NBA fans in Minnesota witnessed a bizarre moment during Game 3 of the Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs when the broadcast briefly went dark.
As the game returned from commercial with less than eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, fans watching on ABC’s Minnesota affiliate, KSTP, saw a replay of Knicks center Mitchell Robinson being pushed into Victor Wembanyama. But before the replay ended, the screen went dark, and the audio cut to two people talking about fake flowers.
“Have you seen that TCL is using your Amazon baskets of fake flowers? They have like eight of them, and they put them out there during shots, and you can’t tell.”
For reference, Amazon does sell some pretty real-looking fake flowers. Also, for reference, TCL is KSTP’s afternoon weekday show, Twin Cities Live, and they do have some great flower baskets, which we now know are fake. But if it wasn’t Mike Breen, Richard Jefferson, or Tim Legler talking about fake flowers, why are NBA fans hearing it during the Finals?
The screen stayed dark for nearly a minute before returning just in time for another commercial break. Fans missed a live play between Karl-Anthony Towns and Victor Wembanyama, which was now being challenged by the Spurs, but they were quickly brought up to speed with a replay.
Chris Long of KSTP said he was not in the studio during the blunder, but guessed the automation system kicked in at 10 p.m. The screen went dark at exactly 10 p.m. CT, when the 10 o’clock news typically begins on the ABC affiliate. And those voices talking about fake flowers likely came from the KSTP studio.
The New York Knicks remain in control of the NBA Finals at 2-1, but their 115-111 Game 3 loss to the San Antonio Spurs has led to questions about offensive decision-making, particularly from star guard Jalen Brunson.
Speaking on ESPN’s First Take, Stephen A. Smith pointed directly at Brunson after New York’s 13-game postseason winning streak came to an end at Madison Square Garden.
“I’m putting it on the Knicks,” Smith said. “Jalen Brunson, I gotta put this loss on him just as much as anybody. Mike Brown to a smaller degree, but definitely Jalen Brunson.”
Brunson finished with 32 points and five assists but shot 11-for-25 from the field and committed five turnovers. While the box score looks productive, Smith argued the Knicks drifted away from the balanced attack that fueled their dominant playoff run.
“You launched double the amount of shots of Karl-Anthony Towns,” Smith said. “You shot more than Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart combined.”
His criticism centered on New York’s inability to involve teammates. Hart scored efficiently during the first half, while Towns managed only 11 points on 10 shots despite San Antonio frequently playing smaller lineups.
“You had an opportunity to exploit that and take advantage by getting the ball to Karl-Anthony Towns,” Smith added. “You didn’t do that.”
Jalen Brunson and the Knicks abandoned their winning formula
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) shoots against San Antonio Spurs guard De'aaron Fox (4) in the fourth quarter during game three of the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The numbers support part of Smith’s argument. New York made 40 field goals but recorded only 18 assists, a sharp departure from the ball movement and spacing that defined its playoff surge.
“That’s not the New York Knicks,” Smith said. “That shows there’s not a lot of fluidity. There’s not a lot of moving of the basketball. There’s not the proper spacing. There’s not a lot of things.”
The Spurs capitalized on those issues. Victor Wembanyama delivered 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists, while Stephon Castle added 23 points. San Antonio also forced 13 Knicks turnovers and converted them into 21 points.
Smith’s criticism is fair but not absolute. Brunson remains New York’s offensive engine and nearly dragged the team back late. However, championship basketball demands balance. When Towns is underused, Bridges is neutralized by foul trouble, and the offense becomes predictable, elite defenses adjust.
Smith’s strongest observation may have been his simplest.
“That New York Knicks team ain’t winning the championship,” Smith said. “The New York Knicks team that’s gonna win the championship is the New York Knicks team that we’ve been watching over the previous 13 games. The ones that showed up last night looked nothing like that team.”
The San Antonio Spurs took down the New York Knicks 115-111 in Game 3 on Monday night at Madison Square Garden to trim the Knicks’ series lead to 2-1 in the NBA Finals.
After the game, Knicks head coach Mike Brown made it clear that he had a problem with the free-throw discrepancy in the game, particularly in the second half. The Spurs shot 32 free throws in the game and 24 free throws in the second half, while the Knicks shot 22 free throws in the game and eight in the second half.
Brown spent nearly five minutes questioning the Game 3 officiating in his postgame press conference.
Mike Brown spent almost 5 minutes at the start of his presser complaining about the officiating: pic.twitter.com/4R5W7SBlmm
“I want to make sure I get something clear,” Brown began. “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’d 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’re a great team. It’s going to lower our odds big time, big time, if we play Game 4, and in the second half they get free-throw attempts to our eight. And maybe we were fouling. Maybe we were fouling. But they fouled too.”
“There were opportunities for fouls to be called to at least try to even the free throws out,” Brown said. “Now, we didn’t play good. San Antonio played great. We could have played better. There were a lot of things that we didn’t do that we did in Game 1 and Game 2. But to go 24 free-throw attempts in a second half; that’s 48 for the game if you think about it the way they called it that second half. Compared to eight? All the shots we took, we got fouled four times, roughly, for eight free-throw attempts?”
“Again, I don’t complain much. I never thought I’d see that in an NBA Finals game,” Brown continued. “And I saw it tonight. It’s tough to overcome when you’re playing a great team. Having said that, again, San Antonio won the game. I’m giving their head coach and their players a lot of credit. Wemby played great. Stephon Castle played great. I’d go down the line. Fox hit a big shot late. But as a team, if you take away the fouls and the free throws that should have been, in my opinion, a little bit more even. Again, maybe we fouled that many times. But they fouled too. And it’s not shown at the end of the day on this box score.”
The Inside the NBA crew tackled Brown’s comments after the game.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 9, 2026
“He should have stopped (after) ‘We didn’t play well,'” Charles Barkley said about Brown. “They did not play well enough to win the game. The Spurs outplayed them tonight. Listen, referees are going to miss some calls. That happens. Officiating did not lose this game. You know I love Mike Brown… The bottom line was he should have stopped after, ‘We did not play well enough to win.’ That’s why they lost, not the free throws.”
“Ernie (Johnson), when I was good enough to lead my team to the Finals, one time I had a bad game, and Phil Jackson said, ‘What’s wrong?’ I said, ‘I didn’t get no calls,'” Shaquille O’Neal explained. “He put his hand on my shoulder and said, ‘World champions don’t complain.’ And he walked off. Mike Brown knows better. He’s won the Warriors. He knows what it takes to win a championship. I agree with Chuck… He should have stopped at ‘We didn’t play well.’ World champions do not complain.”
“I love Mike Brown as well,” Draymond Green said. “The referees usually side with the more aggressive team. Victor Wembanyama started the game; three of their first four possessions, he had dunks. All series long, when Victor Wembanyama has rolled, it’s been like bumper cars… Now, he gets five or six lobs today. So, I blame the Knicks for that. If you’re aggressive, if you’re not letting him roll to the rim, then they’re not penetrating to get to the basket, and they’re not getting more foul calls.”
The San Antonio Spurs walked into Madison Square Garden on Monday night and pulled off exactly what the Knicks did in Games 1 and 2 at the Frost Bank Center, stealing a road game. The Spurs edged New York 115-111, cutting the series deficit to 2-1 and keeping their Finals hopes alive.
It was overall a physical, chippy contest from the jump, but very few moments generated more heat than what happened in the first quarter between Jalen Brunson and Victor Wembanyama.
Jun 8, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) reacts as San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) looks on in the second quarter during game three of the 2026 NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Trailing 2-0 and in a near must-win situation, Wembanyama came out firing. He asserted himself early by attacking the rim, finishing and-ones, and making it clear he was done being passive. But his aggression against Brunson went completely unpunished. When the Knicks guard fired back right after the play, the moment completely broke the internet.
Jalen Brunson drops 7 words after Victor Wembanyama’s dirty shove
With around five minutes left in the first quarter, Brunson was trying to set a screen on Wembanyama to free up Josh Hart when the Spurs big man shoved him to the ground. In the video clips circulating online, Wemby can be seen using significant force on the Knicks guard, sending Brunson crashing to the floor.
Referees did not call a foul and missed the play entirely. Brunson immediately got into Wembanyama’s face, but the Frenchman just smiled before the point guard walked away and got back to business.
When asked about the shove during his postgame press conference, Brunson said, “Whatever you saw is what you saw.” He avoided any extra drama, acting as if he had already moved on and accepted the physicality, with a quiet passion to return it in the next game.
The 22-year-old had previously been involved in a heavily criticized collision with OKC’s Cason Wallace in the Western Conference Finals and was ejected from a second-round game after elbowing Naz Reid. For many fans, his moment with Brunson in Game 3 of the Finals felt exactly like that villain play in the WCF.
Fans react after Jalen Brunson’s clamped response
Fan reactions went even deeper, as some people actually respected Brunson’s icy response.
One user wrote, “Wemby deserves a flagrant for what he did to Alvarado and this, and he deserves to be ejected for a game — but they won’t do that cause one more flagrant and he’d be ejected. STOP PROTECTING THIS GUY.”
Another added, “The most respectful way to say everyone already saw it.”
A third noted, “That’s the most ‘I’m not getting fined for this’ quote you’ll hear all week.”
The fourth one claimed, “Had a little Marshawn Lynch type response there. I like it Brunson.”
Not everyone was on Brunson’s side, though, as one X user penned, “I saw Brunson trying to hook someone twice his size and flopping when he snuck out of it.”
Because the shove happened in the first quarter, it did not qualify for the Last Two-Minute Report. On top of that, the league office looked at the tape and decided not to hit him with a retroactive flagrant foul. Because both rules let it slide, the whole thing was basically wiped from the books,
Anyway, with the win, the Spurs caught a break, and this series definitely isn’t going to end in a sweep. With Game 4 on Wednesday and the physicality of the NBA Finals escalating, it will be interesting to see how Brunson pays Wembanyama back for that shove.
The San Antonio Spurs lost Game 2 of the NBA Finals in the closing moments, and much of the blame was placed on Victor Wembanyama, who committed two costly mistakes that led to the 105-104 loss. He turned the ball over to New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson and then sent him to the free-throw line with a foul.
Brunson made one of three free throws, giving his team the lead and ultimately securing the victory.
It was a different story in Game 3, as the Spurs won 115-111 to cut the series deficit to 2-1. Wembanyama played an outstanding game, finishing with 32 points. The Spurs’ late-game execution was also much improved, allowing them to protect their lead through heads-up play.
Wembanyama praised two teammates who played key roles in that effort. Stephon Castle hit a clutch three-pointer with less than two minutes remaining to extend the Spurs’ lead to seven. However, the Knicks responded when Jalen Brunson knocked down a three-pointer to trim the deficit to three with 33 seconds left.
De’Aaron Fox then scored on a two-pointer to restore a five-point cushion, but OG Anunoby made it a one-possession game again, 113-111, with nine seconds remaining.
Castle was fouled and converted both free throws, and the Spurs played solid defense on the final possession to seal the victory.
Victor Wembanyama praises Castle and Fox
Wemby was not put in a place to make mistakes and that is thanks to his teammates who stepped up. He praised Castle for being one of the more mature players in the squad.
Wemby on Steph Castle:
“He might be the most mature player on our team, and he’s nowhere near the oldest, and he’s been in big games before. He’s been in big games before the NBA. I’m not surprised by this, and he’s shown over and over again that he’s capable and that we are…
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) shoots the ball against San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5), forward Victor Wembanyama (1) and guard De’Aaron Fox (4) during game three of the 2026 NBA Finals in the third quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
The team had been on a historic 13-game winning streak in this year’s playoffs going into Monday night’s contest, but couldn’t hold off the scrappy San Antonio Spurs. The series is now 2-1 in favor of the Knicks heading into Game 4 in New York on Wednesday.
Trump’s attendance at Madison Square Garden ahead of the game required additional security measures at the arena and forced fans to arrive two hours early to go through “TSA-style security,” according to a statement from the Knicks on Saturday. It also led to the free watch party outside the venue being canceled.
Not surprisingly, Trump was heartily booed when he appeared on the Jumbotron during the national anthem. He then appeared to nod off during part of the game.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith seemed to forecast the reaction to Trump’s attendance at the game if the Knicks didn’t bring home the win.
“If they lose tonight, I’m looking right at him,” Smith said. “I’m saying it, it’s just me. I’m blaming him. I’m blaming the president of the United States of America if the New York Knicks lose this tonight.”
Critics took to social media after the Knicks’ loss to slam Trump for attending the game:
The Knicks’ 13-game winning streak comes to an end after President Trump attends Game 3 of the NBA Finals. pic.twitter.com/KAYDRYTuep
Trump ******* jinxed the Knicks. He ******* ruins everything
— Jamie Bonkiewicz (@JamieBonkiewicz) June 9, 2026
Like clockwork the #ETTD jinx never fails but hopefully the Knicks will be able to recover on Wednesday night after Trump’s stench leaves the building pic.twitter.com/fUmhmq6jTU
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) June 9, 2026
Can the Knicks carry the momentum from this reverse jinx to a comeback victory ? https://t.co/MlrcbIDuXN
NEW YORK — Fans and media dealt with a heavy police presence ahead of Monday’s NBA Finals game between the Knicks and Spurs at Madison Square Garden.
President Donald Trump is attending the game, becoming the first sitting president to attend a Finals game. As a result, protective fencing was erected around parts of the arena and police were stationed everywhere, with a presence stretching a few blocks away from the arena to ensure safety.
Secret Service and TSA agents were on site and helped screen fans and media on their way into the arena. Media and Garden employees entered at the Tower B entrance they usually arrive through, but first had to pass through a protective gate that was part of the perimeter fencing installed for security purposes.
The Knicks announced fans would not be allowed to bring bags into the arena and were encouraged arrive up to two hours before tipoff to avoid security delays. Ticket prices for Game 3, which were starting as high as $11,000 early Saturday, dropped significantly as security protocols for the president’s attendance have helped depress the NBA Finals resale market. As of Monday afternoon, low-end, get-in prices began at less than $5,000 per ticket.
Two hours before tipoff, lines of fans snaked down the streets surrounding MSG.
Fan parties outside the arena were also cancelled because of the president’s appearance, with one moved to nearby Bryant Park.
Beginning at 4 p.m., the NYPD closed streets to the public between West 30th and West 35th, from Eighth Ave. to Sixth Ave., to prepare for Trump’s arrival. Those street closures applied to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
The arena opened to the media around 4:30 p.m. On their way into the aren, reporters’ bags were screened by TSA and wanded by Secret Service agents. Pregame media locker access for both the Spurs and Knicks was restricted on Wednesday in light of Trump’s visit, a rarity in the NBA.
Fans with train or game tickets were allowed to enter the arena on foot. Access to Penn Station was limited to the west side entrance on Eighth Avenue, which is outside the secure area.
Trump spent the weekend at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., after arriving Friday night from an event in Wisconsin. The president is scheduled to head to the arena in the early evening and watch the game, before returning to Washington, though he reportedly hasn’t ruled out attending Game 4 on Wednesday.
Trump is a longtime friend of Knicks owner James Dolan, and it’s unknown if Trump will sit alongside Dolan at his usual seat behind the Knicks basket or if the president will be seated in a suite, which would be easier for security purposes.
The Knicks are up 2–0 in the series, chasing their first championship since 1973. The last NBA Finals appearance for the Knicks was in 1999. The Spurs’ last title came in 2014, the fifth and final one of the Tim Duncan/Gregg Popovich dynasty.
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