Knicks Hold Off Late-Charging Spurs 105-95 to Take Game 1 of NBA Finals

The New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 105-95 in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 4. The Spurs led late in the fourth quarter before the Knicks pulled away. San Antonio is making its first Finals appearance since 2014.

Victor Wembanyama recorded playoff career highs of six turnovers and 15 missed shots. He made one of 13 attempts outside two feet in the final three quarters. The performance marked the third time this postseason that Wembanyama shot worse than 30 percent.

The Spurs are now 0-3 in the 2026 postseason when he shoots below that mark. After the game, Wembanyama received a text message from Gregg Popovich. "It was that I've been bad, and I'm better than this," Wembanyama said.

Wembanyama said he is not "worried in the slightest" about the team's ability to respond. He described the group's resilience as "very reassuring" after a season defined by injuries and roster uncertainty. "We know we're not here by chance.

We've been through some weird, weird, situations... these guys, the 18 guys we've got, are built this way. [They] are resilient," he said. The Spurs practiced at Frost Bank Center on June 4. The loss came less than 24 hours after they let a late lead slip away inside the same building.

Two days before the start of 2025 training camp, the temperature in San Antonio reached 91 degrees. Wembanyama had missed the final 36 games of the 2024-25 season with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder and had not played since February 12. Dylan Harper, selected No.

1 overall by the Spurs in the 2025 NBA Draft, underwent surgery 25 days before camp to repair a partially torn ligament in his shooting thumb. De'Aaron Fox, acquired at the 2025 trade deadline, had suffered a strained hamstring in July 2025. The Spurs finished the 2024-25 season with 34 wins.