The last time the NBA Finals came to Madison Square Garden, the Knicks lost to the Spurs in five games. That was 1999. Twenty-seven years later, San Antonio was back in New York, and this time they needed a win badly.
They got one, 115-111, behind another Wembanyama masterclass. The series is 2-1 Knicks, and the Spurs have some life. So do a lot of questions about how Game 3 was officiated.
NBA Finals Game 3 Refs Missed Calls and Controversial Decisions
GettyKnicks-Spurs Game 3 Officiating Sparks Serious Questions After New York’s Loss
The night started going sideways early. Midway through the first quarter, Wembanyama put both hands on Brunson’s head and shoved him hard to the floor. No foul was called, and Wembanyama was seen laughing about it.
Right after that, Kornet ran into Hart near the baseline, knocking him down. Hart shoved back and got a technical foul for it. The refs reviewed the play and determined Hart made illegal contact, with no call on Kornet for the initial collision that started it all.
Crew chief Marc Davis then announced the tech by calling him “Jason Hart,” which did not help matters.
In the second quarter, Stephon Castle barreled into Brunson while going for an offensive rebound. Brunson hit the floor and grabbed his back. The refs reviewed it for a flagrant but brought it back down to a common foul, a decision that did not sit well with the MSG crowd.
Then in the third quarter, Brunson was assessed a flagrant foul for not giving Julian Champagnie enough landing space on a jump shot. Two plays where Wembanyama and Castle put Brunson on the floor with no flagrant, and then Brunson picks one up for a landing space violation.
The most baffling sequence came with 5:26 left in the fourth. The Knicks were down six, Brunson inbounded the ball, and San Antonio had six men on the floor. The ball found a wide-open OG Anunoby, and the refs stopped play dead. No technical on the Spurs, just a reset. By rule, that is an automatic tech.
How Knicks Players and Coach Mike Brown Responded to the Officiating
GettyKnicks-Spurs Game 3 Refereeing Comes Under Fire After New York’s Defeat
Mike Brown opened his postgame press conference by giving the Spurs their credit. Then he got to the free throws. San Antonio shot 25-for-32 from the line for the game, New York went 18-for-22, and in the second half alone the gap was 24 attempts for the Spurs against just eight for the Knicks.
Brown said he does not complain much about officials, but a number like that in an NBA Finals game was something he had never seen before. He made clear that if it looked anything like that in Game 4, New York’s chances would take a serious hit.
Karl-Anthony Towns went the other way. He did not want to talk about the refs at all, pointing instead to the things the Knicks got wrong themselves and saying the game was there for them to win.
The series is 2-1, Game 4 is at MSG, and Brown is likely looking at a fine. But the free throw gap and those specific calls are not going away quietly before tip-off.
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