NBA Finals Game 3 winners and losers: Legendary Victor Wembanyama and inefficient Jalen Brunson

The New York Knicks' winning streak is over, and there will not be a sweep in the 2026 NBA Finals. The San Antonio Spurs came into Madison Square Garden and pulled out a 115-111 victory in Game 3 of the Finals on Monday night. The Knicks, who had won 13 straight playoff games, still lead the series, 2-1, ahead of Game 4 on Wednesday.

Victor Wembanyama scored 32 points and Stephon Castle added 23, including a clutch 3-pointer with less than two minutes left and the game-clinching free throws with six seconds remaining.

The Knicks, hosting their first Finals game at Madison Square Garden since 1999, jumped out to a seven-point halftime lead thanks to a huge second quarter. But the Spurs outscored New York by 11 in the second half. Jalen Brunson matched Wembanyama with 32 points and OG Anunoby added 28. But Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns were both much quieter offensively than they were in San Antonio. Towns scored 11 points and Bridges was held to two as they combined to go 0 for 5 from 3-point range.

Here are some winners and losers from a thrilling Game 3:

Winner: Wembanyama's legendary response

In a must-win game, The Alien took over at MSG

Victor Wembanyama had a rough go of things in the first two games of the Finals. He looked nothing like himself in Game 1, and though he played much better overall a few nights later, he cost the Spurs in Game 2 with a late turnover and foul, followed by a miss from 15 feet on a potential game-winning jumper.

"I think the key is acceptance a lot of times, taking a step back, realizing all the journey that's behind this and what's ahead of this. Just being OK with who I am, where I am, what I'm doing," Wembanyama said Sunday when asked how he was dealing with the pressure of the Finals. "I think this is everything that I wished for. There's really no reason to overthink it. I mean, this is what I'm built for."

Wembanyama backed up the talk with his best performance of the Finals, and one his best all postseason. In an exhausting 39 minutes, he put up 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and three blocks on 11-of-18 shooting from the field. He set new series-highs for scoring and assists, and a series-low for turnovers (one). 

In the process, Wembanyama became the second-youngest player to record a 30-point, five-rebound, five-assist game in the Finals, behind only Magic Johnson. 

Youngest players with 30/5/5 in Finals

Wembanyama has always been extremely confident in his own abilities, but the end of Game 2 was by far the lowest moment of his young career, and there was no telling how he would respond in a hostile atmosphere in Madison Square Garden. Delivering that sort of two-way performance at age 22 in his first road Finals game was legendary stuff. 

Wembanyama said that he "Really tried to relax" heading into Game 3, which helped him play at such a high level. 

"The Playoffs, it's like a -- I don't know how to say that word -- a whirlwind. It's hard to put your head out of the water," he said. "Sometimes I don't even got to watch the game back right away. I need some time off, let my brain cool down, recover. Recover as much for the body as for the mind."

Loser: Brunson's inefficient shooting

The Knicks star had 32 points, but he needed 25 shots to get them

Jalen Brunson hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with less than two minutes remaining in Game 1 and the go-ahead free throw with less than 10 seconds to play in Game 2 to help the Knicks secure dramatic victories despite his poor overall shooting. In Game 3, he couldn't come up with the heroics to overcome another inefficient outing. 

Brunson, who hit a big 3 with 34 seconds left to cut the Knicks' deficit to three and give them a glimmer of hope, finished with 12 points on 4 of 7 shooting in the fourth. But in the first three quarters, he managed just 20 points on 7 of 18 shooting, which was a big reason why the Knicks were behind entering the final frame. 

Here's a look at Brunson's lines for the series:

• Game 1: 30 points, three rebounds, two assists, four turnovers on 12 of 31 (38.7%) FG, 2 of 9 (22.2%) 3FG
• Game 2: 20 points, five rebounds, six assists, four turnovers on 7 of 25 (28%) FG, 2 of 8 (25%) 3FG
• Game 3: 32 points, five rebounds, five assists, five turnovers on 11 of 25 (44%) FG, 3 of 5 (60%) 3FG

For the series, Brunson is averaging 27.3 points, but he's shooting 37% from the field and 31.8% from 3-point range, and has as many turnovers (13) as assists. If a few plays had gone differently down the stretch in San Antonio, the Spurs could easily be up 3-0 and on the verge of a sweep, and everyone would be wondering what was wrong with Brunson. 

The Spurs' defense has been incredible. With Stephon Castle leading the way, they're able to throw a parade of big, physical perimeter players at Brunson, and they've beat him up all series with hard fouls (and some uncalled contact) -- a trend which continued Monday. 

Brunson was better in Game 3, and the Knicks don't need him to shoot 75%, but he has to find a way to score more efficiently than he has in the first three games. As great as the Knicks' supporting cast has been throughout this playoff run, Brunson is their engine, and it's hard for them to sustain their offense when he's not at his best. 

"Maybe a mix of both," Brunson said, when asked if he got to the spots he wanted or the Spurs were bothering him. He did not want to talk about his own performance, though. "I think most importantly, the little things, the attention to detail, the stuff that we pride ourselves on, we didn't do it tonight. So regardless of whatever shots we were getting, the little things could make or break a game."

Winner: Fox finds redemption

De'Aaron Fox hit a huge jumper when the Spurs needed it

Fox got crushed after Game 1, both for his poor overall play -- seven points, five assists, three turnovers on 3-of-13 shooting -- and the key jumper he missed in the final minute that would have tied the game. He struggled with his shot again in Game 3 -- 12 points, 4 of 14 this time around -- but this time he came up clutch when it mattered. 

With less than 20 seconds to play, the Spurs were clinging to a three-point lead and needed someone to come up with a play to halt the Knicks' momentum. Fox was the man for the job. He isolated on the perimeter against OG Anunoby, one of the best defenders in the league, drove left and pulled up from the free-throw line. This shot was much tougher than the one he missed in Game 1, but this time he caught nothing but net. 

Fox's redemptive shot pushed the Spurs' lead back up to five and helped seal the victory. 

"I mean, making that shot, like I said, it's a make-or-miss league a lot of times," Fox said. "A lot of times it's get to your spot. If you miss that shot, like, it is what it is. You try to make that shot more often than not, obviously. It feels good to hit a big shot down the stretch."

Loser: Brown takes frustration out on officials

The Knicks coach is not happy with the Finals' free-throw disparity

Monday's loss snapped the Knicks' 13-game winning streak, and was their first defeat since April 23, well over a month ago. Coach Mike Brown did not take it well. Shortly after the final buzzer, he went to the podium and unloaded on the officials during a lengthy opening statement. 

Here, in part, is what Brown had to say:

"First of all, I want to make sure I get something clear. Coach Mitch Johnson and the Spurs, they won the game tonight. They came and took the game. 

"But I will say this: I never thought I would be in the NBA Finals and see a team get 24 free throw attempts in the second half to another team's eight. I don't think I complain much about officials or the fairness when it comes to the free throw attempts. 

"San Antonio is a great team. They are a great team, OK. It's going to lower our odds big time, big time, if we play Game 4 and in the second half, they get 24 free throw attempts to our eight. Maybe we were fouling. Maybe we were fouling. But they fouled, too."

For the game, the Spurs went 25 of 32 from the free-throw line, while the Knicks were 18 of 22. As Brown noted, the discrepancy was particularly severe in the second half, when the Spurs tripled up the Knicks in free-throw attempts: 24-8. 

The officials did not have a great night. At one point in the middle of the fourth quarter, there were three successful challenges -- two by the Knicks, one by the Spurs -- in a 3:20 span. There was also a bizarre sequence in the middle of the fourth quarter when the Spurs were trying to sub to give themselves extra time to decide on a challenge that was not handled well. And late in the fourth there appeared to be an obvious missed call on a Karl-Anthony Towns attempt late in the fourth that the Knicks couldn't challenge because they had used two already. 

Mike Brown echoes growing frustrations of Knicks fans over NBA Finals officiating after Game 3

Sam Quinn

In addition, nothing was called when Wembanyama shoved Brunson in the back of the head after they got tangled up in the first quarter. 

"There are a lot of things we can do better and we are going to have to do better, but the same breath, like I said, hopefully they will see some more fouls called against them, so it's not 24-8," Brown said. "This is a four-point ballgame. Four-point ballgame. One-possession ballgame going down the stretch. It's tough to overcome."

Free-throw disparity in the Finals

Winner: Castle rallies to Wembanyama's cause

The second-year guard hit some huge shots in Game 3

Stephon Castle did not make the turnover that sunk the Spurs at the end of Game 2, but he did receive some criticism for turning to run down the floor in that situation instead of going to get the ball -- which ended up hitting him in the back -- from his center. It didn't help his cause that he shot 5 of 14 and turned the ball over four times himself.

But like his French big man, Castle delivered an impressive response in Game 3.

Stephon Castle calmly knocks down biggest shots of his life to save Spurs' season

John Gonzalez

He finished with 23 points, five rebounds and five assists on 8 of 14 from the field to set new series-highs in scoring, assists and field goal percentage. In addition to more stellar work on the defensive end, he hit arguably the biggest shot of the game when he buried a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock with just under two minutes remaining and put the Spurs up by seven. His two free throws with 6.8 seconds remaining, which pushed the Spurs' lead back up to four and sealed the win, were even more clutch.

Together, Castle and Wembanyama became the first teammates, age 22 or younger, to each score 20-plus points in a Finals game. 

"Probably just not getting bored with the things that worked for us, sticking with the process even though it might not work out all the time," Castle said, when asked about the biggest challenge heading into Game 4. "They might make a shot. They might get an offensive rebound. Sticking with our process and not getting bored with it. Understanding what won us this game and bring it into the next game."