Spurs, Knicks battle in crucial Game 4 with Finals history on the line

Madison Square Garden had the weight of a possible turning point as the Spurs and Knicks met in Game 4 of the 2026 NBA Finals, with New York carrying a 2-1 lead and San Antonio trying to drag the series back to level. Tipoff was set for 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC, and the pressure point was obvious from the start: whether the Knicks could reassert control after dropping Game 3, or whether the Spurs could force the Finals into a different shape.

The historical stakes were steep. Teams that win the first two games of the Finals have gone on to win the series 86.5% of the time, and the Knicks had joined rare company by taking the first two games on the road, becoming only the third team in Finals history to do it. New York had also seen its 13-game playoff winning streak, which had matched the Spurs’ 1999 run for the second-longest in NBA history, end in Game 3. Only the 2017 Warriors’ 15-game streak stands above that mark.

San Antonio entered with Victor Wembanyama as the central force. The 2025-26 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, the youngest and first unanimous winner in league history, had averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.08 blocks during the regular season as the Spurs finished 62-20 and returned to the postseason for the first time since 2019. In Game 3, he delivered 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists as De’Aaron Fox closed the comeback with the late jumper that gave San Antonio its first Finals win of the series.

Game 4 quickly tilted toward the visitors. ESPN’s live scoreboard showed the Spurs ahead 76-49 at halftime after a 41-22 opening quarter and a 35-27 second period, a start that reflected San Antonio’s pace and shotmaking more than New York’s preferred rhythm. ESPN’s live feed singled out Carter Bryant’s alley-oop jam, Fox’s step-back three and a Karl-Anthony Towns finish through contact, all signs that the Spurs were dictating the terms early.

The injury report offered little relief for New York, listing no Knicks injuries, while Spurs guard David Jones Garcia was noted with an ankle issue. The scene at the Garden had its own intensity, with celebrity fans including Timothée Chalamet, Spike Lee, Tracy Morgan and Ben Stiller in attendance. For San Antonio, the mission was clear: become the eighth team in NBA history to erase an 0-2 Finals deficit and force the series back into a dead heat.