When OG Anunoby tipped in Jalen Brunson’s missed three-pointer with 1.2 seconds left in Game 4, Madison Square Garden didn’t just erupt. It released 53 years of frustration. The New York Knicks, a franchise that had become synonymous with playoff heartbreak and front-office dysfunction, are NBA champions for the first time since 1973.
They sealed it Saturday night in San Antonio, grinding out a 94-90 win over the Spurs in Game 5 to close the series 4-1. And fittingly, they did it the same way they won Games 1, 2, and 4: by facing a double-digit deficit and refusing to fold.
Jalen Brunson poured in 45 points in the clincher, carrying the offense on a night when his supporting cast struggled to find rhythm. It was the kind of performance that cements a player’s legacy in New York sports lore, right alongside Willis Reed limping onto the court in 1970 or Patrick Ewing’s finger-roll in ’94. Brunson didn’t just win a championship — he willed his team through it.
But the series will be remembered most for what happened two nights earlier in Game 4. The Knicks trailed 76-49 at halftime. No team in NBA Finals history had ever overcome a 27-point deficit. New York erased 29. Anunoby scored 33 points, knocked down seven threes, and then delivered the two plays that will follow him forever.
With the Spurs up by one and under 10 seconds left, Anunoby sprinted the length of the floor to block De’Aaron Fox’s fastbreak layup. On the other end, he tipped in Brunson’s miss with 1.2 seconds on the clock. The Garden floor shook. The crowd noise was deafening. “It feels cool,” Anunoby said afterward, as casually as if he’d just finished a shootaround. “But that’s what we are — a team, a brotherhood. We have each other’s backs.”
Head coach Mike Brown, who has preached resilience since training camp, saw everything he built come together in that single sequence. “We talked about hitting adversity all year,” Brown said after Game 4. “We had to see if we were connected enough. Our guys showed exactly who they are.”
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs pushed the Knicks to the limit. San Antonio could realistically be up 3-1 in this series if not for late-game miscues in Games 2 and 4. But the margin between champion and runner-up in the NBA is razor-thin, and New York’s veteran poise won out.
It’s been a long road. Executive Leon Rose assembled this roster by taking calculated risks — signing Brunson, trading for Anunoby, acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns. Each move drew skepticism. Each move worked. The Knicks built around toughness, not flash, and that identity carried them through every fourth-quarter crisis this postseason.
For a fanbase that has watched 53 years of near-misses, bad contracts, and early playoff exits, this title isn’t just validation. It’s vindication. New York can finally call itself a champion again.
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