Knicks beat – Jalen Brunson scored 30 points as the New York Knicks rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 105-95 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night.
SAN ANTONIO — By the time Jalen Brunson hit a corner 3 with 2:16 left after Victor Wembanyama had put the Spurs ahead. the swing felt final. The Knicks had answered every surge San Antonio offered. erased a 14-point second-half deficit. and took Game 1 of the NBA Finals with a 105-95 victory on Wednesday night.
Brunson finished with 30 points. Karl-Anthony Towns added 18 points and 12 rebounds, and OG Anunoby scored 17 for New York. The Knicks made it look almost inevitable after that moment in the fourth. closing with an 11-0 run and claiming the win while their winning streak stretched to 12 consecutive playoff games.
San Antonio had its own headline in Wembanyama, who put up 26 points and 12 rebounds in his finals debut. But his shooting told a tougher story than the final line suggests: he went 6 for 21 from the field. Stepped-up scoring from the Spurs’ rotation still couldn’t carry them late—Stephon Castle scored 17. while Julian Champagnie and Dylan Harper each had 16.
The Knicks didn’t just win. They snapped a string that had belonged to the Spurs. New York became the first team to beat San Antonio in Game 1 of the title series, a matchup where the Spurs had been 6-0. It was also the first time the Spurs had ever trailed a finals before the finish.
The momentum shifted more than once before New York finally seized control. The Knicks started fast, leading 14-7 early. San Antonio answered with a 20-13 run to go up by 10. New York fought back from there. and the second quarter featured six lead changes before the Spurs took a 55-48 lead into the break.
In the third quarter, San Antonio pushed its advantage to 14 midway through. Then the Knicks slammed the door for a stretch. They finished the period on a 22-9 run, and when the fourth quarter started, the game was tied at 76.
From there, the Knicks built to separation. New York held an eight-point lead midway through the final period. After Wembanyama made a pair of free throws with 2:16 left to put San Antonio up 95-94, the Spurs’ late threat lasted exactly one possession. Brunson’s 3 put the Knicks ahead for good.
Game 2 is Friday in San Antonio, with tip scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT.
Gregg Popovich was at the game, as he has been for every Spurs Finals game in franchise history, watching from a suite instead of stomping the sideline. Spurs legends—including David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Bruce Bowen, among others—were in attendance.
The Knicks’ spotlight came with star power, too. Patrick Ewing was there, along with Spike Lee, Tracy Morgan, Ben Stiller, Fat Joe, Timothée Chalamet and more. Plenty of non-celebrity fans made the trip as well. including Tommy Sherlock. an auto sales manager from Brooklyn. who said it cost less for two Game 1 tickets in San Antonio—plus hotel and airfare—than Game 3 tickets in New York would have.
“First-class air, too,” Sherlock said. “By a lot.”
For San Antonio, the night ended with a rare finals experience: being behind before it was over. The Spurs’ long history of staying level in Game 1 carried plenty of close calls—tied twice with New Jersey in 2003. tied twice with Detroit in 2005. tied with Miami three times in 2013 (a series that ended in seven games. when they only trailed when it was over). and tied with the Heat once in 2014. Wednesday night was different, and New York made sure it counted.
NBA Finals Knicks Spurs Jalen Brunson Victor Wembanyama Karl-Anthony Towns OG Anunoby Game 1 San Antonio New York
30 points and still somehow they were down?? wild.
I swear I saw Wembanyama miss like every shot in the 4th. 6 for 21 sounds brutal. Knicks really just flipped it with that 11-0 run, that’s basically destiny right there.
The article says Brunson hit a corner 3 after Wemby put them ahead… ok but who was guarding him? Like if Spurs were up then they should’ve kept the same defense. Also Karl-Anthony Towns 12 rebounds?? I didn’t know he was doing that in the finals lol. This is why I don’t trust box scores.
New York “almost inevitable” is a funny way to say they were down 14. Feels like the Spurs choked, like that’s the whole story. And wasn’t the Spurs like undefeated in Game 1 before?? idk, I’m just going off TikTok clips.