting to fill up. So far, I see Ben Stiller, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan and Spike Lee in a group. Lee is wearing a jersey that says “Pope Leo” on the back – a pointed choice, given a certain attender’s recent clashes with the head of the Catholic church? The director and longtime Knicks fan was hanging out with franchise cult hero Jeremy Lin earlier.
Jeremy Lin and Spike Lee. Photograph: Yuki Iwamura/AP
The pregame laser and light show just wrapped up with the clock targeting under 15 minutes until tip. If reports are correct, it won’t be the only show we see tonight: Billboard and TMZ said earlier today that rapper Cardi B is set to perform at half-time of Game 3.
Few events bring New Yorkers together quite like a Knicks finals run. As the city counts down to Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, the anticipation has extended from midtown Manhattan across the five boroughs and even to the housing units of Rikers Island, where incarcerated fans have been following every twist and turn alongside supporters on the outside.
Trump has managed to hijack the spotlight from one the biggest nights in Knicks history. Earlier, the Guardian spoke with a few New York fans outside the arena about the president’s presence.
“He could have picked any other day. This night is for the fans,” said Joanne Cadden, 53, a lifelong Knicks supporter from the Bronx who has followed the team since the early 1990s. “You’re making people go away from the Garden. This wasn’t the time.”
Gesturing toward the fencing and checkpoints surrounding the arena, Cadden added: “This looks like prison.”
Rich Becker, a 54-year-old Knicks fan from Queens who came to Midtown despite not having a ticket, said the president’s visit had changed the feel of the day, including the cancellation of the outdoor watch party that had drawn thousands of fans outside the Garden during earlier playoff games.
“It changed everything,” Becker said. “Should he be here? I don’t think he should, but he’s coming. He used to be a Knicks fan. He spent a lot of time at the Garden back in the day. But now it’s a little different. Just stay away.”
Anti-Trump protesters demonstrate outside of Madison Square Garden ahead of Game 3. Photograph: Ryan Murphy/AP
For Tom Meade, 76, who attended Knicks playoff games during the franchise’s championship era and brought his son Tommy to Monday’s game, the fences, checkpoints and presidential motorcade were ultimately secondary to the occasion itself.
“This is amazing,” Meade said as fans streamed toward the Garden. “The only thing close to it was the Willis Reed and Walt Frazier years. Those championship teams [in 1970 and 1973].”
The heightened security was “a nuisance”, he added, “but we’re here to enjoy the game and the Knicks.”
A few years ago, plenty of people questioned whether Jalen Brunson could be the player to lead the Knicks back to relevance. Now, with New York two wins from their first title since 1973, those doubts look very different.
Former NBA player and Guardian contributor Etan Thomas looks back at the criticism that followed Brunson to New York – and how the Knicks star has answered it with one of the great postseason runs in franchise history.
Hello and welcome to Madison Square Garden, where the NBA finals have finally returned after a 27-year wait and the city around it has spent the whole day behaving like history is about to happen.
Hours before tipoff, midtown Manhattan was lousy with fans in blue and orange jerseys, chanting “Let’s go Knicks!” and “Knicks in four!” outside the arena as the city prepared for its first finals game at the Garden since 1999. The Knicks are back home with a 2-0 series lead over the San Antonio Spurs, a 13-game playoff winning streak and a chance to move within one victory of a first championship since 1973.
The anticipation has transformed Game 3 into one of the hottest tickets New York has ever seen. The cheapest upper-deck seats were changing hands for upwards of $12,000 on resale sites over the last few days before coming down to $5,000 today, while premium courtside seats commanded prices that would cover a year’s rent in most US cities.
But basketball is only part of tonight’s story. Donald Trump is expected to attend as a guest of Knicks owner James Dolan, becoming the first sitting US president to attend an NBA finals game. His presence has prompted one of the largest security operations ever seen around Madison Square Garden. An 10-foot perimeter fence surrounded the arena, ticket holders were advised to arrive at least two hours early and the team implemented a strict no-bag policy along with what it described as “TSA-style screening procedures” at arena entrances. Long lines formed throughout the afternoon as thousands attempted to navigate the checkpoints.
Adding another wrinkle, New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani is also expected to attend after purchasing a ticket directly from Madison Square Garden, placing two of the country’s most prominent political figures in the building alongside celebrities, former players and nearly 20,000 fans desperate to witness history.
Now, after 27 years of waiting, the focus finally shifts back to basketball. The Knicks are two wins from a title. The Spurs are fighting to save the series. Tip-off is just over an hour away.
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s the Guardian’s Stateside with Kai and Carter episode on an NBA finals even a billionaire can’t ruin.
Knicks v Spurs: the NBA finals a billionaire can’t ruin – Stateside with Kai and Carter
