As expected, slow starts a common theme in early Knicks NBA Finals struggles

They say even the best teams revert back to their worst habits under the bright lights of playoff pressure. The saying couldn’t be more true for a Knicks team prone to slow starts over each of their past two seasons, a theme underscoring their play through the first three games of the 2026 NBA Finals — against the best first-quarter team in the playoffs in the San Antonio Spurs.

The Knicks were outscored by 28 points through the first three opening periods of the NBA Finals: 27-19 in Game 1 and 34-25 in Game 2 before spotting the Spurs an 11-point advantage in Game 3, the first Finals game at Madison Square Garden since 1999.

They trailed by 14 in the first quarter of Game 1 and 10 in the first quarter of Game 2.

“Our level of physicality was not good last night to start the game. We knew down in San Antonio they were going to come out with a bunch of energy, especially with the crowd that they have down there. They do a good job feeding off the crowd,” head coach Mike Brown said after practice on Tuesday. “We wanted to make sure our level of physicality was there. If they hit some shots, we wanted to weather the storm. We didn’t do a good job coming out last night, not just in the first half but in the second half, as well.

We have to up our level of physicality, especially at the start of the games, and try to maintain it throughout the course without fouling.”

The slow starts long predate the Knicks’ first Finals’ appearance this century but were on full display in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks came back from down 22 in the opening period and won the game thanks to a 44-11 run through the fourth quarter and overtime.

“I just think we need to be ready to go,” team captain Jalen Brunson offered as a solution on Tuesday. “Very vague thing to say. I think it’s very simple, as well. Just need to be ready.”

The Knicks have developed a reputation as the most resilient team in basketball: They came back from down 20 points in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics then came back from down 20-plus again in Game 3 of the conference finals against the Indiana Pacers.

The slow starts, however, are undeniable for a team boasting this much firepower: The Knicks also lost the first quarter of Game 3 against the Atlanta Hawks, Games 2 and 3 against the Philadelphia 76ers, and Game 2 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

It’s a bad habit the team needs to kick in what might amount to the highest-leverage games in franchise history with a chance to bring New York City its first championship since 1973.

“We’ll have to figure it out. We’ll have to figure it out because in every game we’ve played here in the Finals, we’ve put ourselves in a position where we have to start fighting immediately,” said Karl-Anthony Towns. “Every time we find a way to get back into the game, but we can’t trust that result is going to happen every single time.”