Knicks and Spurs set for Game 4 of an NBA Finals that have belonged to the road teams

NEW YORK (AP) — Sometime in these NBA Finals, the home team figures to get a victory.

If the New York Knicks do it Wednesday night, they will be on the doorstep of a championship.

The Knicks can take a 3-1 lead over the San Antonio Spurs, who hope the long arms of 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama already have started swinging the series in their favor.

The Spurs won Game 3 on Monday powered by Wembanyama's 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots. That was the third straight victory by the road team in the series, only the second time that has happened in the NBA Finals.

The other was the series between Chicago and Phoenix in 1993. Michael Jordan eventually put a stop to that by scoring 55 points in Game 4 to lead the eventual champion Bulls to the victory on their home floor.

Time will tell if Wembanyama can reach Jordan's level, but he's now proved he can deliver just the same in big games in New York. He angered the Knicks and their fans with a shot to Jalen Brunson's head during the game. The NBA decided not to later assess Wembanyama a flagrant foul, and the 22-year-old figures to hear even louder boos as a new villain at Madison Square Garden.

“If you get hit, you hit back. That’s life. If life hits you, you need to figure out a way to get on your feet and hit it back,” teammate De'Aaron Fox said. "Every time he rolls, he gets tagged, he gets hit. If he’s trying to go set a screen, box out, whatever it may be, he’s getting grabbed, he’s getting held. It would be crazy for him to think he’s going to get open by not hitting somebody.

“But that’s basketball. It’s going to be physical. No one expects anyone to come out here and not have bumps and bruises or injuries or all these things. I don’t think it’s trying to be a villain.”

Game 5 is Saturday in San Antonio, and if the road success continues Wednesday, the series would return to New York for Game 6 on Tuesday.

The Knicks, seeking their first championship since 1973, will be trying to bounce back after the Spurs snapped their 13-game winning streak on Monday.

“The Spurs have done a great job starting in the game, dictating the pace and dictating how the game is going,” Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said. “We have to try to be the first ones to throw the first punch.”

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San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots as New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) and center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) defend during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) tries to get a shot off during Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the New York Knicks, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) drives past San Antonio Spurs defenders during the second half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) talks with guard Stephon Castle during second half of Game 3 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the New York Knicks, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

BANGKOK (AP) — An American diplomat was found dead in Myanmar's largest city, the U.S. State Department said, and members of the diplomatic community in Yangon say a Thai woman has been detained by police in connection with the investigation.

American officials in Thailand and the U.S. Embassy in Myanmar referred questions on the case to the State Department, which confirmed the “death of a U.S. government employee” assigned to the embassy in Yangon but gave no other details.

“Out of respect for the privacy of the family and loved ones, we have no further information to provide at this time,” the State Department said in an emailed reply to questions from The Associated Press.

According to three people in the diplomatic community in Myanmar, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case, the man was found dead about two weeks ago at the Sakura Residence & Hotel. The facility, with long-term rentals, is popular with diplomats, business people and other international visitors, and is located about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) from the American Embassy.

They said police are treating the case as a possible homicide and have a Thai woman in custody.

Thailand’s Foreign Ministry said it has provided consular assistance to the woman in custody and notified her family, but would not comment further.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is embroiled in fighting between the country's military-led government, which ousted democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, and a disparate group of militias organized by the country's ethnic minority groups and pro-democracy forces.

Authorities typically give little information to the media, and the duty officer answering the phone at the police station responsible for the area where the Sakura hotel is located refused to comment and hung up on an AP reporter.

The manager of the Sakura hotel also declined to comment.

Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

FILE - This shows U.S. Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar, on Feb. 13, 2021. (AP Photo, File)