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Victor Wembanyama scored 32 points as the San Antonio Spurs cut the New York Knicks’ lead in the NBA Finals to 2-1 with a 115-111 win at Madison Square Garden.<\/b><\/p>\n
US President Donald Trump, in the crowd as the iconic venue hosted its first Finals game since 1999, was booed<\/a> when he was shown on the big screen during the national anthem.<\/p>\n He is the first sitting president to attend the championship series.<\/p>\n Wembanyama, whose errors cost the Spurs<\/a> in game two, added eight rebounds and six assists.<\/p>\n He was supported by 23 points from Stephon Castle and 13 off the bench from Dylan Harper as the Spurs avoided going 3-0 down – a deficit from which no team has recovered in the Finals.<\/p>\n Defeat ended a 13-game winning streak for the Knicks – two short of the Golden State Warriors’ 2017 record – as they chase their first championship since 1973.<\/p>\n Only five of the 37 teams who have led 2-0 have failed to win the Finals.<\/p>\n “We’ve done what we were supposed to do but the job is absolutely not done,” said Wembanyama.<\/p>\n “We’re not even halfway. The hardest is yet to come.”<\/p>\n The Spurs trailed 64-57 at half-time but went ahead with a 35-point third quarter.<\/p>\n A three-pointer from Castle with one minutes 53 seconds left extended their lead to 111-104 and – unlike in game one,<\/a> when they came unstuck against a late surge from the Knicks – the Spurs held firm.<\/p>\n Although OG Anunoby hit a late three-pointer to cut the Spurs’ lead to two points, Castle scored two free throws in the final 10 seconds.<\/p>\n Anunoby finished with 28 points and Jalen Brunson 32 for the Knicks.<\/p>\n The best-of-seven series continues at the same venue on Wednesday (01:30 BST, Thursday) before the teams return to San Antonio for game five on Saturday (01:30, Sunday).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n