Jalen Brunson set a franchise NBA Finals record with 45 points, single-handedly ending the New York Knicks' 53-year championship drought as they defeated the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 on Saturday night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
Brunson, who spent his first four seasons with the Dallas Mavericks as a secondary option behind Luka Doncic, left as a free agent and blossomed into a star with the Knicks. Four seasons later, he has cemented his legacy as an all-time great, engineering a playoff run that delivered New York's first title since 1973.
"It's everything I've dreamed of," said Brunson, named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. "This is why I came to New York."
Brunson scored 29 points in the second half, rallying the Knicks from a 15-point third-quarter deficit. New York won four of five games in the best-of-seven series. They also overcame a 16-point second-quarter hole, one game after erasing a 29-point deficit to beat the Spurs in Game 4.
The Knicks finished the postseason 16-3, including a 13-game winning streak, the second-longest in NBA playoff history. "I'm in awe," Brunson said. "Whenever someone counted us out, we had to come back and do something about it."
Brunson made four 3-pointers and posted his fourth 30-point game of the series. He broke the team record of 38 points set by Hall of Famer Willis Reed in Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Mikal Bridges scored 14 points, Josh Hart added 13 points and 11 rebounds, OG Anunoby had 11 points, Karl-Anthony Towns collected 10 rebounds before fouling out, and Mitchell Robinson also grabbed 10 boards for the Knicks.
Dylan Harper scored 25 points, Victor Wembanyama had 19 points, 14 rebounds, and five blocks, Julian Champagnie added 14 points, and Devin Vassell contributed 12 for the Spurs.
San Antonio's recurring issue was letting leads slip away. "It surprised me that every game has the same scenario," Wembanyama said. "All five games had the same scenario, how relentless we were in our mistakes and how relentless they were in punishing them."
New York trailed by 10 with under eight minutes remaining before Brunson took over, scoring 10 straight points to tie the score at 83 with 4:48 left. He shredded the Spurs' defense with three layups during the spurt.
Vassell hit a 17-foot jumper to put San Antonio ahead 85-83 with 4:14 left. Brunson was fouled on a 3-point attempt 34 seconds later and made all three free throws to give the Knicks a one-point lead. Harper's basket tied the game at 88 with 1:16 left, but Brunson drove for a floater with 1:05 remaining.
Hart and Anunoby each split two free throws, giving New York a four-point lead with 21.6 seconds left. Wembanyama missed a 3-pointer, but Stephon Castle's putback dunk cut the lead to 92-90 with 16.3 seconds left. Bridges split two free throws with 8.8 seconds left, Harper missed two free throws with 8.5 seconds to go, and Anunoby split two free throws with 7.7 seconds left to seal the victory.
"People don't understand, we don't really talk about it, but the weight of that jersey, the expectations, the pressure," Hart said. "Right now, it's the lightest it's ever felt."
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a ticker-tape parade for Thursday in Manhattan, followed by a celebration at City Hall where the team will receive keys to the city.
For San Antonio, the season ended bitterly, but few expected them to reach the Finals. The Spurs rallied from a 3-2 deficit to defeat the 2025 champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals, making their first postseason appearance since 2019.
"On the surface level, I don't think anybody other than the people in that room expected us to be here," San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said. "There's a lot of good in that. There's a lot of pain in what just happened."
Vassell said the series taught that "every possession matters and every little detail matters. We had a great season. We proved a lot of people wrong. Our goal was to win, obviously. We don't want a participation trophy."
The Knicks shot 35.6 percent from the field (31 of 87), including 12 of 37 from 3-point range. San Antonio shot 38.4 percent (33 of 86) and also made 12 of 37 from deep.
Vassell and Harper hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and Harper added three more points during a 9-0 run to give San Antonio a 68-53 lead with 3:11 left in the third quarter. Hart then buried a 3-pointer, and Brunson knocked down three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point attempt to start a 10-2 burst. Robinson's late tip-in cut the deficit to 72-65 entering the fourth quarter.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half, with San Antonio leading 42-37 at the break. New York trailed 31-15 with 8:29 left in the half.
