20 Second Timeout

Jalen Brunson Erupts for 45 Points as Knicks Beat Spurs 94-90 to Capture First NBA Title Since 1973

The 2026 NBA Finals pattern is familiar by now: the San Antonio Spurs take a double digit first quarter lead before the New York Knicks storm back to win a close game, and that happened again in game five. The Knicks' 94-90 victory enabled them to win their first NBA title since 1973. The Spurs raced out to an 18-8 first quarter lead and were ahead 31-15 at the 8:29 mark of the second quarter before the Knicks slashed the margin to just 42-37 at halftime. The Spurs were on top 70-55 with just 2:25 to go in the third quarter and still had a 10 point lead (83-73) as late as the 7:43 mark of the fourth quarter, but the Knicks outscored the Spurs 21-7 the rest of the way. The Knicks are the first NBA champions with four comeback wins of at least 10 points each in the NBA Finals in the past 50 years. 

As is often the case in closeout games, neither team shot well: the Knicks shot 31-87 (.356) from the field, and the Spurs shot 33-86 (.384) from the field. The biggest difference in a hard fought game was Jalen Brunson's efficient and clutch scoring: Brunson scored 45 points on 14-27 field goal shooting to earn the 2026 Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP after averaging 32.6 ppg, 4.6 apg, 4.2 rpg and 2.0 spg in the NBA Finals with shooting splits of .421/.389/.860. Brunson is the first Knick to score at least 40 points in an NBA Finals game, and the first player to score at least 15 points in the fourth quarter of an NBA Finals-clinching win since Michael Jordan in 1998. He also tied the record for most points scored in a Finals-clinching win on the road, and he tied Jordan for the third most points in any Finals-clinching win, trailing only Giannis Antetokounmpo's 50 in 2021 and Bob Pettit's 50 in 1958. 

Brunson was the only Knick to make more than half of his field goal attempts as his teammates combined to shoot just 17-60 (.283) from the field. Mikal Bridges was the Knicks' second leading scorer with 14 points on 5-10 field goal shooting, and he had a team-high four assists. Josh Hart added 13 points on 4-11 field goal shooting and a team-high 11 rebounds while accumulating a team-high +15 plus/minus number. OG Anunoby had 11 points on 3-11 field goal shooting, eight rebounds, and a game-high tying three steals. For the series, Anunoby ranked second on the team in scoring (21.2 ppg) and led the Knicks in blocked shots (1.4 bpg) while averaging 4.8 rpg and posting shooting splits of .525/.500/.867. 

Brunson and Anunoby were the only Knicks who scored a point until the 9:04 mark of the second quarter, when Karl-Anthony Towns made his only field goal of the game to cut the Spurs' lead to 28-15. Towns finished with just two points on 1-7 field goal shooting while committing a game-high five turnovers, but he also had 10 rebounds and a game-high tying three steals before fouling out after playing just 23 minutes. Towns averaged 13.0 ppg (third on the team), 10.6 rpg (first on the team), 2.4 apg, and 1.0 bpg in the NBA Finals with shooting splits of .490/.333/1.000.

The Knicks did not get much production from their bench with the notable exception of Mitchell Robinson, who had 10 rebounds in 20 minutes, including an important offensive rebound with 22.2 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the Knicks clinging to a 91-88 lead.

Dylan Harper led the Spurs with 25 points on 10-19 field goal shooting in 31 minutes off of the bench. He also had five rebounds, four assists, and no turnovers, so his -12 plus/minus number is paradoxical and an example of why plus/minus is not always meaningful in small sample sizes. 

Victor Wembanyama had 19 points, a game-high 14 rebounds, and a game-high five blocked shots, but he shot just 7-19 from the field--including 1-6 from three point range--and he was almost invisible in the fourth quarter: three points on 1-5 field goal shooting, two rebounds, no blocked shots. He looked like he ran out of gas, and that will be an interesting trend to monitor throughout his career: will Wembanyama stay healthy enough and become fit enough to not just survive a long regular season and a deep playoff run but to be dominant late in games when his team needs him the most? Wembanyama averaged 26.0 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 2.6 apg, and 3.6 bpg in his first NBA Finals with shooting splits of .423/.273/.786. He ranked second on the Spurs with 33 three point field goal attempts, and that number is too high for a player who can be so dominant in the paint, particularly considering that he shot very poorly from beyond the arc in this series.

Julian Champagnie (14 points, seven rebounds) and Devin Vassell (12 points, seven rebounds) had solid performances, but the Spurs' starting backcourt struggled: De'Aaron Fox had seven points on 3-15 field goal shooting plus a game-high five assists, and Stephon Castle contributed just six points on 1-10 field goal shooting along with five rebounds and four assists. Castle ranked third on the team in scoring in the Finals (14.6 ppg) but shot just .377 from the field, and Fox tied Vassell for fourth in scoring (12.8 ppg) while shooting .343 from the field. Vassell was the Spurs' only rotation player who shot better than .500 from the field (.537) in the Finals.

The teams combined to miss their first six field goal attempts of the game, foreshadowing how this contest would be more about grit than about high octane offense. Wembanyama opened the scoring with a fast break dunk at the 9:48 mark of the first quarter (the official play by play sheet says that Wembanyama made the shot at 9:44). Brunson answered with a three pointer, but the Knicks started the game shooting 2-13 from the field and they trailed 23-13 by the end of the first quarter. The Knicks' 13 first quarter points tied for the second fewest first quarter points in an NBA Finals game in the shot clock era, which dates back to the 1954-55 season. Harper led the Spurs with seven first quarter points, while Wembanyama stuffed the box score with six points, four rebounds, and three blocked shots. Brunson paced the Knicks with eight points on 3-6 field goal shooting, but his teammates scored just five points on 1-16 field goal shooting; the notion that the Knicks were just 36 minutes of game time away from becoming NBA champions seemed farfetched if not preposterous--until one recalled that the Knicks erased a 29 point second half deficit in game four. 

Neither team shot well in the second quarter, but the Knicks scored 24 points on 9-22 (.409) field goal shooting to chip away at the Spurs' lead. With their season on the line, the Spurs managed just 19 second quarter points on 6-23 (.231) field goal shooting, and they needed Vassell's fadeaway jumper at the buzzer to have a 42-37 halftime lead. Brunson led both teams with 16 first half points, but he was just warming up for a fantastic finish. Harper (11 points) was the only Spur who scored in double figures in the first half.

The Spurs scored 30 third quarter points on 11-20 (.550) field goal shooting, but Brunson kept the Knicks in contact by scoring 14 of his team's 28 third quarter points. A play that could have been a turning point happened at the 5:29 mark of the third quarter. After Brunson drilled a top of the key three pointer to slash the Spurs' lead to 59-53, his left foot landed on top of Wembanyama's right foot and Brunson slumped to the floor holding his left ankle. By rule, that should have been deemed a flagrant foul on Wembanyama for interfering with Brunson's landing area--and that rule is in place because of the dirty play by Zaza Pachulia that put Kawhi Leonard out of action in game one of the 2017 Western Conference Finals when Leonard's Spurs enjoyed a 23 point lead versus the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors rallied to win that game, and then swept the next three games with Leonard unable to play due to the ankle injury he suffered from the Pachulia foul. Imagine if Brunson had not been able to play for the rest of game five or beyond; that could have altered not just the game but the entire series. Also, if Wembanyama had been called for a flagrant foul then based on his total flagrant foul points in the 2026 playoffs he would have been automatically suspended for game six of the NBA Finals if game six had been necessary (or for his next regular season game since the Knicks won game five). Brunson admitted after the game that he was hurting but that he blocked out the pain to focus on finishing the job. The NBA must do a better job of consistently enforcing its rules, particularly rules that relate to player safety. 

The fourth quarter was the Brunson show: 15 points on 4-6 field goal shooting to nearly match the Spurs' scoring output in the final 12 minutes (18 points) by himself. Brunson hit three free throws with 3:40 remaining to give the Knicks their first lead (86-85) since the 7:49 mark of the first quarter. The Spurs later tied the score once, but they never led again. Late game free throw shooting was a problem for both teams, but more so for the Spurs because they trailed and needed to score quickly. In the final 26.1 seconds, Hart, Anunoby, and Bridges each split a pair of free throws before Harper missed two free throws. Anunoby finally sealed the win by making one out of two free throws with 7.7 seconds left, after which Wembanyama missed a long three pointer. 

In my NBA Finals Preview, I picked the Spurs to win in six games but said that the Knicks could beat the Spurs if the Knicks won the possession game by outrebounding the Spurs and by committing fewer turnovers than the Spurs. The Knicks outscored the Spurs 522-510 in the series, and they won the possession battle both on the boards (226-222) and by committing fewer turnovers (60 for the Spurs, 56 for the Knicks). It is interesting to note that although Wembanyama was the top shot blocker in the series by a wide margin (18-7 over Anunoby), overall the Spurs led the Knicks in blocked shots by just 29-24. Even though the Knicks won the series 4-1, this was a closely contested series decided by the Knicks' ability to be more efficient in the clutch moments and by the Knicks' slight edge in the possession game.

Wembanyama is portrayed as the player of the future and the Spurs are talked about as the team of the future, but all of that is just speculation; the reality is that the Knicks are the team of right now, and a team that will be remembered in New York for at least as long as the 53 year NBA title drought that they ended.

Mike Brown has been doubted and unfairly criticized by media members, but now he has an NBA championship ring as a head coach to add to the four championships he earned as an assistant coach with San Antonio (2003) and Golden State (2017, 2018, 2022). 

Jalen Brunson has been doubted throughout his NBA career, but he silenced his critics with his clutch shooting and his focused leadership; in 2024, I pointed out that most 6-4 and under guards are not able to lead a team to an NBA title while suggesting that Brunson may prove to be the exception to that general rule. Hall of Famer Becky Hammon was perhaps the most vocal of many commentators who questioned whether Brunson could be the best player on an NBA championship team. Asked what he would say to his critics after winning an NBA Finals MVP and an NBA title, Brunson did not ask for or demand respect but instead he replied, "I didn't respond to them then, and I'm damn sure not going to respond to them now." 

Karl-Anthony Towns has not only been doubted; he has been mocked for his playing style and for his tendency to accumulate fouls in bunches, but during this season and this playoff run he displayed his versatile basketball talents and his willingness to do whatever his team needs him to do to win, even at the cost of his personal statistics. In moments of triumph, some people express bitterness or defiance, but Towns took a different route, thanking his former teammates with the Minnesota Timberwolves for helping him grow as a player. 

The Knicks overcame the doubters to beat a talented team and win a championship that will forever have a special place in the annals of New York sports lore. 

Labels: Dylan Harper, Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks, OG Anunoby, San Antonio Spurs, Stephon Castle, Victor Wembanyama

posted by David Friedman @ 4:01 AM

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