The San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks are headed East on Monday night for the first NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden since 1999, with the Knicks holding a 2-0 series lead.
With that lead, the Knicks have put themselves in a prime position for a championship win. Teams that have taken a 2-0 lead hold a series record of 32-5 throughout NBA Finals history, and no team has ever gone on to win the NBA Finals after going down 0-2 at home. The Knicks have now won 13 consecutive playoff games for the second-longest postseason win streak in NBA history.
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Victor Wembanyama & Co. had both games in reach while starting the series out in San Antonio, holding double-digit leads in both Games 1 and 2 at various points before falling apart. The Spurs had Game 2 within reach, down a point as Wemby took the final shot of the game, but fell short, missing the 20-foot jumper. The Knicks won, 105-104.
Can the Spurs steal a game in front of MSG’s rocking crowd in Game 3? If so, they’ll do it in front of President Donald Trump, who will be in attendance Monday night as the first sitting U.S. president to ever attend an NBA Finals game.
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Start time: 8:30 p.m. ET
Location: Madison Square Garden | New York
TV channel: ABC
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for the latest as the San Antonio Spurs head to Madison Square Garden for Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Live37 updates
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 6:53 PM PDT
Just like they’ve done throughout the playoffs, the Knicks have punched back and will take a 67-54 lead into the break after trailing by 12 early. They ended the second quarter on a 10-2 run, and Josh Hart has gotten hot from deep, hitting 3 of 4 3s for 13 first-half points.
And he’s New York’s third-leading scorer. OG Anunoby has 17 points, and Jalen Brunson has 15.
Stephon Castle leads the Spurs with 18 points, and Victor Wembanyama has 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. But after taking control early, the Spurs have let the Knicks and the Madison Square Garden seize momentum.
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 6:49 PM PDT
Knicks fans are riled up. The ABC broadcast having a hard time masking the “F*** you Wemby” chants coming down from the stands.
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 6:46 PM PDT
Officials convened to consider calling this a flagrant foul on Stephon Castle after he barreled into Jalen Brunson as Brunson sought to draw a charge. They decided not to. Tensions are high, and so is the physicality as these teams face each other for a third time in this series.
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 6:44 PM PDT
Jalen Brunson hit a 3 to give the Knicks their first lead at 50-49 after trailing by 12 early. Victor Wembanyama answered 3 on the other end.
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 6:29 PM PDT
We’ve seen this script before. The Knicks are off to a 16-7 start in the second quarter and have cut an 11-point deficit to 40-38. Karl-Anthony Towns just bullied his way into the paint for a bucket, and OG Anunoby followed up with a transition 3 off a Spurs turnover.
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 6:16 PM PDT
The Spurs controlled the first quarter and go into the break in action with a 33-22 lead.
Victor Wembnyama has 9 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks and is doing most of his damage near the basket — as are his teammates.
It’s an ideal start for a Spurs team coming into the buzzsaw that is Madison Square Garden. Did the Knicks get caught up in the emotion of the Game 3 buzz?
The Knicks have seen this before, though, and rallied from a poor first quarter to beat the Spurs. How will they respond in the second?
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 6:10 PM PDT
Victor Wembanyma didn’t get a personal foul, much less a flagrant foul for this shove of Jalen Brunson to the floor.
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 6:08 PM PDT
Officials convened and did call a technical foul on Josh Hart for his retaliatory shove here of Luke Kornet.
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 6:05 PM PDT
The Spurs lead 24-17 at the second timeout late in the first quarter. There was pushing and shoving under the Knicks basket at the latest break, and officials had to intervene to break things up.
Earlier, Victor Wembanyama got away with a shove of Jalen Brunson that could have picked up a flagrant foul, but didn’t draw a whistle. There are no technical fouls yet, but it feels like some are coming.
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 5:52 PM PDT
A great start for the Spurs. San Antonio has an 11-5 lead early, and MIkal Bridges went to the bench with his second foul with 8:52 remaining in. the first quarter.
Victor Wembanyama has three early buckets at the rim.
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 5:48 PM PDT
Enough of that. Let’s play ball. Game 3 of the NBA Finals is underway, and the Spurs are on the board first with a Victor Wembanyama dunk.
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 5:44 PM PDT
The ABC broadcast cut to a shot of President Donald Trump during the pregame rendition of the national anthem.
A president at the depths of his popularity whose presence caused Knicks fans to wait outside Madison Square Garden for hours was roundly booed when his face showed up on the big screen.
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 5:27 PM PDT
And here’s the greeting for the San Antonio Spurs.
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 5:24 PM PDT
The Knicks took the floor for their final warmups in front of a frothy packed house at MSG:
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 5:20 PM PDT
Fans in large part appear to have listened to the security warnings and have packed their seats ahead of tip-off. Madison Square Garden is rocking as game time looms.
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 5:15 PM PDT
NBA commissioner Adam Silver told “Inside the NBA” during the pregame show on ESPN that he found out about President Donald Trump’s planned appearance at Game 3 after Knicks owner James Dolan invited him.
“I found out because Jim Dolan invited him to the game, and he said yes,” Silver told Ernie Johnson. “He’s welcome to be here. I think what makes sports so special, especially when there’s so much that divides people, is it’s something that we have in common. And we should look for those things that we have in common and build off that.”
Silver, sitting on the show’s pregame set at midcourt, noted that fans were filling in their seats despite the extra security measures Monday.
“Yes, there’s some inconvenience to the fans here. But one, looking around at the arena, it’s packed. So people listened, they came early, they got through whatever extra security, which is necessary. Like I said, we should be using sports to create more of a sense of a community, not less.”
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 5:15 PM PDT
Kate Magdziuk
It’s almost time — get those TVs set!
Game 3 of the NBA Finals tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET, as the New York Knicks host the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden, airing live on ABC.
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 5:00 PM PDT
Dan Devine
“The statistics right now,” rap legend/podcast host/quantitative analyst Fat Joe tells me, “are saying this is the greatest New York team ever.”
You’ve likely seen the numbers by now, but they bear repeating.
They’ve won those games by a combined 273 points — the highest plus-minus in any 13-game stretch in playoff history, and just behind the 1970 Bucks (+279) for the most lopsided 13-game stretch of all time.
They own the postseason’s No. 1 offense and defense, and their net rating — +18.1 points per 100 possessions — is on pace to blow away every team in the play-by-play era, which stretches back to the 1996-97 season, with only the Shaq-Kobe 2001 Lakers (+13.4) and the Year 1 Durant-era Warriors (+12.9) even coming within spitting distance.
You’ve got to admit: Those are some pretty compelling numbers.
So … is this the greatest Knicks team ever?
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 4:55 PM PDT
The Madison Square Garden boo birds are warming up. Victor Wembanyama got a hefty dose as he ran onto the court for warmups.
Mon, June 8, 2026 at 4:49 PM PDT
President Donald Trump’s motorcade has arrived, and fans are reportedly starting to fill the concourses at Madison Square Garden.