The New York Knicks head into Game 3 of the NBA Finals with a commanding 2-0 series lead over the San Antonio Spurs, but both teams insist the championship battle remains far from over.<\/p>\n
The Finals shift to Madison Square Garden on Monday night, where a packed crowd and the presence of U.S. President Donald Trump are expected to add to the atmosphere as New York seeks to move within one victory of its first NBA title in 53 years.<\/p>\n
Despite winning the opening two games in San Antonio, the Knicks have downplayed suggestions that the series is already decided.<\/p>\n
Star guard Jalen Brunson, who delivered decisive performances in both victories, said the team remains focused on treating each game as a fresh challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cNext game, mindset has to be 0-0 again,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cYou can\u2019t be comfortable. You can\u2019t be satisfied with anything. Just got to continue to push forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
New York enters Game 3 riding a 13-game playoff winning streak, the second-longest single-season postseason run in NBA history. The Knicks are also on the verge of becoming the first team to navigate the conference semifinals, conference finals and NBA Finals without suffering a defeat.<\/p>\n
Head coach Mike Brown credited the team\u2019s ability to stay focused on the present rather than looking ahead.<\/p>\n
The Knicks have repeatedly shown resilience throughout the season. In four victories over the Spurs this year, including the NBA Finals and NBA Cup final, New York erased double-digit deficits before securing wins.<\/p>\n
For San Antonio, the challenge now is avoiding a near-insurmountable 3-0 series deficit.<\/p>\n
Spurs star Victor Wembanyama acknowledged the team must find answers after narrowly losing Game 2 despite leading by double digits during the contest.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just need to figure it out,\u201d Wembanyama said. \u201cWe need to keep working on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guard Stephon Castle said the Spurs remain confident they can recover despite the difficult position.<\/p>\n
\u201cPutting ourselves in this type of predicament is going to be tough, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s anything we can\u2019t handle,\u201d Castle said.<\/p>\n
The return to New York is expected to create one of the most electric atmospheres in recent NBA history. Fans are paying thousands of dollars for tickets as anticipation grows over the possibility of ending the franchise\u2019s decades-long championship drought.<\/p>\n
However, Knicks players are drawing lessons from previous Finals comebacks. Forward Mikal Bridges experienced a similar situation in 2021 when his Phoenix Suns took a 2-0 lead before losing the championship series to the Milwaukee Bucks.<\/p>\n
Teammate Josh Hart echoed that caution.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing up 2-0 means really nothing,\u201d Hart said. \u201cThis team is going to come out on Monday with an unbelievable amount of energy and desperation, and we\u2019ve got to be better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Game 3 tips off Monday night at Madison Square Garden with the Knicks aiming to tighten their grip on the championship and the Spurs fighting to keep their title hopes alive.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The New York Knicks head into Game 3 of the NBA Finals with a commanding 2-0 series lead over the San Antonio Spurs, but both teams insist the championship battle remains far from over. The Finals shift to Madison Square Garden on Monday night, where a packed crowd and the presence of U.S. President Donald<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15468,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_1160854738579181570_1160854738579181570":"","facebook_3558452337540614_100649324928663":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,239],"tags":[3200,970,3197,3199,3194,3195,3196,1167,3198],"class_list":["post-15467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","category-usa-canada","tag-basketball","tag-donald-trump","tag-jalen-brunson","tag-madison-square-garden","tag-nba-finals","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-san-antonio-spurs","tag-sports-news","tag-victor-wembanyama"],"yoast_head":"\n