It’s time for Finals Basketball: San Antonio Spurs vs New York Knicks, Game 3

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Is it over? Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?¹ Hell no! It’s not over. The Spurs are in a bad spot, down 2-0 and going on the road to Madison Square Garden, where there will be a lot of distractions, many of them having nothing to do with basketball. It’s going to be a challenge for both teams as try to play their best basketball and win a game in a legendary arena. The Spurs haven’t played a complete game in the series, but they had a terrific second half in Game 2 until the final seconds when their inexperience betrayed them with an inopportune turnover in the final seconds gave the Knicks a chance to retake the lead late, a lead that they held onto when Wembanyama’s midrange shot rimmed out as time expired.

The Spurs will need more than two good quarters tonight, and Victor Wembanyama will need to get more than 4 shots in the first half to pull out a road win. De’Aaron Fox has been looking healthier as the series goes on, and if he could get some of his lift back on his shots, it’s going to be helpful. The Knicks were a little off in the first game, but got everything going in the second game, and it wasn’t just Brunson, who was mediocre until crunch time, it took great games form Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns to pull out the win. Even Josh Hart, who had a goose egg in the scoring column, made some critical plays with rebounding and assists.

The Spurs will need more from their bench tonight, and Keldon Johnson needs to contribute more than the 3 points he scored in Game 2. It’s going to be do or die tonight. The Spur have had an incredible year so far, but they can keep it going with a win tonight and Wednesday. If the Spurs get this to a 3 game series with home court advantage, I like their chances. GO SPURS GO!!

1. The Germans did not, in fact, bomb Pearl Harbor. [Forget it, he’s rolling.] But that’s the opening line in Bluto’s [played by John Belushi] famous speech in the movie Animal House, where he convinced the members of Delta Tau Chi [aka Animal House] to engage in a really futile and stupid gesture to counter the actions of Dean Wormer.

Game Prediction:

Jalen Brunson get the final shot and misses it, and doesn’t even draw a foul, which is the first time that’s happened, ever. As far as I can tell.

San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks, NBA Finals, Game 3
June 8, 2026 | 7:30 PM CT
Streaming: ESPN
TV: ABC
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