Fifty-three years. That's how long Madison Square Garden waited for a title parade, and on Saturday night in San Antonio the New York Knicks closed it out 94-90 behind a 45-point Jalen Brunson masterpiece. Game 5 was a slow-burn slugfest that nobody seemed to want to take until Brunson decided he would. The Knicks are NBA champions for the first time since 1973.
How the closeout actually happened
San Antonio led for most of the night. The Spurs jumped early on interior touches to Victor Wembanyama, hung onto a single-digit cushion through three quarters, and looked like a team determined to force a Game 6 back at the Garden. Then the fourth quarter started and Brunson stopped passing it back out. He spent the final twelve minutes turning ball screens into free throws, midrange pull-ups, and one ridiculous floater over a contesting Wembanyama with 65 seconds left that gave New York the lead for good.
The Spurs had two looks to tie. Stephon Castle missed a step-back three with 22 seconds remaining and Wembanyama's putback rimmed out as the buzzer ran down. OG Anunoby — already a Game 4 hero — corralled the rebound and ran out the clock. The bench cleared. The visiting dressing room next door, which had been quiet enough to hear champagne being uncorked, was suddenly the loudest place in Texas.
Brunson's MVP case was decided in the fourth quarters
Brunson finished with 45 points on 16-of-29 shooting, eight assists, and zero turnovers. Across the five games he averaged 32.4 points, 7.6 assists, and shot 49% from the field on a punishing diet of high-ball-screen reps. The Finals MVP trophy was never going anywhere else, but the case was actually made in the closing minutes — the 27 fourth-quarter points he scored in Games 4 and 5 combined, the way he absorbed double teams without forcing, the willingness to take the last shot every time it was available.
It was also, importantly, a stylistic vindication. Brunson is not the archetypal modern superstar — he is not 6'9", he does not jump out of the gym, and his three-point shooting is good rather than great. He won the way he plays: footwork, angles, decision-making, a refusal to be sped up.
Wembanyama leaves with his reputation rising
San Antonio loses the series 4-1, but Victor Wembanyama spent the past two weeks announcing himself as the player the league will be built around for the next decade. He averaged 26.8 points, 13.4 rebounds and 4.6 blocks, the highest-scoring 22-and-under Finals performer since Magic Johnson, and turned the Spurs from a fringe contender into the team Vegas already has installed as 2027 favourite.
Two things hurt them in Game 5: a Castle cold streak from three (1 of 7) and a fourth-quarter foul on Brunson that gave New York three free throws with 4:11 left, swung the run, and quieted the Frost Bank Center crowd. Both are correctable. The Spurs will be back.
What the title means for New York
The 1973 banner has hung alone in the Garden rafters since Bill Bradley and Walt Frazier last cut down a net. Generations of Knicks fans inherited the drought without ever inheriting the title. The franchise has now ended it on a roster that, two years ago, was competing for the play-in spot. Brunson, Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges — all acquired via trade or free agency rather than the lottery — built a team that could win a Finals game on the road, down a starter, in a building that had not lost a home playoff game all postseason.
The Anunoby Game 4 swing, in hindsight
We will be talking about Game 4 for a long time. The Knicks erased a 29-point deficit, the largest Finals comeback in NBA history, on a tip-in from OG Anunoby with 0.3 seconds remaining. That game broke the series. The Spurs had been the better team for 40 of 48 minutes and walked off the floor having lost. Game 5 was always going to carry the residue. Brunson and Anunoby both said afterwards they believed once they survived that night they would not lose another. They didn't.
What's next: parade, then a real offseason question
A canyon-of-heroes parade is being scheduled for later this week in Manhattan. After that, the front office has a contract situation to solve — Anunoby has a player option, Towns has two years left, and the second apron looms. Brunson is signed through 2028 on the team-friendly extension he took in 2024, the single biggest reason this roster could even be assembled. Keeping the core together for a defence rather than an opening will cost real money, but the team that won 64 games and a championship has no reason to break up before it tries to repeat.
FAQ
How many points did Brunson score in Game 5? 45 on 16-of-29 shooting, including 27 in the second half. He was named Finals MVP unanimously.
When did the Knicks last win the championship? The 1972-73 season, when the team beat the Lakers in five games. Walt Frazier and Willis Reed were the headliners. The 53-year gap was the longest active drought of any franchise that has actually won a title.
Who was the Finals MVP runner-up? OG Anunoby received the second-most votes after his Game 4 game-winner and relentless defensive assignment on De'Aaron Fox and Castle.
When does next season start? Training camps open late September 2026, with opening night scheduled for October 21. Follow the offseason on Scorelisto's basketball page and check the blog for parade coverage and roster analysis through the summer.