With the score tied at 104 and seconds remaining, Wembanyama grabbed a rebound but passed the ball off a teammate's back, leading to the go-ahead free throw for New York.
Karl-Anthony Towns (21 points), Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Landry Shamet and Mitchell Robinson all made crucial contributions in the 105-104 win.
The get-in price for Game 3 at Madison Square Garden surged 119% in three days, surpassing recent Super Bowl day-of-game prices.
President Donald Trump, born in New York City, has announced plans to be in the crowd for at least one of the two home games.
The Knicks are only the third team to win the first two Finals games on the road; both previous teams (1993 Bulls, 1995 Rockets) won the title.
The Knicks led by 14 points in the fourth quarter before San Antonio roared back with a 14-0 run to tie the game. With 16 seconds left and the score level at 104, Jalen Brunson missed a two-point attempt. Wembanyama grabbed the rebound but threw the ball directly off the back of an unaware teammate, handing possession back to the Knicks. Brunson drew a foul and made one free throw. On the Spurs' final possession, Wembanyama's jumper missed the rim, sealing the New York win.
“I threw that away. I messed up. Am I going to regret it? Yes, of course. Am I going to use that to fuel me and to fuel us next game? Absolutely.”
New York's depth again proved decisive. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 21 points, Mikal Bridges hit three three-pointers in the second quarter as the Knicks erased a 12-point deficit, and OG Anunoby contributed a steal, an assist and a dunk during the fourth-quarter surge. Landry Shamet, picked up off waivers a year ago, added two more threes in the fourth. Mitchell Robinson defended Wembanyama on San Antonio's final two possessions, forcing misses on both jumpers.
“We won this game because we built a lead. We gave ourselves a chance to win this game, and we got it done.”
The French star finished with a game-high 29 points, including 22 in the second half, but his late error overshadowed the performance. He conceded afterward that he had struggled to recover emotionally from the high of the conference finals. In Game 1, Wembanyama had been approached by a spectator who ran onto the court filming himself on a phone.
Ahead of Game 3 on Monday at Madison Square Garden, the get-in price reached $9,095, a 119 percent increase over the previous three days, according to TicketData. Before the series began, the same ticket cost $3,789. The get-in price for Game 4 sat at $8,567, up 107 percent. By contrast, Game 2 tickets in San Antonio fell 42 percent to $657. If prices hold, Knicks home games will be more expensive than each of the past two Super Bowls, which had day-of-game get-in prices of $2,002 in 2025 and $3,251 this year.
Data from the article text
US President Donald Trump, a native New Yorker, has announced he will attend at least one of the two games at Madison Square Garden. Dutch outlet Telegraaf reported that significant security measures will be put in place if he follows through.
“That's how life goes.”
The Knicks are making their first Finals appearance in 27 years and are seeking the franchise's first NBA title since 1973. They are the third team in NBA history to win the first two games of a Finals on the road, joining the 1993 Chicago Bulls and the 1995 Houston Rockets — both of whom went on to win the championship. New York has not lost a playoff game in 43 days, dating to Game 3 of their first-round series against Atlanta.
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A misplaced pass by Victor Wembanyama in the dying seconds handed the New York Knicks a 105-104 win in San Antonio and a commanding 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals, sending the series to a frenzied Madison Square Garden where get-in prices have already passed $9,000.
AI text based on reports by The New York Times, DIE WELT, Telegraaf and other publishers. Published .