by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com
The NBA Finals switches venues for Game Three tonight as the San Antonio Spurs (62-20 in the regular season) visit the New York Knicks (53-29) at Madison Square Garden on ABC. New York holds a commanding 2-0 lead after escaping with a 105-104 victory in Game Two on Friday night at San Antonio. San Antonio became the third team in NBA Finals history to lose the first two games at home. They join the 1993 Phoenix Suns and the 1995 Orlando Magic, who both went on to lose. Phoenix fell to Chicago in six games, while Orlando was swept by the Houston Rockets.
New York has now won 13 straight playoff games, which is the second-most in playoff history behind the 2017 Golden State Warriors who won 15 in a row. New York’s last playoff loss was on April 23 at Atlanta in the first round. The Knicks trailed 2-1 against Atlanta in that series before catching fire and blitzing through the postseason.
New York is a 2.5-point favorite, and the total is 216.5.
GAME ONE RECAP
Despite entering the NBA Finals on an 11-game winning streak, the New York Knicks closed as a 4.5-point underdog at San Antonio prior to Game One. There were questions about whether the Knicks could remain hot against a team like San Antonio, who was considered to be a lot better than what the Knicks faced in the East.
New York’s perceived lack of competition in the Eastern Conference was proven to be wrong in Game One as they picked up a 105-95 victory at San Antonio. The Knicks extended their postseason winning streak to 12 games — which tied them for second all-time with the 1999 San Antonio Spurs, who defeated the New York Knicks 4-1 to win the ’99 title. New York closed Game One on an 11-0 run over the final 1:50 of regulation to stun San Antonio.
It appears as if the series would take a dramatic turn early in Game One when superstar guard Jalen Brunson went to the locker room after Harrison Barnes fell into his right knee with 2:03 remaining in the first quarter. Brunson had quickly developed into New York’s franchise player when he signed with the Knicks as a free agent in the summer of 2022. Brunson suffering a potentially season-ending knee injury in the series opener would have been devastating for a Knicks franchise seeking their first NBA title since 1973.
Fortunately for the Knicks, Jalen Brunson returned to the bench at the beginning of the second quarter and checked back into the game midway through the quarter. Brunson struggled from the field for most of the game but caught fire in the fourth quarter/clutch time, which has become commonplace in his four seasons as a Knick. Brunson scored 13 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Knicks to victory. He scored 5 of New York’s final 11 points of the game.
The Knicks overcame a 14-point, third-quarter deficit (65-51) to pull out the win.
New York frustrating and badgering San Antonio’s superstar center Victor Wembanyama played a huge role in their upset in Game One. New York’s physicality forced Wembanayama into making careless turnovers and taking awkward shots. Wembanyama finished with a very good statistical line of 26 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks, but he shot just 6-for-21 from the floor and committed a game-high 6 turnovers.
Karl-Anthony Towns’ ability to constantly drive by and outmuscle Victor Wembanyama was critical for the Knicks in the Game One victory. Towns finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks, while do-it-all swingman Josh Hart compiled 3 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Hart led the Knicks in rebounds, assists and steals in the win. His versatility and ability to impact the game in a variety of ways has been invaluable for the Knicks.
New York held San Antonio to its lowest point total since March 1, when the Knicks routed the Spurs 114-89 during the regular season at home in front of a nationally-televised audience on ABC.
GAME TWO RECAP
San Antonio looked to even the series with New York after dropping Game One in stunning fashion. History appeared to be on San Antonio’s side as they had not lost back-to-back games since January 11 and 13 at Oklahoma City and at Minnesota. Unfortunately for the Spurs, they suffered a second straight stunning loss to New York at home. The Knicks edged the Spurs 105-104 in Game Two to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.
Jalen Brunson’s late-game heroics proved to be the difference for a second straight game as he hit the game-winning free throw with 9.5 seconds left. Brunson’s game-winning free throw took place after he scooped up an errant pass from Victor Wembanyama that bounced off the back of Stephon Castle who was running down court and did not expect the pass. On the game’s final possession, Wembanayma missed a wide-open 20-foot jumper at the buzzer.
After a nip-and-tuck first half where New York emerged with a 56-52 at the intermission, the Knicks built a double-digit lead early in the third quarter as they went up 64-54 at the 9:21 mark. They were able to maintain that double-digit lead through the midway point of the fourth quarter going up by 14 (97-83) after an OG Anunoby dunk on Victor Wembanyama with 6:04 left in regulation. The Spurs responded with a 14-0 run to tie the game at 97 with 2:50 remaining.
The game remained close over the final 2:59 with each team’s franchise player — New York’s Jalen Brunson and San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama — exchanging baskets. Brunson and Wembanyama each scored 5 points over the final 2 minutes of regulation. But it was Brunson’s free throw with 9.5 seconds left and Wembanyama’s missed 20-foot jump shot that proved to be the difference.
After struggling in the first half with just 7 points, Victor Wembanyama erupted for 22 second-half points and was instrumental in San Antonio rallying from 14 points down to take the lead late in the fourth quarter. Wembanyama finished Game Two with 29 points (11-21 FG, 2-6 3Pt, 5-8 FT), 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks.
The second-half eruption from Victor Wembanyama in Game 2 was a welcome sight for the Spurs as he’d been bottled up and flustered by the physicality of the Knicks, along with the quickness, strength and versatility of All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns. The Spurs will need a full game of dominance from Wembanyama to win Game 3 and make the series competitive.
New York received a balanced effort from its starters in the Game Two victory. Karl-Anthony Towns scored a team-high 21 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in the win. Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges each scored 20, while OG Anunoby finished with 17 points and 2 blocks. Brunson struggled from the field for a second straight contest, shooting just 7-for-25 from the floor, but he was excellent in crunch time yet again.
THE PICK: KNICKS (-2.5)
New York is on a historic pace as they’ve won 13 straight postseason games. It looks like they’ve rattled the Spurs young superstar Victor Wembanyama for all of Game 1 and the first half of Game 2. I don’t see why anything would change in Game 3 when the Knicks return home to play in front of a rowdy and raucous crowd at Madison Square Garden. Lay the Points and take the Knicks tonight!
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