June 12, 2026 • 8 mins
The New York Knicks hold a 3-1 series lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals and are just one win away from securing their first championship since 1973.
Adam Cooper found out from correspondent Toby Kerr whether he thinks the Knicks will wrap it up in game five in Texas on Sunday NZT, or if San Antonio will force a sixth game.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Time to talk NBA Finals heading into the weekend. How
many more games left of the series do we have? Well?
Who knows? What a riveting game a couple of days
ago for the New York Next to come from behind
at home for a one point victory over the Spurs
take the lead three to one, A game away from
(00:21):
this historic moment, possibly for the New York Knicks. Gonness
mate Toby Kerr joins us from Vancouver. Toby, Wow, have
you been Have you managed to unpack that game yet
and everything that happened?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Oh, Adam, I think I'm still processing that biggest comeback
in NBA Finals history, the Knicks down twenty nine points
in the second half, no less, coming back to win.
There is so much to talk about in that game, Adam.
A couple of the worst, maybe one of the stupidest
players I've ever seen, a couple of the greatest plays
I've ever seen. And Ogn Andoby My guy, I love Ognnoby,
(00:54):
former raptor now a New York Nick is now a
New York Nick legend, making the best, probably the most
significant and iconic shot in Nick's history in that tip
in to give his team a three to one win.
It was just a movie that that game had.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Everything at dead ind age, right, Well, I mean, yeah,
very unpredictable. As you said, record comeback. What led them
to that victory? Do you think if you can set
of pin point some of the factors.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Well, I think that a lot of it. You know,
it started with the Spurs shooting the ball unbelievably well
from three. In fact, they sat an NBA Finals record
for the most three pointers in a half in the
first half, and they just couldn't miss. You know, they
put up mid forties points in the first quarter. They
were pulling away, and you know, I think, you know,
some of us watching would have thought, hey, listen, this
(01:41):
is sort of in the script with these two teams.
The Spurs start hot, the Nicks starts slow, then the
nixt pull off amount to big comeback. But even knowing
that's the possibility, and even knowing that's sort of the
DNA of these two teams, the lead was twenty points
in the first quarter and the lead was thirty points
in the second half, you kind of it was quite
a stretch to believe that you were going to see
this team come back. And then you know, there's got
(02:04):
to be a combination of factors for a comeback like that,
and I think it started with the Spurs still deciding
to live and die by the three pointer instead of
maybe getting a little more conservative. When they had the
lead and the three point shot disappeared, they just suddenly
could not hit their threes and they kept settling for them,
and the Knicks, really, to their credit, stayed with their strategy.
They did not want Victor wembn Yama to get inside
(02:26):
and kill them. They were okay with the three point shot,
even though it had killed them in the first half.
And sure enough, you know, the thing regressed more to
the mean, even more so as the Spurs could not
hit a shot, and then the Knicks just went nuts.
I mean, og Anobi was absolutely fantastic. He's probably the
Finals MVP right now, not only defensively but offensively as well.
(02:49):
Jalen Brunson hitting his shots, and then it really came
down to a couple of key moments. Victor Webbnyama, you know,
probably the best player in the NBA now young player,
free ro shooter in the regular season, missus two free
throws down the stretch, and then Josh Hart on the
Knicks miss is a wide open layup, and that would
have been a defining moment for him. I think he
(03:10):
would have gone down in an infamy in Nick's history
if they hadn't come back to win. And at the
end of all of it, it, as it so often does,
it came down to one big shot and with the
Knicks down by one, Jalen Brunton pulled up for a
bit of a head scratching three over one Binyama, but
two players went at him and Ogi and Nanobi was
left wide open. You know, Knicks fans might say that
(03:30):
was part of the play design, maybe they got a
little lucky, But for Ananobe to just fly in, have
the poison, have the touch, to be able to tip
that ball in at full speed in a crowd, I
think that shot was unbelievably difficult. And there's going to be,
you know, a statue of it if they win the
championship here, because that is just an all time shot
by a guy who's now going to be beloved and
never buy a drink in New York again.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Exactly. It's crazy asn't it. Considering how many significant leads
in games, the spars of heads or in the series
is three to one and they're on the verge of losing.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Well. On aggregate, it's the only eight points different. So
for the four games, the Knicks or plus eight over
the Spurs, So you can just kind of see how
close it is. But I think what we're also seeing
here is how young this Spurs team is. And you know,
for me, I was absolutely wrong. I thought that the Spurs.
I bet on the talent. I thought that they would
win out. But we really never see teams in the
NBA go from no playoff experience at all to winning
(04:26):
it all because playoff basketball is so different. We've seen
a lot of issues with the officiating or complaints about
it because they're letting so much go that you wouldn't
in the regular season. Both teams are getting away with
a lot. Knicks fans were furious after Game three. I
think Spurs fans will have some issues with the way
Game four was called, But that's playoff basketball, and the
lack of experience from the Spurs is really showing. And
(04:48):
then what kind of kills them is is there one
sort of veteran star deer and Fox made one of
the dumbest players I've ever seen when they were up
in the final seconds of the game. They could have
just tried to dribble out the clock, not given New
York a chance, and for some reason that still makes
no sense to me. Fox tries to sneak in for
a quick little layup and og blocks him. The Knicks
(05:09):
get their chance the other way, and then og an
Anobi scores the game winning basket. But there should have
not really been that opportunity, or the very least he
could have dribbled out the clock, more so gotten free throws.
The Knicks would have had to start from their own end.
It really was an all time bonehead play from the
one veteran on the Spurs, while many of the young players,
like when Minyama, sort of collapsed into themselves a little
(05:31):
bit as well. So it really wasn't implosion by the
Spurs as much as an explosion by the Knicks, and
it all culminated in an all time great game.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Bonehead move. I love that. Let's talk these next couple
of games Tomorrow it heads back to Texas. The Spurs
get one at home. Is this the game that the
Knicks will put all their energy into trying to wrap
it up with a couple of games to spare, or
they be dreaming of another occasion back at their home
courts for Game six, like we saw a couple of
days ago.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
It is interesting at them as you would kind of think, hey,
next are up three one, there's really, you know, not
so much pressure. They can kind of have several chances
to win it all. But you kind of think about
a game by game if the Spurs are able to
hold home court, and again the Knixt won both games
in San Antonio to start the series. But if the
Spurs hold serve at home court, then suddenly you're back
(06:20):
in Madison Square Gardens. Then maybe that great energy is
a little bit of a nervous energy as well, and
we've seen the Spurs or the Knicks really respond to
the energy of that crowd. So suddenly you're feeling some
pressure at home. And if that doesn't go well, you've
lost too straight. You're back in San Antonio and you're
in a lot of trouble. So I think, sneaky, this
is a great opportunity for the next to win. The
(06:41):
Spurs have got to be reeling after giving up that
lead a young team. There's no way that there isn't
a significant mental toll from that. So I'm very curious
to see how San Antonio responds, because if you're the
Spurs and you get the lead, no lead is safe, right.
We've seen them give up the biggest lead in NBA
Finals history. You can never feel comfortable as a Spur.
So I kind of think this is the chance for
(07:02):
the knockout punch for the Knicks if I had to
bet on it. I keep having faith in the Spurs,
and I do kind of think they're going to extend it,
and I would just love to see the Knicks win
it at Madison Square Gardens and see what happens to
New York City. If that happened, it would be like
nothing I think we've ever seen. But I think you're
dead on that this might be the moment for the
Knicks to win, as much as it might be lightly
(07:24):
anted climactic if they did it on the road, any
Knicks championship for the first time in over fifty years
would send so much of the US into a frenzy.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Yeah, with they I can't wait to see how that
pans out. And just quickly before you go, Toby, our
friends Carolina a hit over Vegas and the NHL Stanley
Cup Finals that will be welcome news to a lot
of people.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Absolutely, our good friends Caroline Adam, the Hurricanes. Now I've
three to two. They made a change in goal. They
benched my guy, Freddie Anderson, former Leafs goalie, for Boosey
who's a rookie and he's played great two straight games.
So we love to see it. It's everyone versus Vegas,
Adam and right now everyone's winning and let's hope they
finish it off in six.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Right up, enjoy your weekend and wake your here. Toby
can't wait to see how it pans out.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Always find my friends for more from Used Talk sed B.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Listen live on air or online, and keep
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Our shows with you wherever you go with our podcasts
on iHeartRadio
Time to talk NBA Finals heading into the weekend. How
many more games left of the series do we have? Well?
Who knows? What a riveting game a couple of days
ago for the New York Next to come from behind
at home for a one point victory over the Spurs
take the lead three to one, A game away from
(00:21):
this historic moment, possibly for the New York Knicks. Gonness
mate Toby Kerr joins us from Vancouver. Toby, Wow, have
you been Have you managed to unpack that game yet
and everything that happened?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Oh, Adam, I think I'm still processing that biggest comeback
in NBA Finals history, the Knicks down twenty nine points
in the second half, no less, coming back to win.
There is so much to talk about in that game, Adam.
A couple of the worst, maybe one of the stupidest
players I've ever seen, a couple of the greatest plays
I've ever seen. And Ogn Andoby My guy, I love Ognnoby,
(00:54):
former raptor now a New York Nick is now a
New York Nick legend, making the best, probably the most
significant and iconic shot in Nick's history in that tip
in to give his team a three to one win.
It was just a movie that that game had.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Everything at dead ind age, right, Well, I mean, yeah,
very unpredictable. As you said, record comeback. What led them
to that victory? Do you think if you can set
of pin point some of the factors.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Well, I think that a lot of it. You know,
it started with the Spurs shooting the ball unbelievably well
from three. In fact, they sat an NBA Finals record
for the most three pointers in a half in the
first half, and they just couldn't miss. You know, they
put up mid forties points in the first quarter. They
were pulling away, and you know, I think, you know,
some of us watching would have thought, hey, listen, this
(01:41):
is sort of in the script with these two teams.
The Spurs start hot, the Nicks starts slow, then the
nixt pull off amount to big comeback. But even knowing
that's the possibility, and even knowing that's sort of the
DNA of these two teams, the lead was twenty points
in the first quarter and the lead was thirty points
in the second half, you kind of it was quite
a stretch to believe that you were going to see
this team come back. And then you know, there's got
(02:04):
to be a combination of factors for a comeback like that,
and I think it started with the Spurs still deciding
to live and die by the three pointer instead of
maybe getting a little more conservative. When they had the
lead and the three point shot disappeared, they just suddenly
could not hit their threes and they kept settling for them,
and the Knicks, really, to their credit, stayed with their strategy.
They did not want Victor wembn Yama to get inside
(02:26):
and kill them. They were okay with the three point shot,
even though it had killed them in the first half.
And sure enough, you know, the thing regressed more to
the mean, even more so as the Spurs could not
hit a shot, and then the Knicks just went nuts.
I mean, og Anobi was absolutely fantastic. He's probably the
Finals MVP right now, not only defensively but offensively as well.
(02:49):
Jalen Brunson hitting his shots, and then it really came
down to a couple of key moments. Victor Webbnyama, you know,
probably the best player in the NBA now young player,
free ro shooter in the regular season, missus two free
throws down the stretch, and then Josh Hart on the
Knicks miss is a wide open layup, and that would
have been a defining moment for him. I think he
(03:10):
would have gone down in an infamy in Nick's history
if they hadn't come back to win. And at the
end of all of it, it, as it so often does,
it came down to one big shot and with the
Knicks down by one, Jalen Brunton pulled up for a
bit of a head scratching three over one Binyama, but
two players went at him and Ogi and Nanobi was
left wide open. You know, Knicks fans might say that
(03:30):
was part of the play design, maybe they got a
little lucky, But for Ananobe to just fly in, have
the poison, have the touch, to be able to tip
that ball in at full speed in a crowd, I
think that shot was unbelievably difficult. And there's going to be,
you know, a statue of it if they win the
championship here, because that is just an all time shot
by a guy who's now going to be beloved and
never buy a drink in New York again.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Exactly. It's crazy asn't it. Considering how many significant leads
in games, the spars of heads or in the series
is three to one and they're on the verge of losing.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
Well. On aggregate, it's the only eight points different. So
for the four games, the Knicks or plus eight over
the Spurs, So you can just kind of see how
close it is. But I think what we're also seeing
here is how young this Spurs team is. And you know,
for me, I was absolutely wrong. I thought that the Spurs.
I bet on the talent. I thought that they would
win out. But we really never see teams in the
NBA go from no playoff experience at all to winning
(04:26):
it all because playoff basketball is so different. We've seen
a lot of issues with the officiating or complaints about
it because they're letting so much go that you wouldn't
in the regular season. Both teams are getting away with
a lot. Knicks fans were furious after Game three. I
think Spurs fans will have some issues with the way
Game four was called, But that's playoff basketball, and the
lack of experience from the Spurs is really showing. And
(04:48):
then what kind of kills them is is there one
sort of veteran star deer and Fox made one of
the dumbest players I've ever seen when they were up
in the final seconds of the game. They could have
just tried to dribble out the clock, not given New
York a chance, and for some reason that still makes
no sense to me. Fox tries to sneak in for
a quick little layup and og blocks him. The Knicks
(05:09):
get their chance the other way, and then og an
Anobi scores the game winning basket. But there should have
not really been that opportunity, or the very least he
could have dribbled out the clock, more so gotten free throws.
The Knicks would have had to start from their own end.
It really was an all time bonehead play from the
one veteran on the Spurs, while many of the young players,
like when Minyama, sort of collapsed into themselves a little
(05:31):
bit as well. So it really wasn't implosion by the
Spurs as much as an explosion by the Knicks, and
it all culminated in an all time great game.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Bonehead move. I love that. Let's talk these next couple
of games Tomorrow it heads back to Texas. The Spurs
get one at home. Is this the game that the
Knicks will put all their energy into trying to wrap
it up with a couple of games to spare, or
they be dreaming of another occasion back at their home
courts for Game six, like we saw a couple of
days ago.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
It is interesting at them as you would kind of think, hey,
next are up three one, there's really, you know, not
so much pressure. They can kind of have several chances
to win it all. But you kind of think about
a game by game if the Spurs are able to
hold home court, and again the Knixt won both games
in San Antonio to start the series. But if the
Spurs hold serve at home court, then suddenly you're back
(06:20):
in Madison Square Gardens. Then maybe that great energy is
a little bit of a nervous energy as well, and
we've seen the Spurs or the Knicks really respond to
the energy of that crowd. So suddenly you're feeling some
pressure at home. And if that doesn't go well, you've
lost too straight. You're back in San Antonio and you're
in a lot of trouble. So I think, sneaky, this
is a great opportunity for the next to win. The
(06:41):
Spurs have got to be reeling after giving up that
lead a young team. There's no way that there isn't
a significant mental toll from that. So I'm very curious
to see how San Antonio responds, because if you're the
Spurs and you get the lead, no lead is safe, right.
We've seen them give up the biggest lead in NBA
Finals history. You can never feel comfortable as a Spur.
So I kind of think this is the chance for
(07:02):
the knockout punch for the Knicks if I had to
bet on it. I keep having faith in the Spurs,
and I do kind of think they're going to extend it,
and I would just love to see the Knicks win
it at Madison Square Gardens and see what happens to
New York City. If that happened, it would be like
nothing I think we've ever seen. But I think you're
dead on that this might be the moment for the
Knicks to win, as much as it might be lightly
(07:24):
anted climactic if they did it on the road, any
Knicks championship for the first time in over fifty years
would send so much of the US into a frenzy.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
Yeah, with they I can't wait to see how that
pans out. And just quickly before you go, Toby, our
friends Carolina a hit over Vegas and the NHL Stanley
Cup Finals that will be welcome news to a lot
of people.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
Absolutely, our good friends Caroline Adam, the Hurricanes. Now I've
three to two. They made a change in goal. They
benched my guy, Freddie Anderson, former Leafs goalie, for Boosey
who's a rookie and he's played great two straight games.
So we love to see it. It's everyone versus Vegas,
Adam and right now everyone's winning and let's hope they
finish it off in six.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Right up, enjoy your weekend and wake your here. Toby
can't wait to see how it pans out.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
Always find my friends for more from Used Talk sed B.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
Listen live on air or online, and keep
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Our shows with you wherever you go with our podcasts
on iHeartRadio
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