They always say the series doesn’t start until a road team wins an away game on their opponent’s home court. Redundantly speaking, that thought process means this series started in Game 1 when the New York Knicks took the victory. After the “desperate” San Antonio Spurs won Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, one could argue that this series began a new start. The Spurs are still down 1-2 to a tough-as-nails Knicks team and will look to knot the series even on Wednesday night.
“I think everybody was
feeling good. I didn’t want us to get too happy about one win… I think since the end of Game 2 we’ve still been confident that we’re gonna win this series. That’s what we plan to do.”
There’s a fine line between confidence and cockiness, but Stephon Castle encapsulated his team’s feelings after Game 3 and ahead of an always crucial Game 4. The series thus far has been each team trading haymakers, uppercuts, jabs, and body blows all figuratively and literally as fans on both sides reasonably argue that the match-up has been physical. As a result, each game has been fairly low-scoring for each teams’ standards. The combination of intensive and aggressive defense with the high variance of three-point shooting percentages of each team contributed to the slug fest so far even as the pace is still light years ahead of from the last time both of these two teams met in the Finals.
Defensively, the Spurs will continue to attempt to corral Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns while also hoping to limit the offensive success of OG Anunoby and Josh Hart. When Mikal Bridges and the Knicks’ bench finds a rhythm scoring, the Spurs had trouble keeping up so Game 4 will also be important that the Silver and Black continue to find bench scoring from Dylan Harper and Keldon Johnson. While Sixth Man of the Year Keldon Johnson has had trouble finding an offensive role off the bench this series, the mild success he had in Game 3 can be a building block to ensure the Spurs get enough from the second unit to match the Knicks’ depth.
Offensively, while everyone from pundits to fans to the peanut gallery of Twitter has their two cents about how Victor Wembanyama should operate (low post or beyond the arc), the Spurs will welcome Game 3 Victor who was aggressive early and often down low while sprinkling an appropriate amount of threes when the shot was available to him. Nothing else needs to be said about Stephon Castle who is fast making himself a household name for casual fans and the national audience. Castle continues to be the aggressive engine that makes sure the Spurs stay that way on both offense and defense. Foul trouble continues to follow him, but it correlates to his style of play.
The team says the job is no where near done after notching only one game against their Eastern Conference foes so expect the Spurs to come out and ensure that they return home to San Antonio with a tied series.
San Antonio Spurs (1-2) vs. New York Knicks (2-1)
June 10th, 2026 | 7:30 PM CT
Watch: ABC / ESPN | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Spurs Injuries: David Jones Garcia: OUT
Knicks Injuries: Mitchell Robinson: Probable
What to watch for:
Referee Mogging and Looksmaxxing
Free throw discrepancies are common fodder for next-day discussions on both sides of the fandom. In this case, the Knicks plead their case that the Spurs benefited from the zebras’ whistle in Game 3. Of course the Spurs won’t be focused on what the officials might or might not do, but they’ll adjust accordingly if whistles might be stifled or used more in Game 4. Their free throw percentage hovers around 80%, which is all they can ask for when taking advantage of the charity stripe.
De’Aaron Fox Aura Farming
De’Aaron Fox’s game-to-game stats swing as wild as Spurs and Knicks fans celebrations and outbursts after wins and losses. You never know what you’re going to get, but you know something is going down. While Fox shot 67% in Game 2’s loss, he was 29% from the field in Game 3’s win. The Spurs will certainly look to get him on the right side of the shooting percentage to bolster their offense behind Wembanyama’s orbit and Castle’s drives.
Clock that tea: Elmo still hopes both teams have fun
Experts and fans can cherry pick any number of stats and percentages that say the winner of [insert applicable game here] goes on to win the series [insert percentage] of the time. For the Spurs, they will solely be focused on stealing another win in New York to even the series at 2-2. Rain or shine, long security lines or not, Game 4 will see both teams come out with the same intense urgency seen throughout a competitive series that has lived up to the already high expectations.
