The 2026 NBA Finals are finally here as only two teams remain in the playoff field, vying for a chance to raise the Larry O' Brien Trophy.
The New York Knicks stole home-court advantage in Game 1, defeating the San Antonio Spurs 105-95 before taking a decisive 2-0 lead with a 105-104 win in Game 2 on Friday.
The Spurs bounced back in Game 3 with a 115-111 win at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks swept the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals to reach the championship round for the first time since 1999. They are looking to end a decades-long drought, as they haven't won an NBA Finals series since 1973.
The Spurs, in the Finals for the first time since 2014, will rally behind their rising superstar Victor Wembanyama and a cast of young players. They're coming off a contentious seven-game series in the Western Conference finals against the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
After each game, our NBA insiders will break down the matchup from both sides, giving takeaways from the arena, judging overreactions to the performances and looking ahead to the rest of the series.
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(3) New York Knicks lead (2) San Antonio Spurs 2-1
Game 3: Spurs 115, Knicks 111
Biggest takeaway from the Spurs' performance: The Spurs, who proved they could start fast with double-digit leads in the opening quarter of each outing, finally showed they could finish. Wembanyama (32 points, eight rebounds, three blocks) shined in San Antonio's most complete showing in these Finals.
Ahead of Game 3, coach Mitch Johnson repeatedly expressed confidence in San Antonio's prospects despite its 0-2 deficit -- provided his team revived its normal brand of unselfish basketball. For the most part, San Antonio succeeded, spraying 28 assists after averaging just 14 over the first two contests. Six Spurs reached double figures in scoring. -- Michael C. Wright
Biggest takeaway from the Knicks' performance: The basic tenets of seven weeks of winning basketball abandoned the Knicks, at least in stretches. It felt like they were always stalking the Spurs in the second half but couldn't sustain their slim leads and couldn't frustrate Wembanyama like they did in the first two games.
After a balanced offense for the majority of their 13-game playoff winning streak, the scoring burden fell mostly on Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby, who combined for 60 of New York's 111 points. For the first time in a while, the Knicks taste defeat with some things to clean up ahead of Wednesday's Game 4. -- Vincent Goodwill
Game 3's biggest overreaction: The Knicks are under pressure in Game 4
Sure, the Knicks blew their chance to close out this series in Game 4, but they still hold home-court advantage thanks to winning both games in San Antonio and clearly will be confident they can still win there. Now, if the Spurs can do this again Wednesday night? Suddenly, the NYC party will turn into panic.
Verdict: Overreaction. -- Tim Bontemps
Stats to know (via ESPN Research):
Wembanyama is the second-youngest player (22 years, 155 days) in NBA history with 30 points, five rebounds and five assists in a Finals game, trailing only Magic Johnson (20 years, 276 days).
Wembanyama, with three blocks in Game 3, has 70 this postseason, passing Dikembe Mutombo (69 blocks during the 1994 playoffs) for the most in a postseason debut since blocks were first tracked in 1974.
What to watch for in Game 4: How will the Knicks respond to their first loss in 46 days?
After New York's 13-game playoff winning streak went kaput, coach Mike Brown will surely feel like he has a lot to clean up. Jalen Brunson was uncharacteristically sloppy with five turnovers, and Mikal Bridges and Landry Shamet spent Monday firing blanks.
Karl-Anthony Towns has become New York's X factor: The All-Star center played like a Finals MVP during the two games in San Antonio, then turned in a quiet 11-point, eight-rebound, one-assist performance while being outdueled by Wembanyama at Madison Square Garden. Towns must reassert himself for the Knicks to maintain control of this series. -- Ben Golliver
Game 2: Knicks 105, Spurs 104
Biggest takeaway from the Spurs' performance: Unlike Game 1, the Spurs' second wind finally came. But with a chance to secure a comeback of their own, Wembanyama threw an errant pass that bounced off Stephon Castle's back and into the sure hands of Jalen Brunson, whose free throw with 9.5 seconds remaining put the Spurs in a 2-0 deficit.
For just the second time in these playoffs, San Antonio lost the battle on the glass 44-42 to a Knicks squad that played with more desperation despite already stealing home-court advantage. The last time an opponent outrebounded the Spurs in the playoffs, they suffered a 15-point loss to Oklahoma City in the conference finals. Of the 37 teams to go up 2-0 in the NBA Finals, 32 have gone on to lift the trophy, making for long odds for San Antonio as the series shifts to New York. -- Wright
Biggest takeaway from the Knicks' performance: Perhaps it was experience or urgency on display for the Knicks. They didn't wait for the Spurs to hit them first, although they had to weather a great storm.
They've become the third team to take the first two games of the Finals on the road, joining the 1993 Chicago Bulls and 1995 Houston Rockets, both of whom won titles.
Karl-Anthony Towns continued his career-best work, with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Mikal Bridges seemed to hit everything in sight. The Knicks forced turnovers, got lucky ones and didn't beat themselves -- an impressive showing in a situation where teams often fold after stealing a road Game 1. -- Goodwill
Game 2's biggest overreaction: This series is over.
The Knicks, somehow, have not lost in more than six weeks.
San Antonio is the third team in NBA history to lose the first two games of the NBA Finals at home -- joining the 1993 Phoenix Suns and the 1995 Orlando Magic.
The road teams in those two series, the Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets, went on to win titles. History alone tips things in New York's favor -- and that's before apparent injuries to Castle and De'Aaron Fox late in Game 2.
Despite all that, don't close the book on San Antonio just yet. The West champs had chances to win both games in this series, and the Knicks managed to sneak away with victories in the closing moments. The Spurs proved they can win big road games in the last round against Oklahoma City.
Perhaps Wembanyama and the Spurs have a few more left. They'll need to win at least two games in the atmosphere waiting for them in Monday's Game 3 and Wednesday's Game 4: the first Finals games inside Madison Square Garden in 27 years. -- Bontemps
Stats to know (via ESPN Research):
Towns is the first Knicks player with a 20-point double-double in a road Finals game since 1973 (Dave DeBusschere).
Game 2 was the Knicks' eighth straight road playoff win, tied with the 2001 Los Angeles Lakers for the longest single-season road win streak in NBA playoff history.
Game 1: Knicks 105, Spurs 95
Biggest takeaway from the Spurs' performance: San Antonio released its grip on Finals opening night supremacy, falling for the first time in Game 1 after posting a 6-0 record all time in the first game of the final round. Spurs guards Stephon Castle, De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper struggled mightily against Jalen Brunson, who scored 19 of his game-high 30 points in the second half. San Antonio boasts arguably the league's most impactful defender in Wembanyama, but the visitors destroyed the Spurs in the paint, outscoring the home team 50-42 in that area. -- Wright
Biggest takeaway from the Knicks' performance: This team didn't appear to be awed by the atmosphere, nor the specter of Wembanyama. Though New York led for only 19 minutes, 31 seconds of game time, Brunson's takeover in the fourth quarter was a winning formula. He took 30 shots in total for 30 points, with nine attempts in the fourth. Once New York shut down the Spurs' 3-point shooting, it seemed like just a matter of time before the Knicks would take firm control and establish themselves in the series. A familiar formula: Karl-Anthony Towns early, Brunson late. -- Goodwill
Game 1's biggest overreaction: The Knicks are now the favorites.
Yes, the Knicks have taken home court from San Antonio, and Wembanyama certainly looked like his energy was still sapped from the grueling seven-game slugfest with the Thunder. But Brunson -- though he made some remarkable shots -- was extremely inefficient. San Antonio left a lot on the table, and we have already seen the Spurs win two games in Oklahoma City.
What isn't an overreaction, though? This series is going six games -- at least.
The verdict: Overreaction. -- Bontemps
Stats to know:
Brunson had his 38th 25-point playoff game with the Knicks -- the second most in franchise history, behind only Patrick Ewing (43). The Knicks are 6-0 this postseason when Brunson scores 30-plus points.
Josh Hart is now the second player with 15 rebounds, five assists and four steals in a Finals game, joining Larry Bird, who did it in Game 3 of the 1986 Finals against the Rockets. Hart's 15 boards are the most in a Finals game by a player 6-foot-5 or shorter since the Lakers' Elgin Baylor grabbed 20 in Game 1 of the 1970 Finals against the Knicks.
The Knicks have now won seven road games by double-digits this postseason, the most by any team in a single postseason in NBA history (surpassing the 2013 Heat).
This was the Knicks' seventh double-digit comeback in the second half over the past two postseasons, by far the most in the NBA. No other team has more than three over that span. -- ESPN Research
