Mike Brown Teases Adjustments for KAT Heading Into Game 4
The San Antonio Spurs halted the New York Knicks' 13-game win streak on June 8 with a 115-111 road victory in Game 3. The NBA Finals resume on Wednesday with Game 4, with the Knicks leading the best-of-seven series 2-1.
One of the reasons the Knicks lost Game 3 was that the Spurs held Knicks power forward Karl-Anthony Towns in check. After scoring 18 and 21 points in the first two games of the series, respectively, Towns only scored 11 points in Game 4 on poor 4-10 shooting from the field.
Towns also did not score at all in the fourth quarter, a time when the Knicks needed him the most, which has become a trend for him in this series. While he has 50 points overall in the NBA Finals, Towns has yet to score one single point in the fourth quarter.
That's why Knicks head coach Mike Brown knows he has to make some adjustments.
Mike Browns Hints at Adjustments to KAT For Game 4
Speaking to reporters in New York the day before Game 4, Brown was asked about Towns not scoring a single point in the fourth quarter during the NBA Finals.
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Brown knows that for the Knicks to win this series and capture the NBA Championship, that has to change. So, he hinted at making some adjustments for the next game.
It's extremely important that he's getting touches.
"It's extremely important that he's getting touches, that he's involved, not just in the fourth quarter, but obviously, throughout the ballgame," Brown said.
"I got to continue to try and do a better job to try and get him more involved throughout the course of the game, as well as late."
In a series as tight as this NBA Finals between two elite teams like the Spurs and Knicks, these games are all going to come down to how the fourth quarter is played.
While the Knicks managed to win the first two games of the series without KAT scoring any points in the final quarter, it arguably cost them in Game 3, and they need to make a big adjustment heading into Game 4 if they want to get back on track and take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
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Spurs Not Done Just Yet
After losing the first two games of the NBA Finals at home, the Spurs pulled off the road upset when they beat the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The series is now 2-1, and if the Spurs can win Game 4 in NYC, it will be tied up 2-2 heading back to Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.
While the Knicks were clearly the better team in Games 1 and 2, they did not look the part in Game 3. Perhaps it was the pressure of playing in New York City, where the price of a ticket cost a fortune, that got to them in Game 3.
But whatever the case was, they did not play up to their potential, even if the final score shows a close game after the Knicks made some clutch shots at the end to cut it close.
In the NBA, winning and losing often come down to who has the best player on the court, and in this series, the Spurs have that advantage with center Victor Wembanyama.
After an up-and-down performance in the first two games of the series, Wembanyama exploded in Game 3 for 32 points to help the Spurs get back into the series. It was the most points he's scored in the playoffs since he had 33 points against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals.
While KAT was able to keep Wembanyama in check defensively in the first two games, he didn't do a great job of it in Game 3, and his offense was down, too.
For the Knicks to win the NBA Championship, they're going to need Towns to step it up once again, and this time, scoring in the fourth quarter would really help his team out.
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This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 7:17 PM.