The New York Knicks have not won a championship in 53 years. Walt Frazier was the team’s leading scorer. Jerry West was still playing. Richard Nixon was the president. Fifty-three years of pain ends Saturday night if New York can finish the job in San Antonio. Game 5 of the NBA Finals tips at 8:30 ET on ABC.
The Knicks lead 3-1 after Wednesday’s historic comeback win in Game 4. They have OG Anunoby playing like the Finals MVP. They have Jalen Brunson playing the best basketball of his career. They have a defensive scheme that’s working. They have everything they need to close this out.
Why the Knicks Should Win Game 5
The momentum is real. The Knicks just pulled off the largest comeback in Finals history. The Spurs blew a 29-point lead in front of their league. Mental scars don’t heal in 48 hours. San Antonio is going to play tight from the opening tip, and that’s a hard way to win a Finals game on your home floor.
The Knicks also have the better halfcourt offense. Brunson and Anunoby have shown they can score against any defensive scheme San Antonio throws at them. Karl-Anthony Towns has been smart and patient. Mikal Bridges is hitting his catch-and-shoot threes. The Knicks have answers everywhere on the floor.
What the Spurs Need
Victor Wembanyama has to play 40 minutes without foul trouble. That hasn’t happened yet in the series. Dylan Harper needs the best game of his rookie career. Mitchell Johnson needs the bench to play above their water level. And the role players, especially Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell, need to make outside shots.
That’s a lot of things going right at once for San Antonio. They had it all rolling in the first three quarters of Game 4 and they still found a way to lose. The Spurs aren’t going to wake up Saturday with a different team. They’re going to wake up with the same group that just choked the biggest game of their lives.
The 1973 Pressure
53 years. The Knicks fan base has waited longer for a championship than any major American sports franchise still active. Every generation of Knicks fans has come close and watched it crumble. Patrick Ewing’s teams. The Anthony Mason era. Carmelo Anthony. Even Brunson’s recent runs. All of them ended in heartbreak.
Saturday is the chance to end that history. The Knicks have to handle the pressure of that moment as much as they have to handle the basketball. Tom Thibodeau has been preparing this group for exactly this moment all season. Whether they can step into it remains the question.
The Game 6 Insurance Policy
Even if the Knicks lose Game 5, they get Game 6 back at Madison Square Garden. That’s the safety net. They aren’t being asked to win in Texas to clinch the title. They just have to win one of two. The pressure is real but not crushing.
That’s why this Knicks team should be loose. The math is in their favor. The matchups are in their favor. The momentum is in their favor. The only enemy is the franchise’s own history, and Brunson has spent two years showing he doesn’t carry that weight.
The Verdict
Knicks in 5. They’re getting the trophy in San Antonio. Brunson and Anunoby are going to combine for 60 points again. The defense is going to hold up. The Spurs are going to play tight and lose by single digits. And then Madison Square Garden is going to host the loudest parade celebration in modern American sports history. Mark Saturday on the calendar.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
