Starting 5: As Finals return to MSG, Knicks staying present amid history

Brightest lights. Biggest stage.

The NBA Finals head to the World’s Most Famous Arena on Monday (8:30 ET, ABC), with the hosts up 2-0.

Today, go inside Media Day at MSG with live coverage starting at noon.

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5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀

June 7, 2026

Present, History: Knicks embody “one game at a time” mantra for historic run

Finals Film Study: Spurs’ attention on Brunson forcing Knicks to flex their depth

Road Warriors: San Antonio has found success on the road with its back against the wall

Return To MSG: Rewind to 1999 to see what it looked like the last time the Finals visited The Garden

Forever Finals: Revisiting Game 3 of 2023 and twin triple-doubles from Joker and Murray

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1. KNICKS STAYING PRESENT AS THEY MAKE HISTORY WITH 13-0 RUN

The 1993 Bulls. The 2001 Lakers. Steph and KD’s Warriors.

NBA history is rich with iconic Playoff runs that have turned whole franchise eras into the stuff of legend.

And in their first Finals appearance in 27 years, the Knicks have accomplished something that’s only been seen once amid all that history, placing them beside those legends.

• New York’s 13 straight Playoff wins – from Game 4 against Atlanta on April 23 through Friday’s Finals’ Game 2 – make up the 2nd-longest win streak in a single postseason in NBA history
• The only other team to achieve this has been the 2017 Warriors, who won 15 straight to claim their second of three titles in a four season span – one of the NBA’s all-time great franchise runs
• Road Run: New York’s streak includes eight straight Playoff wins on the road, tying the all-time record set by the 2001 Lakers, who rode their streak all the way to a championship-clinching Game 5 win in Philadelphia
• The Knicks’ latest victories in the streak made them the third team ever to win the first two Finals games on the road, joining the 1993 Bulls and 1995 Rockets – both champions

So how is New York sustaining this historic run?

• There’s Jalen Brunson’s elite clutch play, leading this postseason with 9.3 ppg in 4th quarters, along with the 2nd-most total clutch points (26)
• There’s the +273 point differential, a record-high for any 13-game postseason stretch
• There’s the inspired play of Karl-Anthony Towns, who’s seen a double-digit improvement in his DefRtg (99.1) since the regular season, and joins Wemby as the only players averaging a double-double in these Finals (19.5 pts, 12.5 reb)
• And there’s a display of depth, with OG Anunoby (19.3 ppg), Mikal Bridges (14.6 ppg) and Josh Hart (10.2 ppg) rounding out the highest-scoring starting five of this postseason (87.3 ppg)

But behind all the red-hot numbers is a unified mindset; a team embodying the “one game at a time” mentality, to a rare degree.

“One of the things we preach is being present,” coach Mike Brown said Friday … That’s hard as heck to do … They’ve really embraced it and they’re really trying to live it every single moment during this run.”

• “To us, it’s just 1-0 … Now it’s 0-0. I don’t understand none of that 13-0 [talk]. Just keep it: one game at a time,” Bridges said Friday
• Ernie Johnson on Inside The NBA replied: “That’s 1-0 thirteen times.”
• “Next game, mindset has to be 0-0 again,” Brunson said. “It’s just how it has to be. You can’t be comfortable. You can’t be satisfied with anything.”

The Knicks look to go 1-0 for the third time in this series Monday (8:30 ET, ABC) as they bring the Finals back to New York for Games 3 and 4.

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2. FINALS FILM STUDY: DOUBLED BRUNSON SETS UP TEAM’S SUCCESS

You might have seen this clip of the Knicks’ ball movement in Game 1, going viral among basketball circles.

Now, let NBA.com’s John Schuhmann bring you inside the game tape from Friday in his latest installment of Finals Film Study.

Leading today’s edition?

How, with a heightened Spurs defense holding Jalen Brunson to 7-of-25 shooting in Game 2, the Knicks flexed their depth once again.

For a sixth time in their 13-game Playoff win streak, a player other than Brunson (Karl-Anthony Towns, 21 pts) led the team in scoring.

How did New York exploit the extra attention on Brunson? Take it from Schuhmann:

Blitzing Brunson: … The Spurs believe they can rotate out of those two-on-the-ball situations, and no defender can recover better than the Defensive Player of the Year [Victor Wembanyama].

But the ball can move quicker than bodies, and the Knicks often found good shots when Brunson got rid of it quickly.

Early in the fourth quarter, Wembanyama blitzed a Karl-Anthony Towns ball-screen for Brunson and three passes later, Landry Shamet got a catch-and-shoot 3 from the left corner.

Dylan Harper almost got there, but that was a quick-release pass from Josh Hart (who caught the ball with 4.6 seconds on the shot clock) and a quick-release shot from Shamet (who let go of it with 3.5 on the clock).” | Read More

• Share To Score: New York leads this postseason as a team in assists per game, averaging 26.4
• Plenty Of Passers: The Knicks have seven players ranking inside the top-100 this postseason in assists per game. Only two teams have more than seven (OKC: 8, MIN: 10)

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3. ROAD WARRIORS: SPURS LOOK TO CALL ON RECENT SUCCESSES AWAY FROM HOME

Down in the series.

Now out on the road.

After dropping the first two games of these Finals, Victor Wembanyama spoke about the agony of losing Game 2, fresh off a turnover in the game’s final seconds.

“Am I gonna regret it? Yes of course,” Wemby said. “Am I going to use that to fuel me and to fuel us next game? Absolutely.”

So far in this postseason, that ability for Wemby and the Spurs to fuel a response has been one of their biggest strengths, and they’ll look to tap into that again in Game 3.

• Road Warriors: The Spurs won their first three road games this postseason and enter Game 3 6-2 away from home, compared to a 6-5 mark at Frost Bank Center
• Coming Up Big: San Antonio was able to win a pivotal game on the road in each of its first three series this postseason, restoring homecourt advantage against Portland, closing out Minnesota and, most critically, taking Game 7 in OKC
• All together, the 2025-26 Spurs have a 35-15 road record across the regular-season and Playoffs, good for a .700 win percentage, 2nd-best this year
• Spurs’ guards Stephon Castle (16.6/22.5 ppg), De’Aaron Fox (13.8/19.5 ppg) and Dylan Harper’s (12.1/14.8 ppg) home/road splits all show a boost in road scoring this postseason

Win or lose, San Antonio’s final road stop of the season is Madison Square Garden, an arena famed for bringing out the best in the game’s brightest stars. And Wemby has been no exception.

• Garden Invasion: In three career games at MSG, Wemby averages 27.0 ppg, 13.3 rpg, and 3.0 blk, following his 42-point, 18-rebound extravaganza on Christmas Day 2024, and a 25-point outing this season
• Final Step: Despite that strong play, Wemby’s Spurs are still looking for his first career win at The Garden
• “We Want Wemby”: Wembanyama’s strong postseason play has held the attention of Knicks fans all month, calling out his name earlier in New York’s historic win streak. Monday, they get their wish

Similar to their road success, the Spurs have gotten the job done when trailing in series this postseason as well, to a 3-1 mark.

• Answering: San Antonio answered back after Minnesota took Game 1 in Texas, and twice leveled things against OKC in the West Finals (Games 4 & 6)
• The Spurs’ lone loss while down in a series in these Playoffs was Friday’s Game 2
• Turn To Wemby: Across the four games where the Spurs have trailed in series this postseason, Wemby has led the team in ppg (27.2) and rpg (10.5)
• “Just got to believe,” Dylan Harper said. “We kind of dug ourselves in a hole and I think as a collective we all feel like we could dig ourselves back out.”

But closing out games has become a challenge for San Antonio in the Finals, having led both games in the final 2 minutes before eventually falling.

• Halftime Tell: The Spurs were 48-10 in the regular-season, and are 9-1 in these Playoffs, when leading at halftime – as they did in Game 1, but lost
• Comeback Fourths: San Antonio has 11 wins between the regular and postseason where they trailed entering the 4th quarter (4th most in the league) – as they did in Game 2, and lost
• “That’s the most frustrating thing,” Wemby said, “to throw it away after putting in all this work.”

San Antonio will attempt to answer in Game 3 Monday (8:30 ET, ABC).

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4. THE FINALS RETURNS TO MSG FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1999

Monday night (8:30 ET, ABC), the World’s Most Famous Arena will host the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years.

A lot has changed in the game since then, except the matchup. This time, the Knicks lead the Spurs 2-0 (not the other way around), as the series heads to one of the most iconic venues in sports.

Another constant: The Garden’s knack for elevating the play of even the game’s brightest stars. It held true back then for Tim Duncan, David Robinson and a star-studded Knicks roster.

Look back at the theatrics from the last time the Finals took center stage at The Garden, ahead of this week’s raucous return.

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5. FOREVER FINALS: DENVER’S DUAL TRIPLE-DOUBLES FOR GAME 3

32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists for Nikola Jokić.

34 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for Jamal Murray.

All in the same game, which just happened to be during the NBA Finals.

With Game 3 looming for the Spurs and Knicks Monday (8:30 ET, ABC), The Starting 5’s ‘Forever Finals’ series looks back at Game 3 of the 2023 Finals, and Denver’s historic dual triple-doubles.

• Playoff First: Murray’s, which he achieved on his 10th rebound with just 9 seconds remaining, was his second career triple-double, and first in the postseason
• Finals First: With his second triple-double of the series, Jokić became the first-ever player in NBA Finals history to record a 30+ point, 20+ rebound, 10+ assist statline
• NBA First: This was the first time two teammates ever logged 30+ point triple-doubles in the same game, across the Playoffs and regular season
• Jokić holds half of all 30/20/10 Playoff games in NBA history, with Giannis (30/20/13) adding one in 2025, and Kareem (38/23/11, 1970) and Wilt (37/27/11, 1967) originating the feat
• Do-It-All Duo: Denver won this Game 3 in Miami, 109-94, with Joker and Murray alone combining to match the Heat in assists (20), and coming close in combined rebounds (31-33)

The pair played with extra fire following Game 2’s 111-108 loss at home, in which the Heat stormed back from a 15-point deficit and Murray’s attempt to tie it in the final seconds rimmed out.

“The last shot felt good,” Murray said of Game 2 … “I felt like I could have done a lot more.”

Murray proved he could in Game 3, the first of three straight wins for the Nuggets to close out the series and clinch their first NBA championship.

“By far, their greatest performance as a duo in their seven years together,” then-Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.

Joker, in classic fashion, didn’t have time in the moment to consider such context.

“We’re just trying to win a game right now. We can think about that later.”

Only one triple-double has been logged in the sixteen Finals games since, belonging to Luka Dončić (32/11/11) in 2024. Could 2026 have one in store?