For the first time in 53 years, the New York Knicks are champions of the basketball world.
The Knicks defeated the host San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night, winning the championship four games to one. It was the Knicks’ first title since 1973.
It was a remarkable run to the world title for the Knicks, who finished the postseason with a 16-3 record. They won 14 of their last 15 games, including an incredible 13-game winning streak.
In the finals against the Spurs, the Knicks won all three games played in San Antonio. They trailed by double digits in all five Finals games and came back to win four of them. The most dramatic rally occurred in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden when they overcame a 29-point deficit to stun the Spurs 107-106. It was the biggest comeback in the history of the Finals.
Once again, the star of the show was guard Jalen Brunson, who scored 45 points in the championship clinching game. He scored nearly half of his team’s points in a masterful offensive performance. His running layup with just over a minute to play broke an 88-88 tie and gave the Knicks the lead for good. Brunson was named the Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals.
Brunson has now led teams to championships at every level where he has competed. He led Lincolnshire Stevenson High in the Chicago area to the IHSA Class 4A state championship. In college, he was a two-time national champion at Villanova. Now, he has added the biggest title of them all while breaking one of the longest standing championship droughts in all of professional sports.