2026 NBA Finals: Important plays, lessons from Knicks-Spurs Game 3 - ESPN

Well, we have a series.

After the New York Knicks stole Games 1 and 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals on the road, the San Antonio Spurs returned the favor in Game 3 on Monday, silencing an energized Madison Square Garden crowd with a 115-111 win.

The Knicks are still favorites to win their first championship in 53 years, with a 2-1 series lead and two remaining home games, including Game 4 on Wednesday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN App). But no team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit in an NBA playoff series, so Game 3 was a must-win for the Spurs.

They obliged, snapping the Knicks' 13-game win streak and maintaining the suspense that a Finals of this caliber deserves.

Let's break down San Antonio's crucial Game 3 win from all angles, from its most important plays and trends to the biggest lineup questions it sparked for Game 4.

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San Antonio's greatest problem through two Finals losses was an inability to break down New York's defense. The Spurs ranked third in the regular season in offensive rating — tied with the Knicks, incidentally — but they had scored just 100.5 points per 100 possessions in the Finals.

For context, the worst offensive team this season, the Brooklyn Nets, averaged 108.2 points per 100 possessions — nearly eight ticks better than the Spurs against the Knicks.

But the Spurs found a better rhythm down the stretch in Game 2, as they erased a 14-point Knicks lead, and they carried that pace right up to the start of Game 3, when they set the tone early with a flurry of buckets down low.

For the very first basket of the game, the Spurs used their killer «45 screen» set to get Victor Wembanyama open above the rim. Stephon Castle