Knicks win – Jalen Brunson poured in 45 points as the Knicks beat the Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 on June 13, taking the 2026 NBA Finals 4-1 for their first championship since 1973. The run included a 15-1 surge over the final stretch of the postseason and a historic comeback in
New York waited 53 seasons for this moment, and on June 13 the Knicks finally made the wait feel unreal.
Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals ended 94-90 at the Spurs’ home court. with the Spurs leading early and the Knicks refusing to fold. San Antonio opened with a 23-13 first-quarter advantage. but Jalen Brunson answered with a game-high 45 points—setting a Knicks record for points in a Finals—and New York tightened the game until it could close out the series.
By the fourth quarter, the script had flipped completely. The Knicks outscored the Spurs 29-18 in the final frame to clinch the title. finishing the Finals with a 4-1 series victory and forcing the celebration to travel instead of happening at Madison Square Garden. Even without the MSG crowd seeing the final moment, the trophy still belonged to New York.
The championship ends a drought that began in 1973—three years after the Knicks won their first title in 1970—and it marks a franchise milestone that has carried through generations of fans who grew used to heartbreak instead of banners.
Brunson’s scoring turned the clinching game into a statement. but the title run was built on more than one night. The Knicks dominated the postseason in a way that left little room for doubt: they won 15 of their final 16 games. The story includes the kind of resilience that doesn’t show up in highlights—coming back after early holes that felt too large to erase.
In the Finals, New York faced first-quarter deficits of at least 10 points in every game. Still, it kept finding a way to keep games alive long enough to take control late—culminating in the fourth-quarter surge that sealed Game 5.
The way New York seized the Finals started quickly. The Knicks won Game 1 105-95 despite the Spurs’ home-court advantage. Game 2 stayed tight, with New York edging San Antonio 105-104 to take a commanding 2-0 lead as the series shifted to New York.
Then the emotional rhythm changed again. In Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, the Spurs spoiled the Knicks’ homecoming with a 115-111 win, cutting into the momentum. That swing didn’t stop the noise from building around the team, but it did sharpen the pressure.
Game 4 looked like a turning point that might go the other way. The Spurs dominated nearly the entire game and built a staggering 29-point halftime lead. seemingly close to walking away with the Finals. Instead, New York put together what will be remembered as the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history.
In that late collapse-turned-revival, the Knicks rallied through the second half and seized a 107-106 victory. OG Anunoby sealed the moment with an iconic tip-in with 1.2 seconds left. The win sent the series back to San Antonio and pulled the Knicks closer to the finish line.
What happened after that was a sequence that became almost impossible to ignore: New York stole the first two Finals games in San Antonio. then absorbed the Game 3 loss at MSG and still pushed forward. After the Spurs snapped New York’s 13-game playoff winning streak. chants of “Knicks in four” quickly shifted to “Knicks in five.” Then came the Game 4 turnaround. and the Finals moved toward a conclusion.
The championship also adds a new chapter to Knicks leadership. Coach Mike Brown won his first NBA championship as a head coach, establishing him as a franchise icon. Brown empowered his players to find their roles and adapted to adjustments opposing teams made.
That adaptability was tested earlier in the postseason. In the first round. the Knicks fell into a 2-1 hole against the Atlanta Hawks. who had smothered New York with defensive length and athleticism. Brown responded by tweaking the Knicks’ offense to run more through Towns. who at times played like a point-center and distributed the ball to his teammates. New York won the final three games of that series and then swept both the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Even the final celebrations carry a kind of unfinished business. The clinching victory didn’t happen in front of the Madison Square Garden crowd that has long carried the franchise’s longing for a banner. but the emotion was already in motion—New York’s fan base. starved for a title. had been uniting through the whole run.
For now, the trophy moment begins its final stretch far from the home spotlight: celebration starts in the Lone Star State before a one-of-a-kind party in the Big Apple, where New York can finally watch its team hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
New York Knicks San Antonio Spurs 2026 NBA Finals Jalen Brunson OG Anunoby Mike Brown Larry O’Brien Trophy NBA championship
45 points?? that’s crazy, congrats Knicks I guess
So they won 4-1 but Spurs was up like 23-13 first quarter and still lost 94-90?? I’m confused how that happens but hey at least it wasn’t at MSG this time lol
I swear I remember them winning in 1973 already or maybe I’m mixing it up with the Jets. Anyway Brunson 45 in the Finals sounds fake, like how do you even score that much and not win by more than 4
The ‘15-1 surge’ part got me, like ok so they just woke up??? Also waiting 53 seasons?? I feel like my uncle always said it was cursed, so yeah I guess the curse is broken because of one guy scoring 45. Still kinda wild they couldn’t celebrate at home… like that seems wrong for a “first since 1973” thing