The New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs, 105-104, in Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals to take a 2-0 series lead.
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SAN ANTONIO — The Finals has been the least efficient series of these playoffs, with the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs having combined to score just 103.5 points per 100 possessions through the first two games.
And because they’ve been just a little more efficient than the Spurs, the Knicks are heading back to New York with a 2-0 series lead. Game 2 on Friday (105 points on 97 possessions) was their fourth worst offensive game of the postseason, but also the Spurs’ third worst defensive game of the 11 they’ve played at home.
What’s amazing is that the Knicks are up 2-0 with Jalen Brunson having shot 19-for-56 (34%), with only nine free throw attempts in the series. Those would be both his lowest field goal percentage and his lowest free throw rate in the 15 playoff series he’s played in.
Brunson missed a couple of open looks on Friday, but he’s had the lowest shot quality among the 13 players who’ve attempted at least 10 shots in the series. He’s been the focus of the Spurs’ defense and he’s mostly had to work hard just to get tough shots.
That’s worked out well for San Antonio in regard to his inefficiency, but the focus on Brunson has created opportunities for his teammates, and they’ve stepped up and made big plays and big shots.
Here are some notes, numbers and film on how the Knicks’ got just enough offense against an elite defense (that made a few mistakes) in Game 2…
1. Blitzing Brunson
From the opening tip, it was clear that the Spurs were going to apply more ball pressure than they did in Game 1, while also defending Brunson more aggressively on ball screens. Here’s the first 10 seconds of the Knicks’ second possession of the game, with Stephen Castle in Brunson’s shirt 90 feet from the basket and Devin Vassell blitzing a ball-screen from OG Anunoby…
That possession resulted in a stop, but the Knicks moved the ball pretty well before Mikal Bridges missed a tough floater over Victor Wembanyama.
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. 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).
2. Double teams create more open shots
The Spurs didn’t just double Brunson on ball-screens. They sometimes sent a second defender in one-on-one situations.
Late in the second quarter, Vassell came with a double when Brunson was looking to run the clock down. Two passes later, Towns had a wide-open corner 3, because Wembanyama was concerned with another unguarded Knick (Shamet) in the paint…
Midway through the third quarter, Castle gambled with a blind double-team when Brunson was isolated against Julian Champagnie. But Brunson saw it and hit Shamet for a wide-open 3 from the left corner…
More aggressive defense can lead to more weak-side shots, and the Knicks are now 15-for-28 (54%) on corner 3-pointers in the series after averaging 4.0 makes per game through the first three rounds.
And while Brunson won Game 2 with a free throw and Wembanyama missed two mid-range jumpers in the final minute, the difference on Friday was 3-point shooting, with the Knicks outscoring the Spurs by 12 points (45-33) from beyond the arc. Both teams made six 3-pointers that weren’t wide open, but the Knicks were 9-for-19 (47%) on wide-open 3s, while the Spurs were 5-for-12.
3. The Knicks put Wembanyama in the action
According to tracking data, Wembanyama was the screener’s defender on 22 ball-screens or handoffs for Brunson, up from 12 in Game 1.
The Spurs will sometimes try to pre-switch those actions (sending another defender up to defend the screen), so that Wembanyama can remain near the basket. But the Knicks were often able to draw him out to the perimeter. And if he’s out on the perimeter, he’s not protecting the rim or in good rebounding position.
“That’s what everybody tries to do is pull Vic away from the basket,” De’Aaron Fox said after Game 2. “We have to figure that out, because that’s not something that we haven’t seen before. But obviously [the Knicks] and the way they shoot the ball, the way they move the ball, we have to figure out a way.”
Brunson, of course, doesn’t have to use the pick that’s being set for him. He’s an opportunistic rejector of screens, and he caught both Carter Bryant and Wembanyama on the high side when he rejected a Towns screen late in the second quarter…
The Spurs gave themselves a chance to win this game by doing a better job of defending the Brunson-Wembanyama actions in the fourth. But they still came up one possession short of tying the series.
The Knicks did a great job of executing against a more aggressive defense, but the Spurs had a lot of self-inflicted wounds in Game 2. Defensive breakdowns, missed free throws and a brutal turnover in the closing seconds.
The series is not over, but they’ll need to be sharper in Game 3 on Monday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
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John Schuhmann has covered the NBA for more than 20 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Bluesky.
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