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NBA finals 2026 Game 3: San Antonio Spurs v New York Knicks – live updates | NBA finals
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Spurs 24-17 Knicks, 3.24, 1st quarter
It’s another fast start for San Antonio, who stretch it to 24-13 behind a Harper lay-up and a Vassell three. But the Knicks answer with a Towns floater and a Hart running lay-up in transition, prompting a Spurs time-out and some pushing and shoving after the play between Hart and Luke Kornet.
Spurs 19-9 Knicks, 6.49, 1st quarter
Finally, it’s time for basketball. The Spurs rattle off the first seven points behind a couple of Wembayana dunks and a Vassell three, doing their best to take the steam out of a deafening atmosphere. Hart answers with a three-pointer, but another Wembanyama lay-up and a Castle three makes it 14-5 to San Antonio. The Spurs have made six of their first eight shots while New York look quite scattered on the defensive end. Play continues well past the first TV timeout and by the time of the first whistle, San Antonio lead by 10.
Wemby and Castle are a combined 7-for-7 with 16 points. A promising start for the visitors.
Meanwhile, here’s our news story on Madison Square Garden’s reaction to the president.
Trump booed at Madison Square Garden
Ella Brockway
Donald Trump was shown on the jumbotron while the Star-Spangled Banner was being performed by Avery Wilson and a large chorus of boos broke out. The US president was shown for about 10 seconds and held a salute the whole time. A few seconds later, the video board showed Knicks players along the sideline and the crowd turned to cheers.
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Ella Brockway
The only thing louder than the boos around Madison Square Garden when the Spurs took the floor was the cheers when the Knicks ran out to the other end. This building feels fully full now, with under 10 minutes to tip-off.
The city of New York has waited a long time for this game. The last time Madison Square Garden hosted an NBA finals game was 25 June 1999, against this same opponent. The Spurs won that series in five games, but this is a different time. Those Knicks were the No 8 seed, playing without injured star Patrick Ewing. These Knicks are riding a winning streak of 13 (!) games and enter this Game 3 red-hot.
A win here tonight would put New York on the brink of a sweep. The NBA finals last saw a 4-0 finish in 2017, when the Warriors brushed aside the Cavaliers.
After days of talk about ticket prices and presidential appearances – Trump is here, by the way, and in a suite behind glass – I wasn’t exactly sure what the vibes of this one would be. But the Garden is loud and rocking. We should have a good game on our hands.
Ella Brockway
Less than a half hour before tip-off, Madison Square Garden is nearly full. I’m situated in the 300s with a bird’s-eye view of the court, and the fans at this level were some of the earliest arrivals. (I was also among the early arrivals, as my Apple Health step count tracker has made clear: I walked 5,293 steps around the entirety of this arena just to find a security access point that would let me inside.)
Celebrity Row is starting to fill up. So far, I see Ben Stiller, Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan and Spike Lee in a group. Lee is wearing a jersey that says “Pope Leo” on the back – a pointed choice, given a certain attender’s recent clashes with the head of the Catholic church? The director and longtime Knicks fan was hanging out with franchise cult hero Jeremy Lin earlier.
The pregame laser and light show just wrapped up with the clock targeting under 15 minutes until tip. If reports are correct, it won’t be the only show we see tonight: Billboard and TMZ said earlier today that rapper Cardi B is set to perform at half-time of Game 3.
Few events bring New Yorkers together quite like a Knicks finals run. As the city counts down to Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, the anticipation has extended from midtown Manhattan across the five boroughs and even to the housing units of Rikers Island, where incarcerated fans have been following every twist and turn alongside supporters on the outside.
Trump has managed to hijack the spotlight from one the biggest nights in Knicks history. Earlier, the Guardian spoke with a few New York fans outside the arena about the president’s presence.
“He could have picked any other day. This night is for the fans,” said Joanne Cadden, 53, a lifelong Knicks supporter from the Bronx who has followed the team since the early 1990s. “You’re making people go away from the Garden. This wasn’t the time.”
Gesturing toward the fencing and checkpoints surrounding the arena, Cadden added: “This looks like prison.”
Rich Becker, a 54-year-old Knicks fan from Queens who came to Midtown despite not having a ticket, said the president’s visit had changed the feel of the day, including the cancellation of the outdoor watch party that had drawn thousands of fans outside the Garden during earlier playoff games.
“It changed everything,” Becker said. “Should he be here? I don’t think he should, but he’s coming. He used to be a Knicks fan. He spent a lot of time at the Garden back in the day. But now it’s a little different. Just stay away.”
For Tom Meade, 76, who attended Knicks playoff games during the franchise’s championship era and brought his son Tommy to Monday’s game, the fences, checkpoints and presidential motorcade were ultimately secondary to the occasion itself.
“This is amazing,” Meade said as fans streamed toward the Garden. “The only thing close to it was the Willis Reed and Walt Frazier years. Those championship teams [in 1970 and 1973].”
The heightened security was “a nuisance”, he added, “but we’re here to enjoy the game and the Knicks.”
Donald Trump arrives at MSG
A few years ago, plenty of people questioned whether Jalen Brunson could be the player to lead the Knicks back to relevance. Now, with New York two wins from their first title since 1973, those doubts look very different.
Former NBA player and Guardian contributor Etan Thomas looks back at the criticism that followed Brunson to New York – and how the Knicks star has answered it with one of the great postseason runs in franchise history.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to Madison Square Garden, where the NBA finals have finally returned after a 27-year wait and the city around it has spent the whole day behaving like history is about to happen.
Hours before tipoff, midtown Manhattan was lousy with fans in blue and orange jerseys, chanting “Let’s go Knicks!” and “Knicks in four!” outside the arena as the city prepared for its first finals game at the Garden since 1999. The Knicks are back home with a 2-0 series lead over the San Antonio Spurs, a 13-game playoff winning streak and a chance to move within one victory of a first championship since 1973.
The anticipation has transformed Game 3 into one of the hottest tickets New York has ever seen. The cheapest upper-deck seats were changing hands for upwards of $12,000 on resale sites over the last few days before coming down to $5,000 today, while premium courtside seats commanded prices that would cover a year’s rent in most US cities.
But basketball is only part of tonight’s story. Donald Trump is expected to attend as a guest of Knicks owner James Dolan, becoming the first sitting US president to attend an NBA finals game. His presence has prompted one of the largest security operations ever seen around Madison Square Garden. An 10-foot perimeter fence surrounded the arena, ticket holders were advised to arrive at least two hours early and the team implemented a strict no-bag policy along with what it described as “TSA-style screening procedures” at arena entrances. Long lines formed throughout the afternoon as thousands attempted to navigate the checkpoints.
Adding another wrinkle, New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani is also expected to attend after purchasing a ticket directly from Madison Square Garden, placing two of the country’s most prominent political figures in the building alongside celebrities, former players and nearly 20,000 fans desperate to witness history.
Now, after 27 years of waiting, the focus finally shifts back to basketball. The Knicks are two wins from a title. The Spurs are fighting to save the series. Tip-off is just over an hour away.
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s the Guardian’s Stateside with Kai and Carter episode on an NBA finals even a billionaire can’t ruin.
Welsh pop star Bonnie Tyler is no longer in a coma but remains “very unwell” in intensive care at a hospital near her home in Faro, Portugal.
The 75-year-old singer received emergency intestinal surgery in May and was placed in an induced coma to aid her recovery.
A statement on her official website said that although her condition was improving and doctors remain confident she will recover, it was nonetheless a slow process.
All her remaining shows due to take place this summer have been cancelled, the statement said, but it is hoped some dates in the autumn could go ahead.
The update on her recovery came after the singer’s family had expressed distress over the “lurid and untrue rumours” circulating about her health.
“Bonnie is no longer in a coma but remains very unwell and in intensive care in hospital in Portugal. Although her condition is improving it is a slow process,” the statement said.
“Her doctors remain confident that she will make a good recovery but it is going to take time.
“As such we are sorry to tell everyone that we will be cancelling, or postponing until next year where possible, all of our remaining shows this summer.
“This will affect every current show until the end of August. At present we are still hopeful that our shows in the autumn will go ahead.”
The spokesperson apologised for “the disappointment that this will cause” and hoped fans would “understand and bear with us in these difficult circumstances”.
They added: “We would like to thank everyone for the huge outpouring of love and support from all over the world that we have received for Bonnie and want to tell you that she is aware of, and very grateful for, your good wishes.”
She had been due to perform at Sunshine festival in Worcester in August, as well as a number of European dates. She is also booked to perform at Cardiff’s Utilita Arena on 17 December.
Tyler, who was born Gaynor Hopkins, won international fame in the 1980s with the release of her chart-topping single Total Eclipse of the Heart, which spent two weeks as UK No 1, and four weeks at the top of the US charts in 1983.
Her soulful husky voice helped make her songs instantly recognisable, with other hits including Holding Out For a Hero, It’s a Heartache and If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man).
Originally from Neath, in south Wales, she was discovered by a talent scout in Swansea, and her first single was released in 1976.
Tyler represented the UK in the 2013 Eurovision song contest in Malmö, Sweden, with the song Believe in Me, with which she finished in 19th place.
In 2023, she was made an MBE for services to music.
The rising star plays hits including Stargazing and Drive Safe to hundreds of fans in Luton.
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Key events
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of Saudi Arabia v Uruguay at the Miami Stadium. Saudi Arabia started the last World Cup with a stunning victory over Argentina. They’d love to do the same another South American giant tonight – not least because it would increase their chances of getting out of a World Cup group for only the second time. The first, as any football nerd worth their loneliness will know, came on their World Cup debut at USA 94.
Uruguay didn’t even qualify for that tournament. They also missed out in 1998 and 2006, but a memorable run to the semi-finals in 2010 reminded everyone of their pedigree – and their ability to attract or cause controversy.
They’ve been a fixture since then and, while it’s hard to see them adding a third triumph to sit alongside 1930 and 1950, they never leave a World Cup without making an impression. Last time around, they and Ghana managed to knock each other out of the competition.
Whatever Uruguay achieve this time round, it won’t be dull, not when they are coached by Marcelo Bielsa.
Kick off 6pm EDT/11pm BST/8am AEST
Rob will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s how Uruguay got here (with a few delays):
Uruguay’s preparations for their opening World Cup game against Saudi Arabia were severely disrupted after their flight from Mexico was hit by multiple delays.
Marcelo Bielsa’s squad had been due to fly from Cancún to Fort Lauderdale early on Sunday afternoon, but paperwork issues relating to the plane led to their initial flight being cancelled.
A second plane was then commissioned to take Uruguay to South Florida, but that flight was also delayed and they eventually arrived for the pre-match press conference at Miami Stadium several hours late.
An unusually taciturn Bielsa played down the impact of the delay on his players, who undertook most of their preparations at a two-week training camp in Montevideo before spending the last week in Mexico. “The flight caused no problems,” Bielsa said.
The Uruguay captain, José María Giménez, was more frank in describing the delays as “difficult”, while others at the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) were less diplomatic.
“We had some complications,” the Atlético Madrid defender said. “It was difficult, but we took advantage by resting at the hotel. And we just got here later.”
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