The New York Knicks suffered their first loss in 46 days on Monday night, falling 115-111 to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden. Despite scoring 32 points, Jalen Brunson pointed to New York’s mistakes rather than officiating as the primary reason the series tightened to 2-1.
The defeat snapped the Knicks’ 13-game playoff winning streak and spoiled the franchise’s first NBA Finals home game since 1999. Victor Wembanyama led San Antonio with 32 points, while Stephon Castle added 23 as the Spurs avoided a 3-0 series deficit.
Asked whether the free-throw disparity affected New York’s defense in the second half, Brunson focused on the Knicks’ own execution.
“Yeah. I think we turned the ball over a lot first and foremost, but then also we were fouling a lot and put them at the line about 30 times and with our live ball turnovers and I got them out in transition and they were capitalizing off of those,” Brunson said. “So we were definitely fouling a lot.”
The numbers supported his assessment. New York committed 13 turnovers that led to transition opportunities for San Antonio, while the Spurs attempted 32 free throws and converted 25. The Knicks were also outscored during several key stretches after halftime as San Antonio regained control of the game.
Brunson acknowledged that New York’s offense stalled late. The Knicks scored only 20 points in the fourth quarter and shot 7-for-27 from the field during the period.
“I mean I like some of the looks, but also think that we were pretty stagnant,” Brunson said. “So there’s definitely things that we can learn from. But it starts with our approach when we start the game and we start the half and I don’t think we did well. I don’t think I did well either.”
The All-Star guard was equally critical when discussing his own performance and the team’s overall attention to detail.
“I mean maybe a mixture of both, but I think most importantly, the little things, the attention to detail, the stuff that we pride ourselves on, we didn’t do tonight,” Brunson said when asked about getting to his preferred spots offensively. “So regardless of whatever shots we were getting, the little things can make a brick game.”
The atmosphere at Madison Square Garden was one of the most anticipated in franchise history, with fans waiting 27 years to see an NBA Finals game in New York. Brunson, however, said his mindset remained simple.
“Was locked in, ready to go. And yeah, that’s pretty much it.”
Even after the loss, Brunson emphasized the importance of staying grounded. The Knicks won the first two games in San Antonio and still hold the series lead heading into Game 4.
“Yeah. It’s very important,” Brunson said regarding avoiding distractions. “We consistently talk to each other about everything being 0-0. Even now it’s 0-0 and moving on and trying to stay focused.”
“There are going to be a lot of distractions positive and negative but most importantly is how we compose ourselves as a team. Make sure we have accountability as a team and we win or lose we move forward as a team.”
Brunson said the Knicks will approach Game 4 with the same mindset that carried them through their lengthy winning streak.
“I think win or lose as a team, our mindset is always getting better the next day,” Brunson said. “Now we have to learn from a loss but I think the most important thing is that we are going to learn regardless because we know there were things that we have to improve on going into next game.”
