NEW YORK — Referees missed a foul call on Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama when he shoved Knicks guard Jalen Brunson in the first quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Monday.

Without a whistle on Wembanyama, the play continued with San Antonio on offense. A replay review appeared to show Brunson, who was on defense and working through a screen on the play, making initial contact with his left hand and grabbing a fistful of Wembanyama’s jersey, prompting the retaliatory shove. With his own left hand, Wembanyama aggressively shoved Brunson in the upper back and neck area, sending him toward the floor.

But it remains unclear if either player will be cited for any offense in the review of the matter on the off day before Game 4 at Madison Square Garden.

NBA head of officiating Monty McCutchen said Tuesday the league is reviewing the play, and holds the ability to retroactively assess a flagrant-1 foul. The NBA rulebook deems “unnecessary contact” a flagrant-1 foul, because it goes beyond the actions warranting a common foul.

If the NBA issues a flagrant-1 for the play, Wembanyama would not be subject to a suspension. But the Spurs’ big man would be skating into Game 4 on thin ice.

Wembanyama has already obtained two penalty points for a flagrant-2 foul in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals against Naz Reid of the Timberwolves.

All players can accumulate a total of three penalty points in the playoffs. If Wembanyama’s shove is upgraded to a flagrant foul, he would have three penalty points. His next flagrant in the Finals would prompt an automatic suspension.

Julian Champagnie had the ball on the left wing facing San Antonio’s basket with Landry Shamet defending when the action happened near the foul line and away from the play.

Brunson was also called for a flagrant foul closing out on a Champagnie 3-pointer. Officials said he did not provide ample landing space for the Spurs’ deep threat. Brunson had little to say about the non-call postgame.

“Whatever you saw is what you saw,” Brunson said.

A flagrant-2, described as justified in the rulebook when “unnecessary and excessive or reckless contact” is “committed by a player against an opponent,” would prompt an automatic ejection.

–Field Level Media

After admitting to a bit of FOMO, Isabelle Harrison doesn’t wish to miss out on any more action this season.

Harrison aims to give the Toronto Tempo another boost on Wednesday when the expansion club hosts the Connecticut Sun in a Commissioner’s Cup game.

Harrison scored 14 points in her season debut on Sunday afternoon, fueling Toronto to its third win in four outings with an 85-68 victory over the Chicago Sky.

Sidelined since training camp due to a dislocated thumb, Harrison didn’t look the worse for wear by making 6 of 9 shots from the floor while also grabbing six rebounds for the Tempo (6-5, 1-1 Commissioner Cup).

“I felt like I was a coach for a little too long, I was getting a little FOMO (fear of missing out),” Harrison said of her time on the sideline. “(I wanted) to just be out here with the girls, and just be a part of the process of building.”

Said Toronto guard Brittney Sykes: “It’s a testament to her as a human being. She was out really early in the season, and was never apart from us.”

Sykes poured in 25 points on Sunday to boost her season average to a career-high 20.1 points per game.

While the Tempo are ascending in the standings, the Sun (2-11, 0-3 CC) find themselves in the cellar following losses in three straight games.

Aaliyah Edwards and Olivia Nelson-Ododa each scored a season-high 15 points and Saniya Rivers added 12 in Connecticut’s 89-80 home setback to the New York Liberty on Monday.

The shorthanded Sun were without center Brittney Griner (rib) and forward Aneesah Morrow (left leg), and their absences contributed to the team getting outrebounded by a 42-28 margin.

“I think with us just having numbers down and people down, it’s just next-man-up mentality,” Nelson-Ododa said, per CT Insider. “I think that was our focus tonight. As a team, as a collective, it’s to come out, step up for one another, and really compete in this game.”

Connecticut did itself no favors from the free-throw line, making just 13 of 23 attempts. The Sun are converting a league-worst 67.3% of their free-throw attempts on the season.

Morrow collected 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals in Connecticut’s 83-78 victory over Toronto in a preseason game on April 29.

–Field Level Media

There’s no question the Los Angeles Sparks can score.

But if they’re to reach the WNBA playoffs and make any sort of run, they’ll need to play better defense.

The Sparks showed what they’re capable of as they snapped a three-game skid with an 89-72 victory against visiting Portland on Sunday.

They’ll look to continue that trend Wednesday at the Seattle Storm in a WNBA Commissioner’s Cup game.

Entering Sunday’s game, the Sparks had a league-worst defensive rating of 115.6. After trailing by two at the half, they allowed just 12 points in the third quarter and 17 in the fourth to post a double-digit victory.

“We were motivated,” said Nneka Ogwumike, who scored 20 points and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds. “We were playing for each other, we were playing with each other and defense, you know … offense is offense but defense is really where it’s at.

“And I think we did a really good job of not leaving any gas in the tank at the defensive end.”

Dearica Hamby added 22 points and 12 rebounds and Kelsey Plum totaled 16 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals for the Sparks (5-6, 1-2 Commissioner’s Cup), who allowed a season low for points.

“You get rewarded from winning,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “When we focus on the discipline to do the little things for each other, that’s how you build trust out there as a unit, and then that just kind of has a snowball effect. So it’s not going to be any different playing Seattle, in terms of we’re going to have a game plan that’s well thought out and it’s us choosing to do it for 40 minutes.”

The Storm (3-10, 0-4 Commissioner’s Cup) will be desperate to snap a six-game losing streak and earn their first victory against a Western Conference opponent this season (0-5).

Seattle is coming off a 101-91 road loss at defending WNBA champion Las Vegas.

First-year Storm coach Sonia Raman started second-year standout Dominique Malonga and rookie Awa Fam, the No. 3 overall pick in this spring’s WNBA draft, together in the frontcourt for the first time.

Malonga finished with 19 points and five rebounds despite battling foul trouble and Fam added 16 points and three rebounds.

“It’s a little bit weird because we never played together,” Fam said when asked about being paired with Malonga. “We (had) maybe one practice or two practices, so it’s not a lot. We are in this process of (getting to know) each other. It’s very fun because we are looking forward to playing more together. … I think we can be a really great duo, but it’s just step-by-step, game-by-game and … day-by-day.”

–Field Level Media