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If Game 1 was any indication of what this series will eventually become, the 2026 NBA Finals are going to be absolutely enthralling.The New York Knicks outlasted the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday, June 3 in a thrilling, back-and-forth 105-95 win to take an early lead in the best-of-7 series.With 1:50 left to play, Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson hit a massive 3-pointer that gave New York the lead it would never relinquish and sparked a 11-0 run to close out the game;Brunson scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Knicks, who have now won 12 consecutive games in the postseason.And with that, New York is just three wins away from earning its first NBA title in 53 seasons.Here are live takeaways from Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs:Karl-Anthony Towns did a superb job against Victor WembanyamaAlthough Karl-Anthony Towns scored 18 points and scooped 12 rebounds, his biggest contribution was defensively.Tasked with being the primary defender against Victor Wembanyama, Towns not only held his own, he guarded him with a physical and disciplined approach.Wembanyama did finish with 26 points, but he shot just 6-of-21 from the floor, including 2-of-9 from 3-point range.Wembanyama never appeared comfortable and made just four shots in the paint. Towns made sure to put his hands and body on Wembanyama just so that he could feel his presence. That often led to Wembanyama backing out of the paint and settling for jumpers.Jalen Brunson may get all the attention for his 30-point performance, but Towns had the better game, by far.The Knicks won this game with deliberate possessions and ball securityIn the first half, the Knicks committed 8 turnovers, which yielded to 12 Spurs points off those giveaways. New York played rushed and tried to match San Antonio’s speed, which was a losing proposition.In the second half, New York committed just 1 single turnover. This did a couple of things.For one, it led to better, higher-quality shots. For another, that limited the amount of transition opportunities the Spurs had. To be fair, the Knicks did also do a far better job in the second half about getting back on defense, but New York was much better about playing closer to its identity after intermission: getting to the paint, making extra passes and taking care of the ball.The Knicks cannot treat Julian Champagnie like a non-factorThere are times when a team might decide to devote its defensive attention toward the stars of a team. Given that San Antonio has Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox, the temptation might be to cheat and send help.New York, however, got burned by that tactic, and it left Julian Champagnie, San Antonio’s top 3-point shooter, wide open. Even worse, the Knicks left him open in the corner, which is where Champagnie loves to operate.He ignited to 15 points in the first half on 5-of-6 shooting — all from beyond the arc — and sparked San Antonio runs. The Knicks can’t keep treating him like an afterthought.The Spurs cannot just settle for jumpers, especially if they’re not droppingSan Antonio didn’t have a particularly good shooting night. It was particularly bad in the second half. The Spurs scored just 48 points after intermission and shot just 2-of-19 (10.5%) from 3-point range in the second half.At times, it felt like some of those shots were forced and that San Antonio was pressing, although Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said after the game that he thought his team “missed some good shots.”The Knicks have excellent length and versatility at wing and play excellent perimeter defense. The Spurs didn’t do enough to grind through possessions and work harder for easier looks.Granted, the Knicks can clog the paint, so it’s easier said than done, but San Antonio could’ve attacked the paint to open up better looks from deep. The Spurs, after all, trailed in points in the paint, 50-42.“I think there will be some possessions that — again — we could’ve worked the clock more, worked them more defensively,” Johnson said. “I kind of refer to them as ‘just shots.’ Is it a bad shot, a good shot? I don't really know, but it's just a shot.“We probably could be a little bit more greedy on those possessions to get something better as a group.”Young Spurs start frenzied but settleThe Spurs are just four days removed from a very physical seven-game series against the defending champions. They’re a very young team and this is the first time they’re playing for stakes this high.That all showed up early in Game 1, with the Spurs playing too rushed through their sets, seemingly amped up by the moment. As the first quarter wore on, San Antonio settled extremely well and used its defense to generate turnovers and easier offense.Victor Wembanyama shows early force and urgencyIt became clear very early in Game 1 that Wembanyama intended to set the tone for San Antonio. Whether he was handling the ball and bringing it up the floor or setting screens in offensive actions, Wembanyama was active, clearly trying to lead by example.He made two of his first four shots and finished the first quarter with 5 points, but San Antonio tends to feed off of Wembanyama’s energy. This was a decent start for the 22 year old.The Knicks, however, would do a decent job of keeping Wembanyama in check, preventing him from getting too many easy buckets and limiting him to 13 points on 2-of-11 shooting through three quarters.
