In full control of the NBA Finals, the New York Knicks now sit one win away from their first championship in 53 years.
The Knicks erased a 29-point San Antonio Spurs lead in Game 4 on Wednesday to take a commanding 3-1 series lead — perhaps not a coach’s ideal way to win a game, but at this point in the season, it certainly does the trick.
There have been some inconsistencies in the Spurs’ play that the Knicks have capitalized on, and it helps that New York is clicking in more ways than one.
Here are four reasons why the Knicks lead the Finals:
Spurs’ second-half struggles
If you look at the Spurs’ numbers in the first half during this series, you’d think this team is having the performance of a lifetime.
Through Games 1-4 in the first half, the Spurs lead the Knicks in practically all major categories. They are averaging 60 points while shooting 48.9 per cent from the field and 42.2 per cent from three. Additionally, they are dishing out 14.5 assists and only coughing up five turnovers per first half.
These are top-notch numbers, but they all take a nosedive once the second half begins. For some reason, that half-time break has continued to derail San Antonio’s momentum throughout the finals.
In the second half, the Spurs just struggle to put points on the board. They average 45 points as a team on abysmal 36-per-cent shooting from the field and 24.2 per cent from deep. Their assist numbers also plummet as they average eight while coughing up 7.3 turnovers.
The Spurs’ offensive capabilities simply go mute after the break, and the Knicks have done the opposite to secure themselves victories. New York averages 52.8 points in the final 24 minutes and splashes in 37.8 per cent of its three-point attempts.
The Knicks’ true-shooting percentage jumps to 53.4 per cent, and they boast a 17.4 net rating in the second half. Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby combine to average 28.8 points in the closing two quarters of Finals games.
Throughout the post-season, the Spurs had been one of the most dominant rebounding teams. They average the second-most overall boards (46.6) since the opening round, the most defensive rebounds (35) and the eighth most offensive rebounds (11.6).
Those numbers have not exactly translated well to the NBA Finals. The Knicks have outduelled the Spurs at what they’re best at, especially considering they have the seven-foot-four Victor Wembanyama. New York’s rebounding capabilities stem from Josh Hart holding down the fort up front.
The Knicks are averaging 44.5 overall rebounds to the Spurs’ 43.8, and 10 offensive boards to San Antonio’s 9.3. Those aren’t the biggest gaps, but just being able to lead in those categories is impressive.
New York has two of the top three rebounders in the finals. Karl-Anthony Towns leads with 10.8 boards per game, and Hart sits third with 9.5 per contest. Hart is just six-foot-five, but he also averages more defensive rebounds (8.3) than any other player through four games.
Look back to Hart’s iconic quote from 2023, when he told Mitchell Robinson, “You get regular rebounds, I get rebounds that break teams,” and that’s just what he does. In Game 1, Hart grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds (13 defensive, two offensive) and his tenacity helped guide the Knicks to a 105-95 victory.
No Spurs guard can match up with Brunson
The Spurs boast arguably the best guard depth in the NBA — the group of De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson is nothing to slouch at. However, none of those five have performed even close to Brunson’s level.
The Knicks captain has proved his value in the Finals, averaging 29.5 points, five assists, 4.5 rebounds and two steals through the first four games. He’s also shot an impressive 39.6 per cent from the field and 34.5 per cent from three.
Castle is the highest-scoring Spurs guard, and he’s averaging 12.7 fewer points than Brunson. Behind him, Harper is putting up 16.3 per game, Fox has 14.3, Vassell has 13, and Johnson is managing just 3.8 points per game.
One of these five has typically been tasked with guarding Brunson, and clearly, they haven’t acquitted very well. What makes it much worse is that Brunson himself isn’t an elite defender, but he’s made it difficult enough on his opponents that they haven’t matched his impact.
The Spurs guards have additionally been unable to consistently knock down their threes. They are shooting just 34.1 per cent from deep overall, but a brutal 22.5 per cent in the second half.
Fox is shooting 30 per cent from deep in the Finals, while Harper and Johnson are both under 25 per cent. If none of the Spurs guards can slow down Brunson’s offence, they need to find a way to get closer to matching his scoring output.
Towns limiting Wembanyama’s impact
Towns hasn’t been a complete Wembanyama stopper through the first four games, but he’s done a hell of a job.
Wembanyama is averaging 27.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 3.3 blocks — impressive stats, but it was expected that he’d be even better. He’s also shooting 43.5 per cent from the field and 29.6 per cent from three.
Towns was a big reason the Knicks raced to a 2-0 lead, as Wembanyama managed just 20 points on seven-of-19 shooting with seven turnovers with Towns as his primary defender in those games.
He also outworked Wembanyama with his offence and made the Defensive Player of the Year look bad on his best side of the court. Towns had 16 points on seven-of-12 shooting while dishing out three assists and turning the ball over just twice. He also splashed in 50 per cent of his threes, all with Wembanyama as his primary defender.
Wembanyama did bounce back in the Spurs’ Game 3 win and was the best player on the court. However, Game 4 was just more of the same with Towns locking down the phenom.
The Frenchman had 24 points in Game 4 on nine-of-25 shooting from the field and two-of-eight from beyond the arc. It was the second time in the series that he was held under 30 per cent shooting from deep. Towns, on the other hand, had a very effective game, picking his moments to produce.
Towns put up 13 points and 10 rebounds in the Knicks’ 107-106 win while shooting four-of-five from the field and knocking down his one three-point attempt. His impact has also allowed him to boast the second-best defensive rating in the Finals (99.6).
