Knicks Beat Spurs & NBA Refs. NY 105 San Antonio 104

June 6, 2026 LouV 2025-26 0
KAT Dominated Wemby all night with inside drives. Photo courtesy NY Knicks.

Victor Wembanyama — guarded tightly by Mitchell Robinson — missed a last-second, 20-foot jumper and the Knicks had a thrilling 105-104 win over the Spurs in San Antonio on a Friday night, taking a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

Robinson had defended Wemby tightly and caused a miss on a 20-foot jumper on the prior possession, and sandwiching that, Jalen Brunson hit a Clutch shot to tie the game, then hit 1 of 2 free throws after intercepting a bad Wemby pass to put NY ahead 105-104.

The Knicks overcame the Spurs and the NBA refs — who seemed intent on making this a series by blatantly giving San Antonio a massive edge in foul calling that became the talk of twitter (X) — not just by Knick fans but by independent media and fans of other teams (see Etcetera section below). The discrepancy came from what they didn’t call — Brunson was being Mauled all night by the Spurs with no calls, while Wemby and the Spurs were getting calls on slight contact.

The Knicks trailed by 14 pts early in the 2nd quarter before taking command of the game. NY led by 4 at the half, by 9 pts after 3 quarters, and by 14 pts with 6:23 left in the game when a 14-0 San Antonio run tied it with 2:59 left.

NY regained composure only by challenging an NBA ref no-call on an OG Anunoby 3 that he was clearly hacked on. OG hit all 3 free throws to end the Spurs’ run but a minute later Wemby hit a drive-and-1 to give the Spurs a 104-102 lead with 57 seconds left.

That’s when Brunson made his clutch game-tying step-back to tie it, Mitch defended Wemby into a miss, then Brunson missed a floater but Wemby rebounded and threw an upcourt pass to an unsuspecting Stephon Castle, hitting him in the back with Brunson picking up the loose ball and getting fouled with 9.5 seconds left.

The Brunson and OG free throws were the only ones the Knicks got in the 2nd half, in a game that was massively physical. Brunson would shoot 7-25 on the night (2-8 from 3) — although he hit the Huge shot to tie the game and the free throw to win it.

“I wouldn’t be right if I didn’t talk about Mitch,” said Knick coach Mike Brown to begin his post-game press conference. “Wemby is — I said it before — he’s iconic. There’s nobody like him. He can score from all 3 levels. He wants the ball. And 2 big possessions at the end of the game, we put Mitch on him. And what I’m proud about more than anything else is, Mitch defended him the right away.”

“Wemby’s iconic,” continued Brown. “If he makes the shot, he makes the shot. You’re not blocking his shot, but you make him work. You lead with your chest; you show with your hands, and you embrace those details while trying to guard him, and then box out. It started with Mitch and it ended with the other 4 guys boxing out. So just a heck of a job by Mitch guarding the most iconic player in the world on 2 possessions to possibly win the game. Phenomenal.”

1. 50 Percent Knick Fans in Attendance in San Antonio

Knick fans showed out in San Antonio — people in attendance tweeted that 50 percent of the arena were Knick fans, and showed videos to prove it. This wasn’t heard on the national broadcast which dimmed out the fan noise.

2. Spurs Go on Run Late in 1st to Take 9-Pt Lead

The two teams sparred early. Dylan Harper, Julian Champagnie, and Stephon Castle were getting buckets for the Spurs, while KAT started to take it to Wemby. A KAT 3 and a KAT drive inside pulled NY within 20-18.

De’Aaron Fox came out intent to make up for his poor shooting in game 1 — attacking the basket and hitting a 3 late in the 1st to give San Antonio a 27-19 lead.

Mitch Defeats Hack-a-Mitch

San Antonio went to hack-a-Mitch with 2:56 left in the 1st. He missed both free throws. The Spurs purposely fouled him again next time down, and this time Mitch hit both free throws to pull NY within 27-21.

De’Aaron Fox hit 2 more drives before the end of the quarter, countered by a Mitchell Robinson score inside and a Landry Shamet deuce. Wemby dunked to end the quarter with the Spurs up 34-25.

3. Spurs Push Lead to 12 Pts Early in 2nd; KAT Pushes Back

Stephon Castle hit a 3 to start the 2nd, giving San Antonio a 12-pt lead.

KAT Takes It to Wemby to Start 2nd

But Karl-Anthony Towns pushed back — scoring 7 straight points on a 3, two free throws off a drive, and another drive to pull NY within 37-34.

“Great job by Karl Anthony Towns after catching ,” noted NBA Analyst Ross Kreines. “Has Wembanyama on the move then makes a quick, decisive move with no thought of settling and no wasted dribbles and finishes strong. Put your defender at your mercy.”

A minute later, KAT was passing like this:

Brunson Getting Mauled — No Calls

Meanwhile Jalen Brunson was getting MAULED on the outside by the San Antonio guards with no calls being made. This continued all night — with Castle, Harper, Champagne, and Fox taking turns playing extremely physical defense against Brunson — and often blitzing and double teaming him.

Fox Blatant Double-Dribble Not Called — Gets Drive-and-1

Knick fans watching on tv, and industry analysts began picking up on the blatant discrepancy in the officiating calls.

On one play with 8:01 left in the 2nd, De’Aaron Fox clearly picked up his dribble, then dribbled again — and instead of getting called for a double-dribble violation — was rewarded with a drive-and-1 to give Spurs 42-34 lead.

Mitch Hit with Bizarre Technical

With 4:56 left in 2nd Mitchell Robinson and Wemby battled down low — and Mitch was hit with a bizarre technical foul.

Knicks Ball Movement

The Knicks ball movement was amazing — as they took command of the game.

Brunson Called for Foul for Touching Castle’s Hair

On one play after the Knicks pulled out to a 49-48 lead, Stephon Castle hit a 3 and Brunson was called on a foul for touching his hair. The hair is part of the body — but Brunson has never drawn a foul by someone touching his hair — let alone the fact he was getting mauled with no calls made.

4. Bridges, KAT & Knicks Take Command — Take 4 Pt Lead at Half

Still the Knicks persevered and went on a 17-7 run en route to a 4-pt halftime lead.

5. KAT Dominating — Hit with 2 Barely-Contact Calls — Removed in 3rd

KAT took it to the rim to start the 3rd quarter, then the Knicks started hitting their 3’s — OG, Brunson, Bridges, and Shamet hit 4 straight 3’s for NY as they took a 70-59 lead with 7 minutes left in the 3rd.

KAT then scored on another drive against Wemby to give NY a 72-61 lead — and just like that — on the next 2 possessions — got called for 2 ticky tack fouls and was out of the game. As if the NBA bequeathed it.

Knicks Finish 3rd Well

San Antonio pulled back within 76-72 on 3’s by Castle and Wemby — but NY pushed back harder in the last 2 minutes of the 3rd — buckets by McBride, Bridges, Bridges again, and a dunk inside by Mitchell Robinson gave NY a 84-73 lead.

A score by Wemby pulled the Spurs within 9 heading into the 4th.

6. Knicks Push Lead to 14 Pts Midway thru 4th

Landry Shamet rose to the occasion as usual — hitting a big 3 early in the 4th to push the Knick lead to 12 — besides the tenacious D he was playing.

“Landry Shamet wasn’t promised a roster spot, minutes or a role,” noted NBA Analyst Ross Kreines. “And now he’s closing some games with his ability to shoot the ball and move without the ball but also his willingness to defend hard the entire possession, communication, effort while taking no play for granted. Winner.”

The Spurs rallied back on a 3 by Wemby, a drive by Castle, and a bucket by Harper to pull within 5 — but Shamet answered with another 3, Brunson got a bucket, and McBride hit a 3 to put NY back up 95-83.

OG Slam on Wemby

The Knick run culminated on a drive and slam by OG on Wemby.

Fox Glares at Brunson — No Technical

San Antonio continued to play tenacious physical defense — especially on Brunson who they were mauling on the outside with no calls.

At one point De’Aaron Fox got into a staring match with Brunson — no tech called.

7. Spurs 14-0 Run Ties Game with 2:59 Left

San Antonio — backs to the wall — made a run — starting with 2 free throws by Dylan Harper after a foul called on Bridges, then a Fox 3, a Fox drive, and a Wemby drive — forcing a NY timeout. The timeout didn’t stop the Spurs run — a Devin Vasell 3 and a Dylan Harper jumper tied the game with 2:59 left.

8. OG 3 Free Throws After Challenge Call Stems Tide

The Spurs were on a 14-0 run — NY’s shots rimming in and out and a Brunson drive blocked.

With 2:37 left OG took a 3 from the corner and was blatantly HACKED — but no call from the refs. NY took timeout, and challenged the call — and won. It was the first free throws the refs had given NY in the 2nd half.

9. The Frenetic Last 3 Minutes

OG made all 3 free throws to put NY ahead by a point. But Wemby dunked down the other end; Brunson answered with a bucket; Harper hit a drive; and Bridges coughed the ball up leading to a Wemby drive-and-1 for a Spurs 104-102 lead with 57 seconds left.

Brunson Ties It

Undeterred, Brunson came down and hit a HUGE jumper Dirk Nowitzki style to tie the game.

Another look:

Wemby Throws It Away — Brunson Cashes In; Mitch Stops Wemby Twice

And then the final minute — Mitch forcing Wemby into a miss, Brunson missing a pullup down the other end — Wemby rebounding but throwing to Castle who wasn’t looking — Brunson picking up the loose ball, getting fouled by Wemby and hitting 1 of 2 free throws for a 1-pt NY lead.

And finally the final play where Wemby — guarded well by Robinson — missed the 20 footer for the old ballgame.

Etcetera — the Officiating — Rigged?

The NBA had Tony Brothers head the officiating team for the game. Brothers has a reputation and history of controversy over fishy officiating and game-altering foul calls.

The referring of the game drew comment from non-Knick-fan industry analysts all night.

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401859964

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