By Nate Wolf

Basketball fans were treated to one of the most memorable games in NBA history on Wednesday night as the New York Knicks came back from a 29-point deficit to defeat the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

The Knicks will take a 3-1 series lead to San Antonio on Saturday night, when they will have a chance close out the Spurs at the Frost Bank Center. That's alarming for Spurs fans, but perhaps not for investors in Cullen/Frost Bankers, the arena's sponsor.

Shares of the San Antonio-based bank were up less than 0.1% on Thursday, but the stock has gained 7.1% from the close of trading on June 2, the day before the Finals began.

Whether that has anything to do with the visibility provided by the Spurs is an open question. Through the first three games, the 2026 Finals were ABC and ESPN's second most-watched championship series ever, the networks said Wednesday, averaging 19.1 million viewers. That is more than double the audience of last year's Finals.

It is exceedingly unlikely that any New Yorkers are opening up accounts at a regional bank in Texas. Maybe getting the Cullen/Frost name in front of San Antonians is a plus, though.

What New Yorkers definitely are doing is buying tickets, concessions, and other goodies at Madison Square Garden. That's good news for Madison Square Garden Sports -- the parent company of the Knicks and the NHL's New York Rangers -- and the venue's owner, Madison Square Garden Entertainment.

MSG Sports stock rose 1% in early trading Thursday, and has climbed more than 50% this year. The company was a Barron's stock pick in September, just before the NBA season tipped off.

MSG Entertainment, meanwhile, was up 1% on Thursday and has now surged 37% in 2026.

Knicks fans reading this article may not like it, but a Spurs win on Saturday may be the best outcome for the MSG stocks. The series would move back to New York for a pivotal Game 6 next Tuesday -- meaning another game's worth of revenue.

Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 11, 2026 10:49 ET (14:49 GMT)

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