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The New York Knicks are NBA champions for the first time in 53 years.
After scoring just 37 points in the first half of the game, New York ground the San Antonio Spurs down in the second half with tough defense and timely baskets. That effort was led by Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, who scored 45 points, often over the Spurs’ 7’5″ superstar Victor Wembanyama.
The Knicks took their first lead of the game with about 2 minutes left. A series of missed free throws brought the game down to a one possession game with just 7.7 seconds.
The Mike Brown-led team won 94-90 at the Texas team’s Frost Bank Center home arena, marking the Knicks’ first championship since 1973. The Game 5 win was just the latest in a series of comeback wins for the gritty New York team, including the greatest single-game comeback in NBA Finals history, clawing back from a 29-point hole to win Game 4.
While Knicks fans might have liked to clinch the championship tat Madison Square Garden, they’ll take it.
A good number of them flew down to San Antonio for the game and most of those stayed in the arena to savor the victory.
Brunson, stoic throughout the entire championship run, broke down in tears as his father Rick, who’s a Knicks assistant coach, celebrated on the sidelines. In the post-game interview, asked how the victory felt to share with his father, Brunson paused shaking his head, too overwhelmed to speak. He was later named the series MVP.
Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks lifts the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award trophy after defeating the San Antonio Spurs in Game Five of the 2026 NBA Finals (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
The Knicks’ grit in the Finals was not a fluke. After losing two games against the lowly, 6th place Atlanta Hawks in the first round, the team didn’t lose for another 53 days, winning 15 of 16 games on the way to tonight’s clincher.
Much of the difference in the series against a young, talented and determined Spurs squad came down to the closing minutes. Brunson knew his spots on the floor and had ice in his veins. The 22-year-old Wembanyama, who will surely play a giant role in the future of the league, often seemed tired at the end of games and didn’t have a go-to shot to get his team points when it needed them most.
Others in attendance included Timothée Chalamet, Prince Harry and, a plus for Knicks fans, their beloved former power forward Charles Oakley, who was banned from the Garden by owner Charles Dolan.
Said a giddy Chalamet after the game, “Way rather this than the Oscars!”
And given game recognizes game, former President Obama, the biggest hoops fan to ever inhabit the White House, was quick with congratulations.
After all the trophy presentations and the interviews were over, NBC ended its broadcast with a montage of fans and players accompanied by the song that the Knicks faithful sang in the arena after their miraculous Game 4 comeback: Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York. SportsCenter picked up on the trend.
Back in New York, they were literally shouting from the rooftops.
