Dylan Backer
The New York Knicks finally saw their franchise record 13-game playoff win streak come to an end on Monday. In their first NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden since 1999, they fell short to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 of the NBA Finals 115-111, trimming the Knicks’ series lead to 2-1.
Knicks need to make adjustments for Game 4
The Knicks did not look like the same team that had won 13 straight games. They were flat on defense, stagnant on offense, and overall not prepared for a desperate Spurs team.
Bizarrely, the Knicks turned the ball over 13 times and recorded only 18 assists, which is their lowest mark of the postseason. Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby were able to make an impact offensively, but five turnovers from Brunson along with other unforced errors cost them a chance to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.
Even worse, Karl-Anthony Towns, who seemed to be on track to win Finals MVP, was taken out of the equation almost entirely in Game 3. He scored only 11 points on just 10 shot attempts, and went scoreless in the fourth quarter for the third consecutive game in these finals.
For the Knicks to bounce back in Game 4, they need to go back to what worked well for them, which was running the offense through Towns. When they trailed 2-1 to the Atlanta Hawks in round 1, they made the adjustment to run the offense through him, which then transformed their offense and sparked the winning streak.
Towns can give them success in Game 4
Head coach Mike Brown wasn’t happy with how the offense operated in Game 3, noting Towns’ lack of involvement.
“It was the way we played and the things we were doing offensively,” Brown said (h/t Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News). “We literally just stood and watched. There was literally no movement.”
The Knicks struggled to get into their halfcourt offensive sets against a stifling Spurs’ defense, and Towns couldn’t take advantage of mismatches being created for him. That needs to change in Game 4, and they need to play with the same level of desperation they did during the win streak.
Game 4 has now become a must-win for the Knicks. They have a golden opportunity to head into San Antonio this weekend with a 3-1 series lead, a deficit that has only been overcome one time in the long history of the Finals. New York cannot relinquish this opportunity.
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