Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The New York Knicks, fueled by a sensational 45 points from Jalen Brunson, rallied again to beat the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 and win their first NBA title in 53 years on Saturday. The Knicks won the best-of-seven championship series 4-1, denying Victor Wembanyama and his young Spurs teammates on their home floor to lift the trophy for the first time since 1973.
The Knicks, who recovered from 29 points down in game four to produce the biggest comeback in Finals history, erased a double-digit deficit to win for the fourth time in the series. They trailed by 16 in the second quarter and were down by 10 early in the fourth, but Brunson wouldn’t let them lose.
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“I’ve got no words,” Brunson said after setting a Knicks record for points in a Finals game, surpassing Willis Reed’s 38 in game three of the team’s 1970 triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers. “I don’t know what I’m feeling,” added Brunson, who was named Finals Most Valuable Player. “I’m in awe. Whenever someone counts us out, we find a way to come back and do something about it.”
French star Wembanyama scored 19 points, pulled down 14 rebounds, and blocked five shots, while rookie Dylan Harper scored 25 points off the bench for San Antonio. But once again, the Spurs team that vanquished the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals was unable to hold off the crafty and determined Knicks.
The win marked the final chapter of a dramatic playoff run that had captivated New York, with tens of thousands of long-suffering fans packing neighborhood watch parties throughout the Big Apple as the team inched towards a first title in more than half a century. Within moments of clinching victory on Saturday, the Empire State Building was lit up in the Knicks’ signature orange and blue colors, as raucous celebrations erupted outside the team’s Madison Square Garden home.
There was a boisterous blue and orange-clad contingent cheering them on at the Spurs’ Frost Bank Center as well, where the celebrities on the sidelines included not only longtime Knicks fans but also Britain’s Prince Harry, who sat with NBA commissioner Adam Silver. Mikal Bridges scored 14 points and Josh Hart added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns scored just two points before fouling out in the fourth quarter but pulled down 10 rebounds and came up with three steals and a blocked shot.
Fouled on a three-pointer, Brunson made all three free throws to put the Knicks up 86-85 with 3:40 left to play. It was their first lead since the opening minutes, and they wouldn’t trail again. Game four hero OG Anunoby drove for a dunk that made it 88-85, and after the Spurs knotted it at 88-88, Brunson put New York back in front with a driving basket, and the Knicks held on.
With their backs against the wall, the Spurs were locked in defensively from the opening tip-off. Wembanyama set the tone, blocking three shots in the first quarter as the Spurs powered to a 23-13 lead, holding the Knicks to their fewest points in any quarter this postseason. Wembanyama tied a Finals record with five blocks in the first half and drilled a three-pointer that pushed the Spurs lead to 16 early in the second period.
But the Knicks were heating up, cutting the deficit to three before Devin Vassell’s fadeaway basket at the buzzer sent the Spurs into the interval with a 42-37 lead. San Antonio quickly rebuilt a double-digit lead, but Brunson and the gritty Knicks wouldn’t let them get away.
“We weren’t ready to win an NBA championship,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “The better team won. We did a lot of good things, and we didn’t finish the job. That’s what it is.”
© 2024 AFP
