Spurs eye Finals equalizer against Knicks

The New York Knicks will try to regain control of the 2026 NBA Finals on Wednesday night, while the San Antonio Spurs will look to turn Victor Wembanyama’s Game 3 breakthrough into a tied best-of-seven series.

Game 4 tips off Wednesday in New York, Thursday in the Philippines, with the Knicks leading the Spurs 2-1 after San Antonio’s 115-111 victory Monday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks entered Game 3 riding a 13-game postseason winning streak, the second-longest playoff run in NBA history, before the Spurs ended it behind Wembanyama’s all-around performance.

New York had gone 45 days without a loss since a 109-108 defeat to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on April 23.

The Knicks fell two wins short of matching the 2017 Golden State Warriors, who opened that postseason with 15 straight wins on their way to the championship.

New York, seeking its first NBA title since 1973, now has another chance to move within one win of the crown with a 3-1 series lead.

“Every loss kind of hurts the same,” Knicks forward Josh Hart said Tuesday. “That’s a good team. We knew they weren’t just going to lay down and let us win four straight. We knew this was going to be a battle.”

That battle turned more physical in Game 3.

Wembanyama was not called for a foul after shoving Jalen Brunson to the floor with a little under five minutes left in the first quarter.

“He got away with one,” Knicks backup guard Jose Alvarado said Tuesday. “That’ll be the last one.”

Hart was assessed a technical foul with 3:24 left in the opening period after shoving Luke Kornet, who bumped into him following Hart’s coast-to-coast layup.

In the third quarter, Brunson’s foul on Julian Champagnie during a 3-point attempt was upgraded to a flagrant.

“The Knicks play super, super physical,” Champagnie said Tuesday. “That’s a part of their identity. We obviously have to do a good job of matching that and doing more of that. But I’m assuming it’s not going to get (any) easier.”

Beyond the physical tone, New York will need sharper late-game execution from its stars.

Brunson scored a team-high 32 points Monday but shot 11 of 25 from the field.

He is shooting 37% in the Finals after converting 48.6% from the field through the first three playoff rounds.

Karl-Anthony Towns was scoreless in the fourth quarter for the third straight game.

Towns has attempted only six field goals in the fourth quarter across the first three games of the Finals.

“We have, what, 13 games in a row (and) 50 days of film to show what it looks like when we’re at our best?” Towns said. “We’ll get back to our fundamentals – what makes us great, what made us great – and get back to work tomorrow.”

For San Antonio, Game 3 marked a return to the formula that carried the Spurs through the Western Conference playoffs.

Wembanyama finished with 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocks, giving him his first 30-point performance since May 24.

He had 33 points on May 24 in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 7-foot-4 superstar set the tone early Monday, scoring the Spurs’ first four points on dunks.

Wembanyama went 9 of 14 from inside the arc after shooting 13 of 27 on traditional field goals in Games 1 and 2.

He also went 2 of 4 from 3-point range after shooting 4 of 15 from deep over the first two games.

“The goal is always to go inside,” Wembanyama said. “The best shot in the game is an alley-oop – the most efficient shot.”

Wembanyama’s interior dominance opened the floor for San Antonio’s most balanced offensive showing of the series.

Five other Spurs scored in double figures, including Stephon Castle, who supplied 23 points.

Castle scored 18 of those points in the first half before delivering five of San Antonio’s final seven points.

The Spurs’ 115 points were their most since May 28, when they beat the Thunder 118-91 in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals.

“What we’ve built with this team is we have an identity that makes everybody dangerous,” Wembanyama said. “Sometimes it will pay off over a season, over a playoff series.”

San Antonio now has a chance to level the Finals at 2-2 and shift pressure back onto the Knicks, whose historic postseason surge has given way to a more familiar championship test.

New York, meanwhile, will try to restore the physical edge, offensive rhythm and late-game poise that fueled its 13-game playoff streak.