Brunson scores 30 points and the Knicks close the game on an 11-0 run for their 12th consecutive win, 105-95. Victor Wembanyama has 26 points and 12 rebounds for the host Spurs, but he shoots 6 for 21 from the field in his Finals debut.
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson spins as San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper, left, defends during the first half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night in San Antonio.
Jalen Brunson scored 30 points, Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the Knicks erased a 14-point second-half deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs, 105-95, in Game 1 of the Finals on Wednesday night. OG Anunoby had 17 points for New York – which has won 12 consecutive playoff games, the seventh team to have such a streak in NBA history.
Brunson scored 13 points in the fourth quarter, only six fewer than San Antonio managed as a team in that period, and sealed it with a spinning jumper while falling to the court with 38 seconds left.
“He’s a gamer, man,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “In the biggest moments, he shows up. That’s what MVPs are supposed to do. ” And the Knicks, who closed the game on an 11-0 run, made a little more history.
They became the first team to beat San Antonio in a Game 1 of the title series – the Spurs were 6-0 in those – and this is also the first time the Spurs have ever trailed a Finals before the finish. Victor Wembanyama had 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs, but he shot 6 for 21 from the field in his Finals debut.
Stephon Castle scored 17, while Julian Champagnie and Dylan Harper each had 16 for the Spurs. Game 2 is Friday night in San Antonio. Former Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was at the game, as he’s been for every Finals game in franchise history, albeit watching from a suite and not stomping the San Antonio sideline. Several Spurs legends – David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen and more – were there, too.
So were Knicks great Patrick Ewing and the world’s most recognizable New York fans: Spike Lee, Tracy Morgan, Ben Stiller, Fat Joe, Timothée Chalamet and more. Plenty of non-celeb Knicks fans made the trip as well; Tommy Sherlock, a auto sales manager from Brooklyn, said it cost less for two Game 1 tickets in San Antonio, with hotel and airfare, than Game 3 tickets in New York would have set him back.
The Knicks led 14-7 early, the Spurs answered with a 20-13 run to go up by 10, the Knicks rallied and the second quarter saw six lead changes before San Antonio took a 55-48 lead into the break. San Antonio pushed the lead to 14 midway through the third quarter before the Knicks stormed back, finishing the period on a 22-9 run and sending the game into the fourth tied at 76.
New York’s lead was eight midway through the final period. Wembanyama made a pair of free throws with 2:16 left to put San Antonio up 95-94, but Brunson made a corner 3-pointer on the next possession to put the Knicks on top for good. San Antonio’s run of never trailing the Finals had some close calls over the years.
The Spurs were tied twice with New Jersey in 2003 finals, tied with Detroit twice in 2005, tied with Miami three times in 2013 – they lost that series in seven games, so they only trailed when it was over – and then were tied with the Heat once more in 2014. It’s only 1-0. But the Knicks are only three wins away from their first title in 53 years, and they just took home-court advantage away from San Antonio.
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