With Brunson shining against the Spurs, the Knicks won their first NBA championship in 53 years. basketball news

The New York Knicks ended their championship drought with a 4-1 NBA Finals series win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.

Led by Jalen Brunson’s incredible 45 points, the New York Knicks bounced back and defeated the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 to win their first NBA championship in 53 years.

The Knicks won the best-of-seven championship series 4-1, denying Victor Wembanyama and his young Spurs teammates hoisting the trophy on their home floor for the first time since 1973.

Coming back from a 29-point deficit in Game 4 to pull off the largest comeback in Finals history, the Knicks erased a double-digit deficit to win their fourth win of the series.

Knicks vs. Spurs Timeline

The Knicks trailed by 16 points in the second quarter and by 10 early in the fourth, but Brunson wouldn’t let them lose.

Brunson said after setting the Knicks’ scoring record in the final game. That surpassed Willis Reed’s 38 points in Game 3 of the team’s 1970 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I don’t know how I feel,” added Brunson, who was named Finals Most Valuable Player.

“I’m in awe. Every time someone disrespects us, we come back and find a way to do something about it.”

French star Wembanyama scored 19 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and stopped five shots, and rookie Dylan Harper scored 25 points off the bench for San Antonio.

But once again, the Spurs, who defeated the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals, couldn’t stop the cunning and determined Knicks.

Empire State Building illuminated in Knicks colors

The victory was the latest chapter in a dramatic playoff run that has gripped New York, and tens of thousands of long-suffering fans held neighborhood watch parties across the city as the team inch toward its first title in half a century.

Upon Saturday’s victory, the Empire State Building was lit up in the Knicks’ signature orange and blue, and a raucous celebration erupted outside the team’s Madison Square Garden home.

The Spurs’ Frostbank Center also had a boisterous cheering squad dressed in blue and orange, which included not only longtime Knicks fans but Britain’s Prince Harry, who was sitting 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 only 2 points before fouling out in the 4th quarter, but grabbed 10 rebounds and recorded 3 steals and 1 blocked shot.

After being fouled on a 3-pointer, Brunson hit all three free throws to put the Knicks up 86-85 with 3 minutes, 40 seconds remaining in the game.

This was their first lead since the opener and they never trailed again.

Game 4 hero OG Anunoby dunked to make it 88-85, and after the Spurs made it 88-88, Brunson put New York back in front with a driving basket and the Knicks held on.

“We are not ready yet,” the Tottenham coach said.

The Spurs had their backs against the wall and were pinned down defensively from the opening tipoff.

Wembanyama set the tone by stopping three shots in the first quarter as the Spurs built a 23-13 lead and held the Knicks to their fewest points this postseason.

Wembanyama tied the finals record with five blocks in the first half and hit a 3-pointer early in the second half to push the Spurs’ lead to 16.

But the Knicks were getting hotter and cut 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 go.

“We weren’t ready to win an NBA championship,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “The better team won.

“We did a lot of good work, but we didn’t get the job done. That’s what it is.”