The San Antonio Spurs held on to take Game 3 of their NBA Finals clash against the New York Knicks, earning a hard-fought 115-111 victory to cut into their series deficit, 2-1. Victor Wembanyama will get most of the plaudits, and deservedly so after putting up 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three blocks, but it was a team effort that got the job done in the clutch.
With the Knicks trying to mount a last-ditch comeback, the Spurs hit one big shot after another to keep them at bay. Stephon Castle drilled a contested three with the shot clock winding down, and in the game's dying embers, De'Aaron Fox hit a huge midrange shot to just push the lead to a point where New York had to pull out some magic yet again to avoid seeing their 13-game winning streak come to an end.
At the end of the day, Fox, the former NBA Clutch Player of the Year, knows that the margins in the NBA Finals are so thin that one or two shots can make all the difference in the world between winning and losing.
“Making that shot, it’s a make or miss league a lot of times. A lot of times it’s get to your spot, and if you miss that shot, it is what it is. You try to make that shot more often than not, obviously, but it feels good to hit a big shot down the stretch,” Fox said in his postgame presser, via Spurs Nation on X (formerly Twitter).
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Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox, on his clutch shot with 12 seconds remaining to protect San Antonio’s lead: “Making that shot, it’s a make or miss league a lot of times. A lot of times it’s get to your spot, and if you miss that shot, it is what it is. You try to make that shot more… pic.twitter.com/H5YWagvjT3
— Spurs Nation (@Spurs_Nation) June 9, 2026
This was indeed the difference in Game 2; the Knicks made a huge shot from midrange to tie the game in the dying embers back on Friday, setting the stage for the disastrous final few possessions for the Spurs. On the contrary, Wembanyama missed a good look at the buzzer to win the game.
This time around, the ball fell through the net for the Spurs, and they're still alive in the NBA Finals as a result.
The San Antonio Spurs held on to take Game 3 of their NBA Finals clash against the New York Knicks, earning a hard-fought 115-111 victory to cut into their series deficit, 2-1. Victor Wembanyama will get most of the plaudits, and deservedly so after putting up 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three blocks, but it was a team effort that got the job done in the clutch.