The New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs, 105-95, in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals to take a 1-0 series lead.
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SAN ANTONIO — Game 1 of the Finals was the New York Knicks’ worst offensive game of the playoffs. They scored just 105 points on 100 possessions after averaging an amazing 123.3 per 100 through the first three rounds.
But the Knicks won by 10, because the San Antonio Spurs also had their worst offensive game of the playoffs, scoring just 95 points on 99 possessions. That included just nine points on the Spurs’ final 15 possessions of the fourth quarter, when they had more turnovers (five) than scores (four).
Though the Spurs’ first half wasn’t very efficient (55 points on 51 possessions), they shot 6-for-10 on corner 3-pointers, and several of them were wide-open looks on the weak side of the floor. The six makes were just one shy of the Spurs’ high for corner 3s in these playoffs and, at halftime, the Spurs had an effective field goal percentage of 90% from the corners and 39% from everywhere else.
But those wide-open corner 3s dried up in the second half, when the Spurs shot just 2-for-19 from 3-point range, including 0-for-4 from the corners.
Here are some notes, numbers and film on how the Knicks defended the corners better after halftime to limit the Spurs offensively and pick up their 12th straight victory …
1. First half: Low man with two feet in the paint
A Knicks opponent getting open 3s on the weak side of the floor is not new. The Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers got some great looks in the last two rounds, but they didn’t make them as they combined to shoot 38-for-129 (29.5%) on wide-open 3-pointers against the Knicks.
The Knicks prioritize rim protection, which means their weak-side defenders often have two feet in the paint. That was the case on the Spurs’ first corner 3 of Game 1.
Luke Kornet slipped out of a ball-screen for De’Aaron Fox and Landry Shamet sank deep off Dylan Harper in the right corner to tag Kornet as he rolled to the basket. With Mitchell Robinson in drop coverage, Fox got downhill and skipped the ball to a wide-open Harper …
Harper’s 3 was part of the Spurs’ 20-3, first-quarter run that included two more corner 3s. On the next possession, Fox drove baseline and found Julian Champagnie in the right corner for a more contested look. Two possessions later, some drive-and-kick action resulted in an open look for Champagnie in the left corner.
The Spurs’ three other corner 3s came on their final eight possessions of the second quarter, when they turned a one-point deficit into a seven-point halftime lead. They went up four when Jose Alvarado had two feet in the paint to tag a Victor Wembanyama roll, leaving Champagnie open in the left corner again …
On the final possession of the half, the Spurs attacked Jalen Brunson. Fox beat him with a crossover, saw Shamet with two feet in the paint (again) and found Champagnie in the right corner (again).
2. Second half: One foot only
In the second half, the Knicks adjusted, making sure not to get too detached from shooters in the weak-side corners.
Midway through the third quarter, Kornet was rolling ahead of Josh Hart, but Brunson didn’t sink all the way into the restricted area, instead just putting one foot in the paint before recovering back to Champagnie in the left corner …
Later in the third, Shamet had a second foot (barely) in the paint, but was on his toes, ready to recover and close out to Devin Vassell…
Protecting the rim while also limiting your opponents’ open-and-in-rhythm 3-point attempts isn’t easy. But the Knicks were better at it in the second half on Wednesday.
3. A five-man job
The Knicks’ success in limiting the corner 3s in the second half wasn’t solely about the low man on the weak side.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Harper had the choice of two screens. He could use Champagnie’s screen and attack Brunson, or use Wembanyama’s screen and go to his strong side. He chose the latter, which should have allowed Wembanyama to roll to the rim and pull the low man (Shamet) into the paint off of Vassell in the right corner.
But when Brunson saw the play going away from him, he got in Wembanyama’s way, keeping him from rolling cleanly into the paint. Harper got downhill, but his first passing option (Wembanyama) was caught up above the free-throw line. Because Brunson prevented that clean roll, Shamet was able to stay somewhat attached to Vassell.
Harper’s pass barely got to Vassell, who had to throw the ball to the middle of the floor as he was falling out of bounds. Hart got to the loose ball first and Brunson got a layup in transition, benefiting from his own defensive sacrifice …
The Spurs had more offensive issues than just their lack of corner 3s in the second half. But the Knicks cut off the one thing that was beating them to move three wins away from a championship.
The Spurs do not want to be down 2-0 when this series moves to New York, so they’ll need to be much better in Game 2 on Friday (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.
