Stephen A. Smith blames Jalen Brunson for Knicks’ Game 3 loss to Spurs originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
When it comes to the New York Knicks‘ 115-111 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals, ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith is pointing the finger at Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson.
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While reacting to the game, Smith blamed Brunson for the loss, saying that he felt like Brunson was playing for stats as opposed to trying to win.
Brunson finished the game with 32 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, but he took 25 shots top get there, while no one else on the Knicks took more than 13. In the series as a whole, Brunson is shooting 30 for 81 from the floor.
“Jalen Brunson, I gotta put this loss on him as much an anybody,” Smith said on First Take. ” … I said something about him last night that I never thought I would say. It looked like he was playing to win finals MVP than he was playing to win game 3. That’s how it looked.”
Simply put, Smith thinks that Brunson needs to be better moving forward if the Knicks are going to be able close out the series with the Spurs.
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Prior to Game 3 in the series, Brunson characterized his own play in the series as “subpar,” and said he felt like he could be better.
“Subpar,” Brunson said while describing his Finals performance . “When I say subpar, just from my standards. I still feel like I’m trying to impact the game as much as I can, but I also feel I can be much better.”
After his performance in Game 3, it’s clear that Smith would agree with that assessment.
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