New York holds a 2-0 advantage in the NBA Finals, yet the Knicks maintain they aren’t getting ahead of themselves.
San Antonio trails by two games, but the Spurs refuse to consider themselves finished.
This describes the current atmosphere surrounding the NBA Finals, with both squads taking Saturday as a rest day. Team workouts return Sunday before Game 3 takes place Monday evening at Madison Square Garden, where President Donald Trump will be among spectators paying close to $10,000 for seats positioned so far from the action that 7-foot-4 Spurs center Victor Wembanyama will appear small.
New York emphasizes they haven’t started celebrating. San Antonio stresses they haven’t given up hope.
“Every single day, we chip away and try to be the best that we can be. … Even with the series it is now, next game, mindset has to be 0-0 again,” said Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, who delivered clutch performances in both Game 1 and Game 2 victories that New York captured in San Antonio to gain commanding control of the championship series. “It’s just how it has to be. You can’t be comfortable. You can’t be satisfied with anything. Just got to continue to push forward.”
That approach has defined their recent play for six weeks.
New York has captured 13 straight contests, marking the second-longest single-season playoff streak in league history, trailing only Golden State’s 15-game run during the 2017 postseason. They could become the first franchise ever to sweep through the final three playoff rounds — conference semifinals, conference championship and NBA Finals — without a loss.
“One of the things that we preach is being present,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “In order to be present, you can’t think about the past, you can’t think about the future. For all of us as humans, that’s hard as heck to do. I constantly, boom, flick myself in the head, tell myself, ‘Be present, be present, be present.’ I obviously mention it to the group, too. With those guys being who they are, they’ve really embraced it, and they’re really trying to live it every single moment during this run.”
The team maintains composure even under championship pressure. Including the NBA Cup championship game, which doesn’t count toward official statistics, New York is 4-1 versus San Antonio this year. All four Knicks victories share one notable pattern: New York overcame double-digit deficits in every win.
— Cup championship in Las Vegas, San Antonio led by 11 points (and lost by 11).
— Regular-season matchup at Madison Square Garden, San Antonio led by 12 points (and lost by 25).
— Finals Game 1, San Antonio led by 14 points (and lost by 10).
— Finals Game 2, San Antonio led by 12 points (and lost by one).
“We just need to figure it out,” Wembanyama said. “We need to keep working on it.”
San Antonio’s lone victory against New York came during the regular season at home, where they won by two points after falling behind by 19 and never holding more than a six-point advantage.
Quite puzzling.
“It was going to take everything to win the series anyway,” Spurs guard Stephon Castle said. “Putting ourselves in this type of predicament is going to be tough, but I don’t think it’s anything we can’t handle.”
New York anticipates what awaits them Monday night.
Madison Square Garden will vibrate with intensity, as fans who invested significant money to witness basketball likely won’t remain silent in their seats. The city’s excitement will reach extraordinary levels, with a 53-year championship drought now just two victories from ending and betting odds — showing New York at -550 to capture the title — essentially declaring victory inevitable. San Antonio will emerge ready to deliver whatever fight remains in them.
“Knowing them, there’s going to be another level,” Brunson said. “We have to be prepared and be ready to match it and play for 48 minutes. No matter what goes on in the game, we have to have each other’s back, what’s going on, who is on a run, what’s not, who is up, who is down, making sure we are playing together for 48 minutes is really important.”
Should New York need a warning from history, they can examine Mikal Bridges’ experience. He played for Phoenix when the Suns grabbed a 2-0 advantage in the 2021 championship series against Milwaukee. The Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo claimed that series in six games. While circumstances differ now — those Phoenix victories came at home, not away — it demonstrates that two wins don’t guarantee success.
“It’s still 0-0 as far as we’re concerned,” Knicks forward Josh Hart said. “Being up 2-0 means really nothing. This (San Antonio) team is going to come out on Monday with an unbelievable amount of energy and desperation, and we’ve got to be better.”
