The Knicks Just Won Their First NBA Title Since 1973 Behind a Jalen Brunson Masterpiece
It happened. The Knicks are champions for the first time since 1973.
New York beat the Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 in San Antonio on Saturday night, closing out the series 4-1 and ending one of the longest title droughts in professional sports. Jalen Brunson scored 45 points, including 13 straight in the fourth quarter to seal the win. The Knicks rallied from a double-digit deficit, just like they had in the four previous wins of this Finals run.
The image will live forever. Brunson, hood up before the game, telling the world the series was 0-0. Brunson, hood off after the game, holding a Larry O’Brien Trophy that has not lived in New York for 53 years.
Brunson’s Series-Defining Performance
This was the version of Brunson the Knicks built around. He hunted his spots all night. He shrugged off contact. He took every clutch shot New York needed and made the ones that mattered.
His 45 points were a Finals career high. The way he scored them was even more striking. He was patient through the third quarter, picking apart whichever defender the Spurs threw at him. Then he flipped a switch in the fourth and went on a 13-0 personal run that put the game out of reach.
Dylan Harper played his heart out for San Antonio, dropping 25 in defeat. Victor Wembanyama finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds, and five blocks. He was the best player on the floor for stretches. He was not enough to overcome Brunson when Brunson decided this was his game.
How New York Got Here
The Knicks built this team carefully over the last three years. Brunson was the foundation. The trades for Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges added scoring and defense. OG Anunoby was their wing destroyer. Josh Hart was their soul.
Tom Thibodeau pushed every right button this postseason. He trusted his stars. He played his rotation tight. He survived every adjustment the Cavaliers, the Pistons, the Bucks, and the Spurs threw at him. New York lost just six games in the entire playoff run.
The fan base earned this too. Madison Square Garden has been the loudest building in the league for two years. Knicks fans took over arenas all over the country during this postseason. They were never going to be denied tonight.
The 53-Year Wait Is Over
The last time the Knicks won a championship, Walt Frazier was running the point and Earl Monroe was scoring in his face. Willis Reed was the captain. Nixon was president. There has been no other NBA franchise that combined market size, history, and futility quite like this one.
Now that is gone. New York is a champion. Brunson is going home with the Finals MVP award. Thibodeau gets a banner. James Dolan gets to celebrate without anyone laughing about him in real time.
The parade is going to be one of the great moments in modern New York sports history. Every Knicks fan who has spent the last five decades suffering through Patrick Ewing playoff losses, Linsanity flameouts, and Phil Jackson disasters gets to stand on a sidewalk in lower Manhattan and watch a championship go by.
The Knicks are champions. Brunson is the Finals MVP. The drought is dead. The city wins.
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.
