As Eric reminds us, tonight is Game Three of the NBA Finals. These have been the best NBA playoffs since at least 2019, and could end up being the best since 2016. Here's what ended up happening in the Western Conference Finals (home teams listed first):
05/18: Oklahoma City 115 - 122 San Antonio (2 OT)
05/20: Oklahoma City 122 - 113 San Antonio
05/22: San Antonio 108 - 123 Oklahoma City
05/24: San Antonio 103 - 82 Oklahoma City
05/26: Oklahoma City 127 - 114 San Antonio
05/28: San Antonio 118 - 91 Oklahoma City
05/30: Oklahoma City 103 - 111 San Antonio
Games Two through Six had a somewhat stately pattern, with the team leading at halftime winning every time, and Games Four through Six each being a fairly easy blowout. But Game Seven, like Game One, was a death struggle -- and once again, the Thunder had no answer for Victor Wembanyama. He finished with 22 points and 7 rebounds -- and even though SGA had 35 points of his own, the San Antonio defense prevented the rest of SGA's teammates from giving him the support he needed.
And so, San Antonio beat the defending Champs on the road, and headed home to play a red-hot Knicks team in the finals. And then this happened:
06/03: San Antonio 95 - 105 New York
06/05: San Antonio 104 - 105 New York
The Knicks ran their winning streak to 13 with back-to-back thrillers in San Antonio. Game Two was certainly the best NBA game I've seen in the final since the Cavs upset Golden State in 2016. Wemby had 29 points and 9 rebounds, and led a late charge that put San Antonio in a good position to win. But in the last minute, he had a huge turnover, committed the foul that allowed the Knicks to take a one-point lead, and then missed the shot at the buzzer that could have won the game.
So the Knicks are coming home to an absolute madhouse with a 2-0 lead. If New York can win tonight, they should sweep the Spurs and win their first title since 1973. And that may happen. But the Spurs know how to win on the road, and in the fourth quarter of Game Two they started to figure out the Knicks. I expect a spectacular game tonight that could go either way.
Vegas has New York as a 2 1/2 point favorite with an over/under of 216.5. That would mean a score of something like 109-107. I don't think they'll score that many points, but I do think it will be very close.
