Time Is the Knicks' Sixth Man in the NBA Finals

Time Is the Knicks' Sixth Man in the NBA Finals

The New York Knicks lead the NBA Finals 2-0 heading into Game 3, and one factor working in their favor is depth and rest. The Knicks entered the series far more rested than San Antonio, and their rotation is broader. As one analysis put it, the Knicks are doing to San Antonio exactly what was done to them by Indiana in 2024: burying them in minutes until someone breaks. When New York faced Indiana that year, Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers in minutes played (235), yet Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo all eclipsed that mark for the Knicks.

In the last 10 games, the Knicks went 10-0, averaging 118.2 points while holding opponents to 100.5. The Spurs went 5-5 in that same stretch. Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points in Game 2 — and still lost 105-104.

Gobble's Take: The Knicks are winning with talent, depth, and time — and all three are working against San Antonio.

Sources: Yahoo Sports · Yahoo Sports

The Knicks Won Game 2 by One Point — and Now San Antonio Is Staring at Elimination

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 21 points, Victor Wembanyama answered with 29, and the Spurs still went home down 0-2 after a 105-104 loss on Saturday. Game 3 tips off Monday at 8:30 p.m. EDT in New York, where the Knicks are 30-10 at home this season and have held opponents to just 46.0% shooting.

San Antonio's road record — 30-12 — is genuinely impressive and shouldn't be dismissed. But the Spurs are walking into a building that has been waiting 52 years for a title, against a team that has won 10 straight and is allowing just 110.1 points per game on the season. Wembanyama is averaging 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 3.1 blocks in the series. The numbers are superstar-level. The series score is not.

Teams that fall behind 0-2 in the NBA Finals almost never come back. History doesn't care how good Wembanyama is — it just starts writing the other team's story.

Gobble's Take: The Spurs need a miracle in the building where miracles go to die for visiting teams.

Source: Yahoo Sports

Brunson Is Averaging 26 Points and 6.8 Assists in the Playoffs — and the Spurs Are Praying That's His Ceiling

The New York Post says Jalen Brunson hasn't hit his best level yet in the NBA Finals. Read that sentence again. The Knicks are up 2-0, one point away from blowing Game 2, and their engine is reportedly still warming up.

Brunson led New York with 21 points in Game 2, consistent with his playoff averages of 26 points and 6.8 assists. Mikal Bridges has been quietly reliable too, averaging 17.3 points over his last 10 games. The Knicks haven't needed a transcendent Brunson performance to go up two games — they've needed a good one, and they've gotten it. That's a deeply uncomfortable fact for San Antonio's coaching staff to sit with heading into Monday.

The Spurs have their own offensive weapons — Julian Champagnie is averaging 2.9 made threes over his last 10 games, and San Antonio averages 13.6 made threes per game this season. But the Knicks only surrender 13.9 per game, which means that particular edge barely exists. If Brunson does find another gear in Game 3, this series could be functionally over by Tuesday morning.

Gobble's Take: The scariest player in this series hasn't gone supernova yet, and the Spurs are running out of time to hope he doesn't.

Sources: New York Post · Yahoo Sports

Quick Hits

• Stewart argues, no one blinks; Clark breathes wrong, it's a headline: Breanna Stewart was caught in a heated sideline exchange with Liberty coach Sandy Brondello during a recent game — a moment that barely made the news cycle, reigniting debate about the uneven media scrutiny Caitlin Clark faces for similar moments. Yahoo Sports
• Aliyah Boston fined $500, WNBA declines to say why: The Indiana Fever forward was hit with a league fine following a recent game, with officials offering no public explanation for the infraction — a transparency gap that's getting louder as the Fever stay in the spotlight. Yahoo Sports

In Case You Missed It

Yesterday's top stories:

• Knicks 105, Spurs 104: comeback to savor, finish to forget
• Knicks up 2-0, and MSG tickets are already priced like the trophy is in the building
• The Knicks survived a vicious Spurs surge and are calling 2-0 "nothing"