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What a difference a game makes! The Spurs went into the Garden on Monday night needing a win to stay alive in the series, because being down 3-0 in a seven game series in the NBA
is a death sentence. The conventional wisdom was that the hostile and chaotic atmosphere of Madison Square Garden would throw the Spurs off balance and benefit the Knicks, when the reality was that the Silver and Black were the more poised team in Game 3. This team really showed that the are at their best when they have to perform by winning Game 7 against the Thunder in Oklahoma City to advance to the finals, and they delivered a similar performance in Game 3 of the Finals.
The Spurs turned things around because they went full Popovich in Game 3, and gave the Knicks some nasty, which the fans REALLY didn’t appreciate. I had a discussion with a coworker this morning and we agreed that the Finals against the Knicks are not the most rigorous series that the Spurs have played in the postseason, because both the Minnesota and Thunder series were more physical. But it seems like hell to the Knicks fans, who danced through the first three rounds against feather-soft opponents. They’ve cultivated a narrative where Victor Wembanyama is a diabolical combination of Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Jack the Ripper, because he threw a guy who was pulling on his jersey to the ground1. TO THE GROUND! Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that about half of the lyrics of the Talking Heads’ Psycho Killer2 are in French.
Stephon Castle did about the best job that anyone can do on Brunson. He got his points, but they were inefficient, and he didn’t get anyone else involved in the offense. Dylan Harper had another fantastic outing for the Silver and Black, and Victor Wembanyama contributed magic from beginning to end. The Spurs are going to have to bring that kind of effort again tonight, because the Knicks are going to put together their best effort tonight. Devin Vassell was relatively quiet in Game 3, and a breakout game from him would be an asset for the road team.
A win tonight ties up the series, making a three game series with the Spurs having two at home. If the lose tonight, the Silver and Black need to win three games in a row to take home the trophy, which is a much tougher road. It’s going to be the most pivotal game of the series, just like the last one was. GO SPURS GO!!
- It should have been called a foul, but the refs missed it in real time. I thought it was possibly a Flagrant 1 foul, but the league office reviewed it the following day and ruled that it wasn’t.
- David Byrne was extremely prescient when he wrote that song in 1974. Victor hates people when they’re not polite. Maybe the Knicks should fa-fa-fa-fa run away …
Game Prediction:
KAT gets in a fight with Brunson because Jalen never passes the ball to him.
San Antonio Spurs at New York Knicks, NBA Finals, Game 4
June 10, 2026 | 7:30 PM CT
Streaming: ESPN
TV: ABC
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