The New York Knicks have taken a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals, defeating the host San Antonio Spurs 105-95 in Game 1 on Wednesday in a dramatic comeback victory. Jalen Brunson scored 30 points — 13 of them in a decisive fourth quarter — as the Knicks erased a 14-point third-quarter deficit to silence the San Antonio crowd and move a step closer to what would be the franchise's first NBA championship in decades. It is New York's first appearance in the NBA Finals since 1999.
The game was a pendulum of momentum swings. The Spurs, playing at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, seized control early, led 55-48 at half-time, and then stretched their advantage to 14 points in the third quarter before the Knicks launched a sustained fightback. The tension came to a head with just over two minutes remaining, when Spurs star Victor Wembanyama — the French seven-foot-four centre widely regarded as one of the most gifted young players in basketball — drained a three-pointer to give San Antonio a 95-94 lead. But that would be their final score of the night. Brunson answered immediately with a corner three-pointer, and the Knicks closed the game on an 11-0 run to seal a commanding final margin.
Brunson had an eventful evening beyond his scoring, leaving the court in the first quarter after a knee collision with San Antonio's Harrison Barnes before returning to play through further discomfort to an ankle in the second quarter. Despite those scares, his fourth-quarter leadership was pivotal. Karl-Anthony Towns added 18 points and 12 rebounds, OG Anunoby contributed 17 points — 12 of them in the fourth quarter — and Landry Shamet scored 13 off the bench. Josh Hart, meanwhile, hauled in 15 rebounds to go with six assists and four steals. The Knicks committed no turnovers in the final period, while San Antonio gave the ball away five times and shot just 28.6 percent from the field in the fourth. The victory extended New York's playoff winning streak to 12 consecutive games, tied for the second-longest postseason run in NBA history.
Wembanyama led San Antonio with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks, but was far below his best offensively, converting just 6 of 21 field-goal attempts.