The Spurs quieted the Madison Square Garden crowd with a 115-111 victory over the Knicks to draw to within 2-1 in the series.
The Garden fills. The lights dim. The stakes rise.
Game 4 of the NBA Finals is just hours away (8:30 ET, ABC | Tap to Watch).
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
Game 4 In 2 Minutes: A thrilling Finals with razor-thin separation heads to Game 4
What They’re Saying – Spurs: How San Antonio’s young core embraces the big stage
What They’re Saying – Knicks: New York focuses on the details in prepping its Game 4 answer
Film Study: John Schuhmann breaks down how the Spurs unlocked Wemby in Game 3
Forever Finals: A legendary Curry flurry, exactly four years ago today
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Game 4 of the NBA Finals tips off tonight at Madison Square Garden (8:30 ET, ABC) as the Knicks seek a 3-1 lead, while the Spurs look tie the series at 2-2. | Live Pregame & Postgame In The NBA App
Spurs Tune Out Noise: Go inside MSG for its first Finals game in 27 years in a brand-new episode of Chasing History, and see how San Antonio picked up a crucial win in an electrifying Game 3.
1. GET READY FOR GAME 4 IN 2 MINUTES
Through three Finals games, just seven points separate the Knicks and Spurs, with all three games coming down to clutch time.
- The Knicks took back-to-back thrillers in San Antonio for a 2-0 series lead
- The Spurs answered in Game 3, silencing Madison Square Garden in the building’s first Finals game in 27 years
Tonight (8:30 ET, ABC), the Garden hosts Game 4, where New York can move within one win of its first title in 53 years, while San Antonio can pull even in a series that has delivered drama at every turn. | Shaun Powell’s 3 Things To Watch
This is the first Finals since 2015 in which Games 1-3 have all been within five points in the last minute. The overall numbers tell the same story, with remarkably similar totals across the board.
In a series where every possession has mattered, both teams’ superstars have risen to the moment.
- Captain Clutch: Jalen Brunson has lived up to his late-game reputation, averaging 27.3 ppg while delivering a series of game-changing buckets in the closing minutes of Games 1 & 2
- Alien Answer: Victor Wembanyama (29 ppg) responded in Game 3 with an all-around masterpiece (32 pts, 8 reb, 6 ast, 3 blk), joining Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson as the youngest players ever to record 30/5/5 in a Finals game
Big Names, Big Moments: Brunson (10.7 ppg) and Wemby (10.3 ppg) have saved their best for the 4th quarter, each averaging more than one-third of their points in the final frame.
But they haven’t delivered alone, with both receiving crucial contributions from their co-stars.
- KAT Chips In: Karl-Anthony Towns’ two-way impact was instrumental in New York’s 2-0 start, and he enters Game 4 standing atop Shaun Powell’s latest Finals MVP Ladder
- Fox & Castle Closers: Stephon Castle has shined on both ends and alongside De’Aaron Fox, has delivered some of Game 3’s biggest buckets. The duo lifted San Antonio in crunch time to cut its series deficit in half
After three games decided by the slimmest of margins, the stakes only continue to rise.
- For New York: A Knicks win would give them a 3-1 series lead. Of the previous 38 teams to take a 3-1 lead in the Finals, 37 have gone on to win the title (97.4%)
- For San Antonio: Teams down 2-1 on the road in the Finals are 11-9 all-time in Game 4, with four straight victories. Of those previous 11 winners, eight have gone on to win the series (72.7%)
Now, all eyes return to MSG, where the Knicks will look to earn the first home win of the Finals and move within one win of a championship.
Meanwhile, Wemby’s Spurs will look to quiet the crowd again and even the series.
- “At home it’s an extra motivation because you want to give the people who support you a good show,” said Wemby at Tuesday’s Media Day. “On the road, you want to do the opposite.”
- Said Josh Hart: “It’s going to be a battle.”
Game 4 Reads: Dive into more Finals stories and analysis before tonight’s showdown (8:30 ET, ABC).
- Trending Topics: NBA.com writers on each team’s biggest advantage entering Game 4
- Knicks Eye Answer: Steve Aschburner on how New York plans to learn from its Game 3 loss
- Chess Match: John Schuhmann on how the Spurs’ defensive rotations countered the Knicks’ ball movement
2. WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: YOUNG SPURS, BIG STAGE POISE
The 19,800-plus sets of eyes inside Madison Square Garden turned to Stephon Castle as he walked to the free-throw line.
Just 6.8 seconds remained in Game 3. The Knicks trailed by two. The 21-year-old Spurs guard needed to make both shots to make it a two-possession game.
As the Garden roared, Castle calmly drained both.
- “Coming into environments like this … it’s something you can’t shy away from,” said Castle at Tuesday’s Media Day. “Especially with the goals and aspirations we have…
- “You should want to play in these kinds of environments.”
Castle has thrived on big stages before.
- In College: As a college freshman, he helped lead UConn to the 2023-24 national championship, earning NCAA All-Tournament honors
- The Mecca: That same season, Castle helped guide the Huskies to the Big East Tournament championship at MSG
- The Finals: On Monday, he became the 3rd-youngest player to post 20+ pts, 5+ reb and 5+ ast in a Finals game, trailing only Tony Parker (2003) and Magic Johnson (1980)
- “He’s been in big games before,” said Wemby of Castle’s Game 3. “He’s been in big games before the NBA. I’m not surprised by this.”
The common thread? A steady demeanor that rarely seems to change with the stage.
- “You kind of see it – his personality, his demeanor, that’s the way that he is,” said De’Aaron Fox of Castle after Game 3. “His game is as mature as it can be, especially at 21 years old.”
Castle’s maturity isn’t unique in San Antonio.
The Spurs’ young core has earned a reputation for its disciplined approach, including Victor Wembanyama — who, moments after he and Castle made Finals history together, was already looking to recover for Game 4.
- “Everything you hear about Vic is true,” said Fox earlier this postseason. “He don’t want to see blue light after nine o’clock, he reads books, he’s not on his phone …
- “Like this is real – a 22-year-old doing the things that he does.”
That ability to block out distractions has helped the Spurs – the 2nd-youngest team to reach the Finals by average weighted Playoff time – thrive in hostile environments.
- Stage Proof: The Spurs are 7-3 on the road this postseason, featuring two wins in Minnesota, two in OKC – including a Game 7 win – and now a 1-0 mark at MSG
- “Being on the road, being in an environment like this, you know that it can get pretty hectic,” said Fox yesterday. “We talk about how poised our team has been …
- “We find a comfort in playing on the road, knowing that when you’re in this environment it’s us vs. them.”
Now, with a chance to even the Finals, San Antonio will once again lean on the poise that has carried it this far.
3. WHAT THEY’RE SAYING: KNICKS FOCUSED ON DETAILS
Moments after their Game 3 loss and again at Tuesday’s Media Day, one word kept surfacing as the Knicks discussed what went wrong in their first loss since April 23.
Details.
- “The details that made us special … the fundamentals of what our team is and how we play, we didn’t do that for 48 minutes,” said Karl-Anthony Towns at Media Day
- “It’s something that has got us this 13-game winning streak, and playing around with a game against a great team, you’re asking for disaster.”
Those details showed up in several areas Monday, starting with New York’s ball movement.
- The Streak: The Knicks averaged 120.2 ppg during their 13-game win streak, with 63.3% of their buckets coming off assists (27.7 per game)
- The Loss: On Monday, New York was held to 111 points, with just 45% of its buckets coming off assists (18)
- The Slowdown: The Knicks’ 18 assists were their 2nd-fewest in a game all season, with just three coming in the 4th quarter, while they lost the turnover battle 13-8
- “Our offense has got to be way better,” said Mikal Bridges yesterday. “We’re stagnant offensively, not helping the next guy out … we’ve got to move without the ball so we can help each other out.”
That movement doesn’t just help in the halfcourt. In a series separated by just seven points, with points in the paint tied at 134-134, the Knicks have also found an edge in transition.
- Changing Gears: Despite shooting later into the shot clock than San Antonio, New York has capitalized on early offense, outscoring San Antonio 46-31 in fastbreak points this series
- Full Speed: That included a 9-0 edge in the 1st half of Game 3, capped by the Knicks’ 42-point 2nd quarter – the highest-scoring quarter of the series thus far
The flash served as a reminder that even on an off night – New York’s first in 46 days – the Knicks remain dangerous.
Now, they have a fresh 48 minutes at the Garden to take a 3-1 series lead.
- “You can’t sulk about last game,” said Bridges. “You learn from it.”
- “Each game, no matter what the situation is, we’re growing as a team,” said Jalen Brunson. “No matter what the situation is, we’re going to stick together.”
4. SCHUHMANN FILM STUDY: HOW WEMBY THRIVED INSIDE IN GAME 3
Through two Finals games, the Knicks had largely succeeded in making life around the basket difficult for Victor Wembanyama.
In Game 3, Wemby returned the favor.
What changed? In his latest Film Study, NBA.com’s John Schuhmann breaks down the adjustments that helped unlock the Spurs’ superstar inside:
“With every game in this series, Victor Wembanyama has gotten more efficient.
And as the Spurs ended the Knicks’ 13-game winning streak, he led the way with 32 points on 11-for-18 shooting from the field. Of those 32 points, 22 came at the rim (where he shot 7-for-9) or from the free throw line (8-for-9).
Wembanyama played big and was a big problem for the Knicks, who couldn’t keep him away from the basket as much as they were able to earlier in the series.” | Read More
5. FOREVER FINALS: STEPH’S GAME 4 ERUPTION
Exactly four years ago today, the Warriors faced a potential 3-1 NBA Finals deficit.
Boston had won Game 3. TD Garden was rocking. And Steph Curry was nursing a foot injury suffered two nights earlier.
Golden State needed an answer.
They got one of the defining performances of Curry’s career.
The Warriors superstar erupted for 43 points, 10 boards and seven 3s – a stat line never produced before in a Finals game – leading Golden State to a Game 4 win that evened the series at 2-2.
Steph didn’t hide what the moment meant, flexing and roaring at the Boston crowd as he took over late. After the game, he explained why.
- “I felt like we just had to let everybody know that we were here tonight,” Curry said. “Whether that’s their crowd, their team, our team, whoever wants to see that energy and that fire, we feed off of that.”
Draymond Green could see that fire burning long before tipoff, with Curry refusing to let an injury stand in the way of Golden State’s championship pursuit:
”He wasn’t letting us lose,” said Green postgame. “That’s all it boils down to …
“I could tell in his demeanor, last couple of days, even after Game 3 that he was going to come out with that kind of fire …
“… He put us on his back. Willed us to a win – a much-needed win, a game we had to have…
“He came out and showed why he’s one of the best players to ever play this game …
“He’s one of the most resilient, toughest guys I’ve ever played with … [tonight] says a lot about his toughness and competitive nature, and what it truly means to be a winner.”
Golden State went on to win the series in six games, marking Curry and Green’s fourth championship with the Warriors.
Want to share Starting 5 with a friend? Send them this link.
Shape the Starting 5. Email us here.
Don’t have the NBA App? Download it here.