Spurs 115, Knicks 111: “On to the next.”

For Game Three of the NBA Finals, a graphic of the Larry O’Brien Trophy was laid under the Knicks logo at halfcourt. This marks the very first time the image of the trophy has ever been placed there. Others have said it, but allow me to reiterate: seeing the iconic trophy on the court at MSG is weird.

No basketball stage is bigger than Madison Square Garden. Whenever a big game is played at the Mecca, visitors are expected to wilt under Broadway’s lights. It never occurs to us that the home team might feel a little of that heat, too.

Advertisement

Indeed, the Knicks seemed more affected by the pressure in their 115-111 loss. It was a flukey game across the board. For instance, they lost the third quarter for the first time in 17 playoff games. Given that the starters were out of sync all game, it made sense. In fact, this was the first they’ve looked like the “old Knicks” since the first round. The lead guys started slow, the reserves provided a second quarter lift while Towns and Brunson were split up, the play went stale again after halftime, and they hoped for Captain Clutch magic in the fourth. It was as if, after being away from the Garden for 19 days, they’d forgotten what a juggernaut they had become and, returning to their home court, reverted to their bad habits.

Out of the gate, the hosts coughed up two turnovers and fell behind by seven before Josh Hart finally got them on the scoreboard. That kicked off a promising stretch by Hart. The Spurs picked their poison and gave plenty of space to Hart on the perimeter. His two triples in the first quarter kept the Knicks from falling too far behind. Our Energizer Bunny finished with 16 points on 4-of-7 from deep, plus nine boards and five dimes.

The Spurs made eight of their first ten shots to go ahead by 11, but that’s a hard pace to maintain. Meanwhile, Mikal Bridges picked up two quick fouls and was replaced by Landry Shamet (3 PTS, 1-of-8 FG, -20, 23 MIN). It was the start of a long night for Bridges, who had his first offensive dud in a while. He posted two points on 1-of-5 shooting.

In the game thread, UrsaMajor13 said, “Bridges and KAT…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/spurs-115-knicks-111-next-100000003.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-06-09 10:00:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.