Hold the Parade

"With the 5th pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the New York Giants select Arvell Reese, linebacker, Ohio State."  - April 23, 2026.

It's hard to believe that the last time the New York Knicks lost a playoff game, John Harbaugh and Joe Schoen were high-fiving each other because the player they had at the top of their board fell into their laps at five. That was six and a half weeks ago.

God when you say it like that, it almost seems surreal.

Through the first half of game three, things were going pretty much according to script. The Spurs jumped out to an early double-digit lead, only to have the Knicks either close the gap or take the lead outright. At halftime, New York led 64-57, outscoring San Antonio 42-24 in the second quarter on 73.7 percent shooting. It was the most points ever scored by a Knicks team in a quarter in a finals game. The Garden faithful had visions of a four-game sweep; some, I suppose, were even planning where they would camp out on the parade route. 

But then the script flipped in the second half. The Spurs, aided by what seemed like an avalanche of calls in their favor, went to the free throw line 24 times to the Knicks 8. That discrepancy allowed them to regain the lead by the end of the third quarter; a lead they would never relinquish. The final score was 115-111. 

So much for a sweep. We now have a series on our hands; one in which the Knicks are still the favorites, but barely. 

So how did the Spurs end the Knicks 13 game win streak?

It wasn't so much what the Spurs did but what the Knicks didn't do. I wrote after game two that to win this series, New York was going to have to do three things: 1. Stop falling behind; 2. Get Jalen Brunson off the ball; and 3. Run the offense through Karl-Anthony Towns. They were 0-3.

It's one thing to know you're capable of coming from behind - and, let's face it, over the last two postseasons, the Knicks have become experts at it - it's quite another to a make a habit out of it. Teams that trail that much end up expending far too much energy chasing the game. As anyone who's ever watched a basketball or hockey game will tell you, it's easier to play with the lead than it is to play from behind. The Knicks have got to stop making it hard on themselves.

It was obvious from the start of the finals that San Antonio was going to target Brunson. That isn't James Harden out there. The Spurs guards know how to defend, and they've been on Brunson like white on rice. But rather than give up the ball, Captain Clutch has been forcing up difficult shots, many of which have not gone in. For the series, Brunson is 30-81 (37%). He's averaging 27 shots per game. According to StatMuse, the Knicks were 33-8 during the regular season when Brunson took 20 shots or fewer per game. By going ISO as much as he has, Brunson has unintentionally made his team easier to guard. It's no coincidence that the Knicks only had 18 assists in the game. During the regular season, they were 43-11 when they had 25 or more assists. The low assist total might account for why Mikal Bridges only had two points, his lowest point total since game three of the Atlanta series. 

Over the first two games, Towns played an integral role in the Knicks offense. So effective was he in distributing the ball and driving to the net that he was looking like he might be finals MVP. Last night, he went 4-10 - 0-2 from three - for 11 points and had only 8 rebounds. Worse, he has not scored a single point in the fourth quarter in these finals. That is simply inexcusable. KAT owned Victor Wembanyama over the first two games. By not getting him the ball, Wemby went wild in game three, scoring a series high 32 points. The Knicks need to get back to what worked so well for them in the previous three rounds.

The good news? Even with the disparity on foul shots (84-61 in the series), the low assists total and Brunson's ball hogging, the Knicks lost by only four points. Overall, the shooting percentages of both teams were about equal. New York even had a slight edge in scoring in the paint and rebounds. In what was a must win for the Spurs, they hardly dominated.

The bad news? The Knicks may come away from this loss believing that all they have to do is tweak a few things and they'll be all right. That would be disastrous. What last night's loss revealed was that the Knicks have fallen back into some old habits; old habits that led to them trailing the Hawks 2-1 in the first round. They did not sweep the Sixers and the Cavs playing like this and they will most certainly not beat the Spurs playing this way. They need to snap out of it, and fast, or this series will be tied Wednesday night.

And if that happens, it is unlikely that the Spurs will lose three games in a row in their building. Meaning the Knicks could well be facing elimination in game six. If you think the mood at the Garden was sullen after last night's loss, just think what'll be like if the Knicks become the first team in NBA history to blow a finals after taking the first two games on the road.

That cannot be allowed to happen, and it won't happen as long as the proper adjustments are made. I said at the beginning of the series that the Knicks are the better team. I still believe that's true, but that presupposes that they play up to their potential. Apart from the second quarter, they did not do that last night. They must do it Wednesday night, and for a full 48 minutes.

There will be no excuses if they don't.