{"id":1980142,"date":"2026-06-09T10:00:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T07:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1980142"},"modified":"2026-06-09T10:00:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T07:00:37","slug":"the-knicks-13-game-win-streak-is-done-now-its-time-to-show-who-they-really-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1980142","title":{"rendered":"The Knicks\u2019 13-game win streak is done. Now it\u2019s time to show who they really are"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NEW YORK \u2014 The streak is over. All of the talk about the dominance is now an afterthought. The New York Knicks, for the first time in nearly two months, look mortal.<\/p>\n

And yet, that tends to be when they are at their most dangerous.<\/p>\n

New York breezed into Game 3 of the NBA Finals, landing body blow after body blow on whoever stood in front of them. The run, which has featured victory after victory by astronomical margins, had many anointing them one of the best playoff teams of all time. But it was put to a halt Monday night in a 115-111 loss<\/a> to the San Antonio Spurs inside Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n

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However, the Knicks\u2019 true identity wasn\u2019t defined by that stretch of brilliance. Anyone who has paid close attention over the last two seasons knows that their DNA is rooted in their resiliency. We\u2019ve seen this team come back from double-digit deficits time and time again to win games. We\u2019ve seen them win the NBA Cup, go 2-9 shortly thereafter and then, when the world was eager to write them off, rattle off eight straight wins. We\u2019ve seen them go down 1-2 in a playoff series, only to then morph into the greatest version of the Michael Jordan-Chicago Bulls and 2010s Golden State Warriors and pile up 30-point victory after 30-point victory.<\/p>\n

New York, even with a 2-1 series lead, now has to get back to what got it here to avoid heartbreak. History says everything will be OK.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a surprising feeling (to have lost),\u201d said OG Anunoby, who scored 28 points on 9-of-13 shooting in Game 3. \u201cThey\u2019re a great team, as well. They weren\u2019t just going to lay down.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll we can do is move and learn from this. We have to take it as adversity and just respond to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Knicks\u2019 play Monday night was as uncharacteristic as the atmosphere leading into the game. This was supposed to be a celebration. The NBA Finals were back in Manhattan for the first time in 27 years. Yet fans, media and workers at Madison Square Garden were asked to arrive at the arena hours earlier than usual to accommodate President Donald Trump, who took up the offer from buddy and Knicks owner James Dolan to be the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game. Everyone had to go through TSA-level screening as secret service agents with big guns walked around the arena.<\/p>\n

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New York then opened the game as if it had been thrown off its usual rhythm. Players were tossing the ball into the stands. The defense, which is the best in the NBA these playoffs, wasn\u2019t as physical or together as it had been. The offense had very little ball movement and needed extraordinary shot-making from the likes of Anunoby to keep things close.<\/p>\n

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In the end, the Knicks\u2019 13 turnovers, led by Jalen Brunson\u2019s five, for 21 San Antonio points did them in. New York\u2019s loss could be viewed as self-inflicted, even though the Spurs are a good team that didn\u2019t appear rattled by the rowdiness inside Madison Square Garden once fans were able to take their seats. And if you ask Knicks coach Mike Brown, the officiating didn\u2019t help, either. The Knicks shot only eight free throws in the game\u2019s final 24 minutes, while San Antonio took 24.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat ain\u2019t cost us the game,\u201d Karl-Anthony Towns said. \u201cWe turned the ball over, didn\u2019t execute and didn\u2019t do what got us 13 straight wins. That\u2019s how you lose a game. We didn\u2019t do what we\u2019ve been doing for 13. We decided to do something different. Throwing the ball away is a clear indication of how you\u2019re going to lose the game, especially in the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

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As much as history would have been in New York\u2019s favor had it gone up 3-0, and as much as the city was starving to see its basketball team win a finals game on the corner of 33rd and 8th, the Knicks are still in the driver\u2019s seat. They just have a little dent on their bumper. For the past two seasons, they\u2019ve almost always punched back after absorbing a blow. It\u2019s what has made them so endearing. There\u2019s no quit, even when it feels for a second like they\u2019re willing to let go of the rope.<\/p>\n

Outsiders are often waiting for a reason to give up on the Knicks. Yet, by New York winning 13 straight games in the playoffs, most in no-doubt fashion, those same observers have had to eat their words and jump on board with the team\u2019s dominance. At a point, it was undeniable. This loss, though, could give people reason to hesitate again. It\u2019s been a while since the Knicks have stubbed their toe like they did on Monday, or since a team outlasted them in crunch time. A 2-1 series lead doesn\u2019t feel as secure as a 3-0 series lead, but New York has faced bigger obstacles before.<\/p>\n

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Across the board, the Knicks have been even-keeled throughout these playoffs. No player has gotten too high or too low, or has participated in an interview without saying, \u201cWe\u2019re treating it as if it\u2019s 0-0,\u201d even if they had just gone up 3-0 in a series after yet another blowout win. The Knicks as a collective are present in the moment. They don\u2019t appear to be overwhelmed by what\u2019s in front of them. Based on that, and their history of being able to swing their way out of a corner, it\u2019s hard to envision a world where one loss forces them to spiral.<\/p>\n

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At the very least, the Knicks deserve the benefit of the doubt after Game 3. This run of destruction was going to have a bump at some point. Now, it\u2019s time for New York to remember what it feels like to get to the other side.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s 0-0,\u201d Landry Shamet said. \u201cI feel good knowing that we can clean some things up. They obviously kicked our a\u2013 tonight. That doesn\u2019t feel good. That stings. But 0-0. We\u2019ll see you guys in a couple of days.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 The streak is over. All of the talk about the dominance is now an afterthought. The New York Knicks, for the first time in nearly two months, look mortal. And yet, that tends to be when they are at their most dangerous. New York breezed into Game 3 of the NBA Finals, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1980142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1980142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1980142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1980142\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1980142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1980142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1980142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}