Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden was physical from the opening tip. The San Antonio Spurs came to New York with an edge that was not present in the first two games, and the results showed. San Antonio won 115-111, cutting the Knicks’ series lead to 2-1.
The basketball was quickly overshadowed by one moment in the first quarter. Victor Wembanyama shoved Jalen Brunson to the floor during a Knicks possession, drawing fury from Brunson and the Madison Square Garden crowd. The referees did not call a foul. The NBA reviewed the play afterward and chose not to upgrade it to flagrant, a decision that kept Wembanyama from being one foul away from a one-game suspension.
Draymond Green was watching all of it. And he had plenty to say.
Green’s Take on the Knicks’ Response
Speaking on The Kevin O’Connor Show, Green did not focus on the officiating or the league’s review. His attention was on the Knicks and what he felt was a failure to respond in the moment.
“He pushed him down and none of the guys on the Knicks team did anything,” Green said. “Don’t not for one second think that didn’t matter. That mattered.”
Green was asked what he would have done if Wembanyama had done the same thing to Stephen Curry. His answer was immediate. He would have been thrown out of the game right there. That was not a hypothetical. That was a statement about what teammate loyalty looks like on the biggest stage.
For Green, the lack of response was not just a missed moment. It was something Wembanyama and the Spurs would have filed away.
What Brunson Said
GettyVictor Wembanyama (C) has cleared the NBA’s punishment decision after his shove of Jalen Brunson (L).
Brunson himself was characteristically unbothered when asked about the shove after the game. Rather than escalating the narrative, he kept his response brief and deliberate.
“Whatever you saw is what you saw,” Brunson told reporters, adding that the level of physical play from San Antonio did not affect him or his teammates.
It was a measured response from someone who does not give opponents bulletin board material. Still, whether the Knicks address the physicality differently heading into Game 4 remains to be seen.
“Whatever you saw is what you saw.”
Green’s Praise for Brunson
However, Green’s commentary on the Finals has not been entirely critical of the Knicks. On ESPN’s Inside the NBA, he made a genuine observation about Brunson’s standing in New York that spoke to something bigger than basketball.
Specifically, Green pointed out that the number of Brunson jerseys he sees at Madison Square Garden rivals what he has witnessed for Curry and LeBron James in their respective cities. Brunson arrived as a free agent in 2022 and rebuilt the franchise from the ground up. That kind of connection with a fanbase does not happen by accident.
Meanwhile, Brunson has averaged 26.9 points and 6.2 assists per game through 17 playoff appearances this postseason. He drives everything the Knicks do, and Green clearly sees it.
–@Money23Green on the support the Knicks fans have shown the team and Brunson 🙌
Final Word for the Warriors
Draymond Green has played in six NBA Finals. He knows what moments matter. His point about the Knicks’ response came from experience, not noise.
Game 4 is Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks lead 2-1 and can go up 3-1 on their home floor. How they respond to Wembanyama’s physicality will shape the rest of this series.
Green said what he had to say. Now the Knicks have to answer it.
Warriors’ Draymond Green Rips Knicks After Wembanyama Shove