The San Antonio Spurs dominated the New York Knicks 76-49 in the first half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, taking a commanding 3-1 series lead.
The Knicks shot just 29.4% in the first quarter and committed seven first-half turnovers, leading to a minus-11 differential in points off turnovers.
>>> Algeria National Team Arrives in US for World Cup Campaign
San Antonio set an NBA Finals record by converting 14 of 26 attempts from beyond the arc in the first half.
Physical Play and Frustration
The game featured several physical altercations involving Spurs center Victor Wembanyama.
He taunted Mitchell Robinson after a scoop layup, prompting a forearm shove to the neck that resulted in a Flagrant 1 foul.
Later in the third quarter, Wembanyama hit Karl-Anthony Towns in the chin with an elbow, earning his third playoff flagrant point.
He is now one flagrant foul away from an automatic one-game suspension.
The league had previously reviewed a controversial play from Game 3 where Wembanyama shoved Jalen Brunson, but decided against upgrading it to a flagrant foul.
Knicks head coach Mike Brown expressed strong dissatisfaction with the officiating, noting a 24-8 free-throw advantage for San Antonio in the second half of the previous game.
"I don't complain much. I never thought I'd see that in an NBA finals game, and I saw it tonight.
That's tough to overcome when you're playing against a great team," Brown said.
