New york: Stephon Castle feels the San Antonio Spurs did not accomplish much on Monday. Even so, they did avoid falling into a historically unfriendly hole, while ensuring the NBA Finals would get at least some of the length warranted by what has been a compelling matchup thus far. Victor Wembanyama produced 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three blocks Monday night for the Spurs, who got back into the NBA Finals by beating the red-hot New York Knicks 115-111 in Game 3.
According to Ghana Web, the Knicks still lead the best-of-seven series two games to one. Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday night in New York. Castle added 23 points - 18 in the first half and five key points late in the fourth quarter - as the Spurs avoided falling into a 0-3 hole. No NBA team has ever overcome a three-games-to-none deficit in a best-of-seven series.
Dylan Harper scored 13 points off the San Antonio bench while starters Julian Champagnie, De'Aaron Fox, and Devin Vassell all got into double figures. Fox added eight assists. Jalen Brunson scored 32 points on 11-of-25 shooting for the Knicks, whose 13-game winning streak - the second-longest postseason winning streak in NBA history - was snapped.
OG Anunoby had 28 points, hitting 9 of 13 from the floor, while Josh Hart put up 16 points. Karl-Anthony Towns chipped in with 11 points, and reserve Jordan Clarkson scored 10 points. New York's previous loss was a 109-108 setback against the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 of an Eastern Conference first-round series on April 23.
The Spurs showed some resilience Monday, when they squandered a 12-point first-half lead and fell behind 64-57 entering halftime. San Antonio blew a 14-point lead in a 105-95 loss in Game 1 and a 12-point lead in a 105-104 loss in Game 2.
On Monday, Champagnie scored the first six points of the second half, and the Spurs shot 50% in the third while forcing four turnovers. San Antonio took the lead for good at 79-76 on Wembanyama's 3-pointer with 5:02 left in the period. The teams shot a combined 27.1% in the fourth. The Spurs maintained at least a two-possession lead for more than 10 minutes, but Brunson and Anunoby hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions in the final 34 seconds to pull the Knicks within 113-111 with 9.4 seconds to go.
Following a timeout, Castle sank two free throws with 6.8 seconds left for a four-point edge, essentially sealing the outcome. The Spurs shot 20-for-24 from the foul line in half while the Knicks were just 6-for-8 - a discrepancy Brown pointed out to open his postgame news conference.