Knicks win NBA title for first time in 53 years after rallying to beat Spurs in Game 5 of Finals
SAN ANTONIO — Willis Reed. Walt Frazier. Dave DeBusschere. Bill Bradley. Dick Barnett. All of the champions from 1970 and 1973, many of whom have their jerseys hanging in the rafters at Madison Square Garden, you have company.
Jalen Brunson and the rest of the 2026 Knicks have joined them in franchise lore, in stories that will be told for generations, and with a banner to be raised beside them as the team that brought the NBA title back to New York after 53 years of waiting.
Led by Brunson’s 45 points, the Knicks staged another cardiac comeback and earned a 94-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night.
This group that entered the season with high expectations but uncertainty — a new coach, the disappointment of last season’s elimination from the Eastern Conference Finals and the questions that come across the ups and downs of a trip that began in Abu Dhabi more than eight months ago — forged its place in history.
The Knicks took the NBA Cup championship, beating these same Spurs in the final in Las Vegas, and refused to hang a banner for it, insisting that their goals were greater. It was for this moment that they were waiting. They already had waited since 1973, so what was a few more months?
“Everyone was doubted at some point,” Josh Hart said. “This team was doubted at some point. All we focused on was the next game, and all we focused on was those guys in the locker room. People don’t understand, we don’t really talk about it, but the weight of that jersey, the expectations, the pressure of that jersey. And like I say, today, right now, it’s the lightest it’s ever felt.”
All along it has been a team effort, but at the heart it has always been Brunson — and maybe never more than on this night.
With the stifling Spurs defense shutting down nearly every other option, Brunson scored 29 of the Knicks’ 57 points in the second half, nearly single-handedly dragging the team to the Larry O’Brien Trophy that Brunson himself had resisted talking about until this moment.
When it was over and players were incredulously celebrating, Brunson — with a towel over his head — got a kiss on the head from his father, Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson, who not only had helped his path here but had been a part of the last Knicks squad to reach the NBA Finals in 1999.
After the Knicks managed only 13 points in the first quarter, the Spurs went ahead by 16 in the second quarter and 15 in the third before taking an 83-73 lead with 8:21 remaining in the fourth.
Brunson then scored 13 straight Knicks points in a span of 4:03 to give them an 86-85 lead. He scored 14 points in the third quarter and 15 in the fourth.
Brunson, who averaged 32.6 points and 4.6 assists against the Spurs, walked into the interview room carrying the championship trophy and the Finals MVP trophy, joking, “Can I talk my [expletive] now? Can I be myself?
“The final buzzer, I walked right to halfcourt, shook Mitch Johnson's hand and then turned around and my dad was there, and felt emotional from that point on,” Brunson said of the tears that streamed down. “Then I just remember Josh talking into my ear, and him just saying, like, ‘We did it! We did it!’ And then I was emotional for a good, like, five, 10 minutes, and then the excitement started to kick in.”
It was a night for the ages for Brunson, a refutation of all of the questions and critiques about how good the former second-round pick could be. The answer is that he could be the player who someday finds himself in the rafters with those Knicks legends.
“You know, people say he’s too small,” Mike Brown said. “People say he’s a 1B or a 2B or whatever. He is a freaking 1A. He is an MVP candidate. And I hope tonight you guys — and I’m talking to the media more than the fans — but I hope you guys recognize what this man is about because he is A1 MVP. He is him.”
Brunson did it not only with his unstoppable scoring but with leadership as the captain of the team, again driving them to an improbable comeback. And the Knicks answered any doubters, running through the postseason with 15 wins in their last 16 games.
Unlike the other series, though, in which the Knicks delivered knockout punches in closeout games, this time they fought off the ropes all game long.
“I was just trying to go out there, just will us to win,” Brunson said. “Wasn't focused on anything else besides trying to win the game. Getting stops. Getting out and running. Just figuring out how to cut that lead or to gain it when we got it. Really exciting moment knowing we won’t give up.”
The Knicks spent the entire night fighting from behind and finally, with 4:48 remaining, Brunson drove through the lane and tied the score at 83.
After San Antonio briefly took the lead back, Brunson went to the free-throw line for three shots and converted all of them, giving the Knicks their first lead since the opening minutes at 86-85 with 3:40 to play.
Suddenly the pressure that was on the Knicks all night long shifted to the young Spurs, trying to keep their season alive.
OG Anunoby gave the Knicks an 88-85 lead when Devin Vassell was called for goaltending, putting his hand up through the net on Anunoby’s dunk attempt.
Karl-Anthony Towns was whistled for his sixth foul with 1:53 to play, but Victor Wembanyama (19 points, 14 rebounds, five first-half blocked shots) converted only one of two. Dylan Harper (25 points) tied the score at 88 with 1:16 left with a turnaround jumper in the lane, but Brunson hit a runner in the lane with 1:05 left.
The Knicks shot only 4-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final 26.1 seconds, but it proved to be enough.
Hart made his first free throw, and when he missed the second, Mitchell Robinson grabbed the rebound and kicked it out. OG Anunoby then made his first free throw for a 92-88 lead before missing the second.
Wembanyama missed a three-pointer, but Stephon Castle dunked the follow with 16.3 seconds left. Mikal Bridges missed the first of his two free throws but made the second with 8.8 seconds left to make it 93-90.
The Knicks fouled Harper on the inbounds with 8.6 seconds left to avoid a three-point attempt, and he missed both free throws.
Anunoby sank the second of his two free throws with 7.7 seconds left to make it a two-possession game. Then Wembanyama missed a three-pointer,
Anunoby grabbed the rebound and fired it into the air, and the celebration was on.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
