Spurs stun Knicks in MSG to revive Finals hopes
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- San Antonio Spurs beat the New York Knicks 115-111 in Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, cutting the Finals series deficit to 2-1 and snapping New York's 13-game postseason winning streak
- Victor Wembanyama scored a game-high-tying 32 points with 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 blocks, joining Tim Duncan as the only Spurs to score 25+ points in three consecutive Finals games
- Stephon Castle added 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, forming with Wembanyama the first pair of teammates age 22 or younger to each score 20+ in a Finals game — their 55 combined points were their most in a non-overtime postseason game
- Six Spurs scored in double figures with 28 total assists (led by De'Aaron Fox's game-high 8), a balanced attack coach Mitch Johnson credited with better poise and ball movement after two straight losses
- The Spurs' road win marked only the second time in NBA Finals history that the visiting team won each of the first three games of a series
- President Donald Trump became the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game, watching from Knicks owner James Dolan's suite while the U.S. Secret Service took over MSG security, lengthening wait times for fans and players
- The Spurs' team hotel sat just a half-mile from MSG, but multiple sources said the team bus took nearly 30 minutes to reach the arena even with a police escort
Why it matters: The Spurs avoided the 0-3 deficit that has ended every NBA Finals series in history, and their Game 3 balance — six double-figure scorers, 28 assists — suggests the offensive funk from the first two games may be over. The Knicks, in their first Finals appearance in 30 years, just saw a 13-game postseason streak die and now face a must-win Game 4 to keep home court from slipping away again. The series remains winnable for San Antonio, with Wembanyama and Castle establishing themselves as the youngest duo ever to each crack 20 in a Finals game.
