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The New York Knicks had the worst start possible in Game 4 against the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals. The Knicks were forced to pull Karl-Anthony Towns only 62 seconds into the game on Wednesday night after the star center picked up two controversial fouls. From there, the Spurs started a two-way avalanche that helped the team take a 19-point lead into the second quarter, and a 76-49 lead into halftime.
Towns was called for a foul on the very first play of the game when defending De’Aaron Fox on a drive. A couple possessions later, KAT was called for another foul after the refs reviewed his drive to the basket and determined he hooked Victor Wembanyama on his way to the rim.
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Those weren’t the only calls the Madison Square Garden crowd was upset about. There was an apparent missed goaltend on Spurs center Luke Kornet, plus a botched out of bounds call that favored San Antonio. Knicks fans also won’t love that big man Mitchell Robinson was called for a flagrant-1 for hitting Wemby with a forearm to the head after the French star got away with decking Jalen Brunson in Game 3.
The refs didn’t tell the whole story for the Spurs’ dominant start. The Spurs shot 65 percent from the field in the first quarter while the Knicks shot 29 percent. San Antonio didn’t turn the ball over while New York turned it over four times. San Antonio was getting easy looks and hitting everything, while the Knicks’ offense was stuck in the mud.
The officiating was a storyline after Game 3, with Mike Brown pleading with the refs for more consistency after the Spurs shot 10 more free throws in a tight win. It’s bound to be a storyline again after Game 4. Watch the calls for yourself and be the judge. First, let’s start with Towns’ first foul on the very first play of the game:
I don’t love that call so early in the game, especially after the refs allowed so much physicality earlier in the series.
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The second foul on Towns was more legit to me. This was originally ruled a foul on Wembanyama, but San Antonio challenged, and the refs overturned the call. Towns clearly hooks Wemby on his…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/knicks-quickly-meltdown-controversial-foul-020428082.html
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Publish date : 2026-06-11 02:04:00
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