A thrilling NBA Finals series resumes with the New York Knicks hosting San Antonio for Thursday’s (AEST) Game 4 as debate and concern over fan chaos continues amid the city’s push for a first championship in 53 years.
With their 13-game playoff win streak snapped, the Knicks know they need to be aggressive early in Thursday’s fourth game of the series after slow starts.
“In every game we’ve played in the Finals, we’ve put ourselves in a position where we have to start fighting immediately,” Knicks star big man Karl-Anthony Towns said.
“Every time we find a way to get back into the game, but we can’t trust that’s going to happen every single time. The Spurs have done a great job starting in the game, dictating the pace.
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“We have to try to be the first ones to throw the first punch.” San Antonio’s 115-111 victory in game three on Monday lifted the Spurs within 2-1 in the best-of-seven series with crucial game four in New York.
“Our attention to detail needs to be better,” Knicks scoring leader Jalen Brunson said.
“We need to be ready to go. Very vague thing to say. I think it’s very simple as well. Just need to be ready.” Having lost for the first time in more than a month, the Knicks must continue to learn, Brunson said.
“Win, we learn. Lose, we learn. We understand what we have to do to be better -- giving our team a chance to have the ball and not turn it over. Stop fouling. Just attention to detail, continue to be who we are.” Towns, who has yet to score in the fourth quarter in the Finals, said passing and fundamentals must improve.
“We’ve got to pick up the ball movement, for sure,” he said. “We’ll get back to fundamentals, what makes us great.
“We’ve played defense at a high level. The details that made us special, we were too relaxed in them and we didn’t execute them at the level.
“There’s a lot of things that we needed to do better for ourselves to give ourselves a chance to win and we just didn’t do.”
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Told about Knicks supporters attacking Spurs fans at viewing parties in New York, Towns had a message to calm the violence.
“The game is built off respect and passion. We want everyone to respect each other,” he said. “We want everyone to enjoy basketball at its purest state. It’s the NBA Finals. There’s no better place to watch basketball.
“Leave the physicality to everyone on the court.”
Knicks coach Mike Brown expects the body banging to start early on the court, meanwhile. “We have to up our level of physicality, especially at the start of the games, and try to maintain it throughout the course without fouling,” Brown said.
“We have a veteran group. Nobody is panicking or anything like that... We feel like we can play a lot better than what we did. We’re looking forward to going out on the floor and showing it.”
MSG WATCH PARTY CANCELLED OVER SECURITY STOUSH (via New York Post)
Meanwhile, Madison Square Garden cancelled a planned Knicks watch party outside the arena hours before the NBA Finals Game 4 — as venue owner James Dolan unloaded on Mayor Zohran Mamdani as a fake fan of the team.
Dolan made the shocking announcement ahead of the Knicks’ showdown with the San Antonio Spurs after MSG blasted city government for its decision to set up a security zone around the venue for the event.
“Our hope was that the mayor and the commissioner would change their minds and we’d put the screens up,” Dolan said on WFAN radio as he took shots at the democratic socialist mayor and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
“They clearly haven’t changed their minds, it’s almost 5 o’ clock so the screens are not going up.”
Dolan said both Mamdani and Tisch were not experienced enough to handle the major event, leading to the layers of security measures that would make harder to get into the arena than Area 51.
“They have never managed anything like this before and it’s like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches coming out the sides,” he said.
He questioned if Mamdani was a true supporter of the hometown basketball team.
“We’re seeing a lot of fear from the mayor’s office, a lot of anxiety,” Dolan told host Craig Carton. “They’re sitting there trying to say, ‘well, we’re big Knicks fans,’ but they’re not Knicks fans.”
President Donald Trump watches Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026, with Knicks owner James Dolan and Kai Trump. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
President Donald Trump watches Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, June 8, 2026, with Knicks owner James Dolan and Kai Trump. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)Source: AP
“He’s not a Knick fan,” he added in reference to Mamdani.
Garden officials and the city have battled all week over the security zone that stretches across several blocks near the arena dating back to Game 3 when President Trump attended the national event.
MSG has complained the city was downsizing the number of fans who can revel outside the venue by requiring it to be a ticketed event that would prevent spillover crowds like past celebrations.
Previous watch parties didn’t require tickets or security screenings.
The parties have been raucous during the Knicks’ magical playoff run, but at times some fans have turned unruly and even violent, leading to arrests.
— This story was originally published by New York Post.
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