Category: NBA

For most of the night, the San Antonio Spurs looked like they were going to start open the 2026 NBA Finals with a statement win. Instead, they were left walking off the court in disbelief.

The New York Knicks closed the game on an 11-0 run over the final two minutes Wednesday night, turning a 14-point third quarter deficit into a 105-95 victory over the Spurs in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center. With the win, New York stole homecourt and took a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-seven championship series.

Additionally, San Antonio lost its first NBA Finals Game 1 in franchise history.

“I do know there was a combination of a few times defensive breakdowns, whether it was communication or rotations,” Spurs Head Coach Mitch Johnson said of the Spurs losing their double-digit lead in the second half. “There was a few times it felt like we didn’t have an appropriate offensive possession.”

The Spurs appeared to have weathered every punch that New York threw at them in the first half, taking a seven point lead into the locker room. Then, they built a double-digit lead in the second half, fed off a roaring home crowd, and watched Victor Wembanyama begin to slowly find his rhythm late.

Then Jalen Brunson took over for the Knicks. He scored 13 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter as he powered his team to a stunning series opening win. Karl-Anthony Towns added 18 points and 12 rebounds, while OG Anunoby chipped in 17 points for New York, who returned to the Finals for the first time since 1999.

Wembanyama had a Finals debut to forget, finishing with 26 points while shooting just 6-for-21 from the floor. He added 12 rebounds in a losing effort.

“I’m going to figure it out. I was bad tonight,” Wembanayama said after the game. “It’s not more complicated than that.”

“We need the pressure on the rim and the force in the paint,” Coach Johnson added. “They did a good job of obviously being physical and showing crowds. We need to do a better job of establishing that early on.”

With the Spurs’ star struggling offensively, the Spurs had to look elsewhere for points. Rookie Dylan Harper scored 16 points off the bench, Stephon Castle added 17, and Julian Champagnie provided an early spark with 15 points in the first half. De’Aaron Fox never found his offensive rhythm as he finished with just seven points on 3-for-13 shooting from the floor.

What began as a promising night for the Western Conference champions ended with a quiet arena and a celebration by the Knicks fans who made the trip to Texas as New York extended its playoff winning streak to 12 games.

The Spurs now face a familiar challenge: try to respond after a playoff loss. They dropped Game 1 of their second-round series against Minnesota before responding in Game 2 and were also down 2-1 and 3-2 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals before a thrilling Game 7 win to reach these Finals. To avoid heading to New York in a deep 0-2 hole, they’ll need a similar response when the series resumes Friday night in San Antonio.

“We’ve been down in a series before,” Wembanyama said. “Never in the finals, obviously. But I’m not kicking myself about anything. I’m not worried in the slightest.”

Game 1 offered a painful reminder of how slim the margin for error can be on basketball’s biggest stage. For 46 minutes, the Spurs looked ready to take early control of the NBA Finals.

The final two minutes belonged to Brunson and the Knicks.

Game Notes

• As former coach Gregg Popovich used to say, the three-point shooting tells the story. The Spurs shot just 25 percent from deep compared to 30 percent for New York. That five percent difference matters in a close matchup like this.
• The Spurs won’t win a championship giving up a second half lead or Wembanyama, Fox, and Vassell shooting a combined 13-for-45 from the field. Luckily, I don’t see those guys having this bad of a game again in these Finals.
• As bad as the Spurs played, they were 2 minutes away from getting the win. That’s encouraging.
• Rebounding is going to be key in this series and in Game 1, the battle was even.

Game 1 between the Knicks and Spurs lived up to its billing with starts Jalen Brunson and Victor Wembanyama giving their respective teams late leads in the fourth quarter.

But it was Brunson's heroics and clutch play that allowed New York to come away with the first win of the 2026 NBA Finals. 

Brunson scored a game-high 30 points on 12 of 31 shooting with three rebounds and two assists, but his performance in the fourth quarter will go down in Knicks history. The Knicks captain scored 13 points on 5 of 9 shooting, leading New York's 11-0 run to end the game. 

While the Knicks fans in attendance in San Antonio and those watching at home were in awe, the Spurs were not surprised by Brunson's efforts. 

"He’s a tremendous player that’s skilled, picks his spots, knows his angles. Shoots contested shots without being sped up," Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said of Brunson after the game. "He’s a phenomenal player and we just have to keep making him work.

"He had a phenomenal game. He got going and got a few in a row, but 30 points on 31 shots, is something you probably want to keep making him work for those points. Probably some of the other stuff that we can control, instead of him making or missing shots."

Wembanyama, the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, was asked how the team can defend Brunson better moving forward. The Spurs big man didn't have an answer, but knew they have time to come up with a gameplan.

“He’s an elite player and we don’t have many more chances," Wembanyama said. "It’s a first-to-four series. So we’re going to have time to work on it.”

A common talking point before the NBA Finals started was whether the Spurs would be fatigued after a grueling seven-game series with the Thunder. On the opposite end, the Knicks, after sweeping the Cavaliers in the ECF, were off for more than a week.

The fourth quarter saw the Spurs turn the ball over five times -- the Knicks had zero turnovers in the final frame -- and Wembanyama, in particular, looked winded at points, but San Antonio downplayed that narrative. Instead, they pointed to their own execution.

"I don't think it was fatigue. I'm sure guys got tired at times," Johnson said. "I don't think anyone's performance was based on fatigue, I think we just need to be sharper and execute better. And continue to work the game and not fight it at times and play the right way."

"I feel both teams were fatigued, really," Dylan Harper said. "I just feel like they executed better." 

Wembanyama scored a team-high 26 points -- 11 coming in the fourth -- and Harper had 16 off the bench, but it wasn't enough to stop the Knicks and Brunson from stealing home court advantage on Wednesday night. 

But this youthful Spurs team is gaining experience by the day, and they are confident they can bounce back in Game 2. 

“We’re confident but also have a chip on our shoulder from this game we just lost," Harper said. "You never want to lose and going into this next game, we’re going to be even more hungrier and keep on proving.”

“We’ve been down in a series before," Wembanyama said. "I’m not kicking myself about anything, really. I’m not worried in the slightest.” 

Game 2 takes place Friday night.

SAN ANTONIO — OG Anunoby is the only player on the Knicks with a championship ring. 

Now, he is three wins away from earning one. 

Anunoby — who was sidelined by injury during the Raptors’ 2019 title run — didn’t make much more of an impact for most of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, but the soft-spoken wing made sure he was heard down the stretch Wednesday night, scoring 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter of the Knicks’ 105-95 win over the Spurs at Frost Bank Center. 

“The first time [in the NBA Finals] was really cool, but it wasn’t the way I would have wanted it.” Anunoby said. “So this time, just happy to be here, happy to be healthy. 

“I’m just thankful to be out there, thankful to be playing. Just enjoying the moment.” 

Anunoby entered the NBA Finals as one of the biggest reasons for the Knicks’ incredible postseason run, ranking second on the team in scoring (19.7), third in rebounds (6.9), second in steals (1.6) and second in blocks (1.0) despite missing two games with a hamstring injury. 

But Anunoby was often invisible at the start of the championship series, scoring five points (2-for-6 from the field) in the first half. He started the second half more aggressively, but forced the action, getting stripped on one possession, then throwing up a midrange airball with Victor Wembanyama in sight, finishing the third quarter scoreless in nearly six minutes of action.
 

After the Knicks fought back from a 14-point second-half deficit — the Spurs had won their previous nine postseason games when leading at halftime — Anunoby began to resemble one of the league’s most impactful wings, putting the Knicks ahead by three with a drive to the rim, then following with back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Knicks up 86-81 with 8:50 remaining. 

“My teammates were finding me and I was being aggressive and ready to shoot,” said Anunoby, who also had three rebounds, one steal and one block in 31 minutes. “Just shoot with confidence.”
 

Anunoby then iced the game with four free throws in the final minute as the Knicks closed Game 1 on an 11-0 run, taking a series lead in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1994 while tying the 1998-99 Spurs for the second-longest postseason win streak (12) in NBA history. 

“OG got it going in the second half,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “He was huge for us in the second half.”

A Spurs fan seemed to have gotten Jalen Brunson a little hot after the Knicks toppled San Antonio 105-95 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night in San Antonio. 

The ESPN broadcast seemed to catch Brunson yelling toward a fan behind the scorer’s table after the final buzzer sounded in San Antonio. 

Brunson was talking with referee Scott Foster and then seemed to turn his attention toward someone else, presumably a person in the crowd. 

A Knicks teammate could be seen trying to grab Brunson, and Foster seemed to try to refocus his attention. 

“[Brunson] having some words for somebody, looks like behind the scorer’s table,” ESPN broadcaster Mike Breen said on air.

“Not one of the scorers, a fan.”

It’s unclear what was said or any further details about the seemingly brief exchange. 

Brunson once again played the hero as he helped the Knicks erase a 14-point third-quarter deficit in what would become a Game 1 victory. 

Brunson finished the game with 30 points on 12-of-31 shooting in 37 minutes. 

Jalen Brunson was PISSED at a fan pic.twitter.com/YesIM1nWod

— NBACentel (@TheNBACentel) June 4, 2026

It also came despite Brunson being banged up during the course of the win, which included coming out of the game in the first quarter after the Spurs’ Harrison Barnes crashed into his right leg.

And then after returning in the second quarter, Brunson had his ankle stepped on. 

“He was the MVP in the second half,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said of Brunson. “He did what MVP candidates are supposed to do. He carried us home. We put the ball in his hands, and he got it done for us down the stretch.” 

Brunson even earned praise from the opposing side on Wednesday, as the Knicks took a 1-0 series lead over the Spurs. 

San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama told reporters that Brunson was “an elite player,” and Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson called him a “phenomenal player” after the game.

The New York Knicks provided their fans with something to cheer about after taking Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals from the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, April 3.

The Knicks beat the Spurs 105-95 and extended their postseason win streak to 12 consecutive games. It's a franchise record.

The first two games of the series will take place in San Antonio, but that didn't stop Knicks fans from having a watch party, taking in the game at Madison Square Garden.

MSG IS GOING OFF RIGHT NOW 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️ pic.twitter.com/1mw3f2EPMy

— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 4, 2026

Knicks star Jalen Brunson scored 19 of his 30 points in the second half and helped the Knicks outscore the Spurs 11-0 in the final 2:15 of the game.

With the Knicks taking the 1-0 lead in the series, New York is now three wins away from securing its first NBA championship in 53 years.

Here's how fans celebrated the victory on Wednesday:

Knicks fans crowd New York streets after Game 1

THE NBA FINALS PARTY ON 7TH AVENUE HAS OFFICIALLY STARTED. 🎉

Knicks fans are taking over the streets after a Game 1 win in the Finals. pic.twitter.com/uhcI5bi98X

— ESPN New York (@ESPNNewYork) June 4, 2026

It is a SCENE outside The Garden right now! pic.twitter.com/b9CEAuVoTX

— WFAN Sports Radio (@WFAN660) June 4, 2026

The amount of Knicks fans watching the NBA Finals from outside Madison Square Garden for game 1 pic.twitter.com/Z8OzmQGNaB

— Omar Jimenez (@OmarJimenez) June 4, 2026

Outside of Madison Square Garden after the Knicks win Game 1!!! #NBAFinalspic.twitter.com/lh9d5LtucZ

— joey (@joeycreighton) June 4, 2026

Knicks fans as well as Alex Monaco are built for this! 💪😤@NYKnicks | @Alex__Monaco | #AlwaysKnickspic.twitter.com/Q1NmdpPhiO

— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) June 4, 2026

Scene outside MSG as Knicks win Game 1 #newyorkknickspic.twitter.com/9RfuCa8RSd

— Charlotte Carroll (@charlottecrrll) June 4, 2026

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Knicks fans ignite New York City after Game 1 Finals win

The biggest man on the court shrank when the spotlight burned brightest in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Victor Wembanyama struggled down the stretch as the Knicks’ defense came up aces to win 105-95 and take an early edge in the series.

Perhaps the most critical play of the game came with 57 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the Knicks clinging to a four-point lead.

Wembanyama dribbled the ball off his foot and turned it over as Josh Hart came away with it and pulled the fastbreak up to drain the clock.

As fate would have it, it was one of the smallest players on the court — Jalen Brunson — who hit the dagger.

Brunson hit his patented pull-up mid-range jumper, thrusting the Knicks to a 101-95 advantage and putting the Spurs in panic mode.

San Antonio raced down the floor, hoping to cut the deficit to three, where Wembanyama came up short again, missing a 27-foot 3-pointer with 32.1 seconds left.

Wembanyama ended the game with 26 points, but went 6-of-21 from the field and 2-for-9 from beyond the 3-point arc.

“Every team guards differently, I’m going to figure it out,” Wembanyama told reporters postgame. “I was bad tonight. It’s not more complicated than that. I think we let that one go.”

In the final six minutes, Wembanyama was called for a travel and went 1-for-5 from the field as the Knicks ended the game on a 12-0 run.

Wembanyama, 22, struggled against the Knicks’ offensive spacing, as Karl-Anthony Towns forced him away from the basket with his passing and shot-making.

The victory for the Knicks puts the Spurs in a tough spot heading into Friday’s Game 2, as Wembanyama will be relied upon to put together a heroic performance as he did in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the Thunder.

Karl-Anthony Towns had some extra inspiration behind his stellar performance that helped lead the New York Knicks to a comeback win in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

After Towns scored 18 points with 12 rebounds on Wednesday night, he said he felt the presence of his late mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, who died in 2020.

In an interview on ESPN's "Inside the NBA" studio show, Kenny Smith asked Towns what it felt like to play in his first NBA Finals.

"I don't know what it was, but I just felt a calm and a peace that had to be coming from the woman above," Towns said. "I felt really confident about today, I felt good. I felt like a kid. It was just fun out here. This is something that as a kid, you always dream about. You always just hope to be an NBA player, let alone to be in the NBA Finals. All day, it was just a weird feeling. It felt like I was a kid getting ready to go play in my Saturday AAU games."

He continued, "And in a way, I felt like I was seeing her in the stands. It was fun. And it was really comforting because Game 1 of the NBA Finals, you're told how the pressure's gonna be and everything is. I don't know. It felt like a certain presence was here that was very comforting and very loving."

Who was Karl-Anthony Towns' mom?

Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, better known as Jackie, died in April 2020 of complications resulting from COVID-19. She was 59.

Shortly after her death, Towns posted an emotional YouTube video detailing his mom's monthlong battle with the virus, which had her placed on a ventilator and in a medically induced coma.

Towns had a close bond with his mom, who he described as his biggest supporter throughout his basketball career. He's continued to speak openly about his grief in the years since and has become an advocate for mental health.

Towns' comments after Game 1 of the Finals are further evidence that Cruz-Towns is never far from his mind.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Karl-Anthony Towns honors late mother in NBA Finals debut

They call him captain clutch for a reason. 

Jalen Brunson has stepped up and delivered for the Knicks whenever they’ve needed him over the years, and that was again the case in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night. 

The three-time All-Star point guard overcame a quiet start and a couple of injury scares to push New York past the Spurs with one of his signature scoring barrages down the stretch. 

“He was huge for us,” Mike Brown said. “He did what MVP candidates are supposed to do -- we just put the ball in his hands and he got the job done for us.”

Brunson recorded just three first quarter points, missing his next six shots and turning the ball over twice after drilling a three for the first bucket of the game. 

He was then forced to the locker room after appearing to injure his right knee when San Antonio’s Harrison Barnes fell on him late in the quarter. 

The guard limped to the bench before heading back to the locker room. 

Brunson was able to return minutes into the second but then had another scare, as he limped to the bench again after appearing to injure his ankle after he was stepped on by Luke Kornet. 

He showed no ill effects after a timeout, though, getting going with three straight buckets.

“You never know what the extent of an injury is,” Josh Hart said. “I knew once he got back in, he would get some blood flowing and I wasn’t worried about it.”

“He’s just tough,” Mikal Bridges added. “That’s really it, nothing else.”

Brunson had just six points in the third quarter but then found his rhythm once again, coming off the bench in a back-and-forth tie game just five minutes into the fourth. 

He immediately pushed the Knicks back in front with a personal 8-0 run. 

The Spurs responded right back with Victor Wembanyama leading the way, but Brunson counterpunched with one last splurge to put New York’s 12th straight win away. 

The former Clutch Player of the Year went 5-for-9 from the field in the frame, scoring 13 of his game-high 30 points to help steal the Game 1 victory on the road. 

“He’s our captain for a reason,” Landry Shamet said. “He’s not afraid of the moment.”

“That’s what MVPs are supposed to do,” Brown added. “We put the ball in his hands, we said we were going to live and die with him, and he just went and got it done for us.”

SAN ANTONIO — The Knicks waited 27 years for this night.

Landry Shamet had been waiting all his life.

While several of his teammates struggled with the effects of a lengthy layoff and/or the magnitude of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Shamet delivered another strong performance off the bench, leading all reserves with 13 points (5-of-9 from the field, 3-of-6 3-pointers) in the Knicks’ 105-95 win over the Spurs at Frost Bank Center. 

“Landry was huge off the bench,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “Not only [scoring, but] defensively he was huge for us.”

After losing his rotation spot early in the postseason, Shamet has become one of Brown’s most trusted options. 

Shamet — who shot under 29 percent from the field and scored a total of 14 points in the first round, before adding three points in the first two games of their second-round series — clinched a place in franchise lore with his game-tying 3-pointer in the all-time comeback in Game 1 against the Cavaliers, then cemented his spot in the rotation by missing just one of his 12 3-pointers in the Eastern Conference finals. 

The 29-year-old has now scored at least 12 points in five of his past seven games, while shooting nearly 77 percent on 3-pointers (20-of-26). 

“My job is my job, and it remains the same: to be ready for whatever situation or moment you’re asked to step into, and that’s the only thing I think about,” Shamet said. “I’m not thinking about how it started, anything in the past. … We’ll do the whole reflection and look back thing when it’s all said and done. 

“We are all focused on our job and how we can best help each other try to get a win.” 

Shamet — whose seven postseason appearances rank first on the Knicks — expected to be on this stage long before coming to New York. 

He was on a title favorite in the 2020 playoff bubble with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George’s Clippers. He was part of the Brooklyn superteam, whose title dreams died on Kevin Durant’s toes. He played for a top-seeded Phoenix team with Devon Booker and Chris Paul that fell in the second round.

 Now, after seeing limited playing time under Tom Thibodeau — averaging just 7.5 minutes during last year’s playoffs — Shamet is making the most of a moment that may be passed down to future generations. 

“I’m a believer that everything you go through … prepares you for where you’re ultimately headed in one way or another, even if it doesn’t line up perfectly,” Shamet said. “I’m really grateful for all the highs and lows I’ve been through personally. All I know right now is that I’m here. Like I said, I’m trying not to get too reflective, open up that can of worms of looking back on everything, quite yet.”There’s [three] more wins between me and doing that, that I’m more worried about. 

“I definitely think that everything you go through, everything you live through, good and bad, prepares you for where you’re headed.”

SAN ANTONIO — Karl Anthony-Towns played inspired basketball Wednesday night. 

“I don’t know what it was. but I just felt a calm and a peace that I don’t know, had to be coming from the woman above,” he said in an on-court interview after the Knicks rallied from a 14-point deficit to take Game 1 of the NBA Finals, 105-95, over the Spurs at Frost Bank Center. 

Towns was referring to his late mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, who died in April 2020 due to complications from COVID-19. The two were incredibly close. 

“In a way I felt like I was seeing her in the stands,” he said. 

Towns waited his entire life for this opportunity, and he rose to the occasion. 

The Knicks big man, who had lost in the conference finals the previous two seasons, was the Knicks’ best player for large stretches of Game 1. Matched up with Spurs burgeoning superstar Victor Wembanyama, Towns more than held his own at both ends of the floor. 

Towns helped rally the Knicks from 14 points down in the second half and finished his first NBA Finals game with 18 points, 12 rebounds and four assists as the Knicks took the series opener. 

“You just trust your work and you trust your decision-making, and I always say [I want to be] aggressive in play-making,” he said. 

Towns was terrific in the third quarter. He had a pair of three-point plays, a blocked shot that led to a runout in transition and 10 total points and four rebounds in the period. 

Overall, it was what the Knicks have come to expect from Towns in the playoffs. Efficient offensively, a playmaker for his teammates and an improved defender. In his 34 minutes, the Knicks outscored the Spurs by 11 points. 

Surprisingly, the Spurs started the game with Wembanyama on Towns, and the Knicks center didn’t back down. He went at Wembanyama. One time, it resulted in an emphatic rejection by the 7-foot-4 unicorn after Towns beat him off the dribble.

But that didn’t stop Towns from attacking the league’s first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year. 

“He’s a problem. You put a small guy on him, he’s got a chance to offensive rebound. You put a big guy on him, he’s got a chance to pick-and-pop and go around guys,” coach Mike Brown said. “We have to just keep trying to move him around based on who is guarding him throughout the course of the ballgame, but he was huge for us with his double-double.”

Heroes and zeros from the Knicks’ 105-95 Game 1 win over the Spurs in the NBA Finals on Wednesday night in San Antonio:

Hero

Jalen Brunson was at his best in crunch time. Really, is anyone surprised?

Despite suffering knee and ankle injuries in the first half and starting 1-for-7 from the field, Brunson scored 13 of his game-high 30 points in the final quarter.

His 3-pointer with 1:50 left gave the Knicks the lead for good, and he added a rainbow jumper that pushed the lead to six and iced Game 1.

Zero

De’Aaron Fox missed 10 of 13 shots from the field and was a Spurs weak link.

The former All-Star had been inconsistent in the Western Conference finals, and he struggled in the series opener. His missed jumper in the lane that could’ve pulled the Spurs even with 1:31 left was apropos of his night.

Unsung hero

Karl-Anthony Towns’ terrific postseason continues.

He was a monster on the glass (12 rebounds), efficient on the offensive end (7-of-15 shooting, 18 points) and made plays for his teammates (four assists).

He didn’t back down from the challenge of Victor Wembanyama — he met it head on.

Key stat

10.5: Spurs’ 3-point shooting percentage in the second half. They were 2-for-19.

Quote

“We just have a lot of tough guys, a lot of guys that don’t quit. Everybody in this locker room has faced adversity, and wouldn’t be here if they didn’t. So whenever we’re down, we don’t panic,”

— Josh Hart on the Game 1 win.

In December’s Emirates Cup Final, New York fell behind by 11 to the Spurs before rallying to win the fourth quarter 35-19 and steal the victory.

Tonight in Game One of the NBA Finals, the Knicks were considered the underdogs. All the talk was about the Spurs—how they’re the second youngest team to play in the Finals (after the 1976-77 Portland Trail Blazers); how they came in with a 6-0 record in Finals Game Ones; how you can’t spell VICTORY with “Victor.” The one-sidedness of it all was obnoxious.

Well, guess what? The Knickerbockers heard none of that noise. They arrived with two streaks on the line: 53 games without a championship, and an 11-game win streak. Through the first six minutes, they were rolling, but then the shots stopped falling and gradually the Spurs racked up a 14-point lead in the third quarter. And just like in the Cup Final, New York rallied in the fourth frame, limited the Spurs to 19 points, and took the win, 105-95.

Jalen Brunson drew first blood with a triple, Victor Wembanyama answered with a long two, and they were off to the races. We knew the sweat-mop crew would be busy tonight. The Knicks started at the same pace that made Cleveland so dizzy, and San Antonio struggled to keep up and keep their composure. While the home team missed eight of their first 11 shots, the visitors converted half of theirs and seized a seven-point lead. Inside, Wemby played difficult defense, as usual, but Karl-Anthony Towns was unafraid to drive against him.

do your thing KAT 💪 pic.twitter.com/yls6PlXn2D

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) June 4, 2026

Meanwhile, Josh Hart was a rebounding machine, hauling in five over his first six minutes. By the end of the game, Josh would have three points on 1-of-5 shooting. Which looks bad. But run your eye across the statline and let the truth reveal itself: 14 rebounds, six assists, four steals, a block, and a team-high +22 in his 27 minutes. His relentless energy rescued this game from the loss column.

After a hot start, the Knicks’ shooting cooled, and too many one-and-dones allowed the Spurs to chip away. Dylan Harper, San Antonio’s terrific rookie, picked off a Brunson pass and scored five straight points, and the Spurs went on a 20-3 run while Mitchell Robinson, Landry Shamet, and Deuce McBride covered for Towns, Hart, and Bridges.

Around the two-minute mark, Harrison Barnes rolled into Brunson’s knee. Cap briefly turned to the bench, looking like he might exit. He didn’t—and Harper hunted him for his 10th point of the game. When coach Mike Brown called a timeout, Jalen retreated to the locker room. That capped a rough quarter for the captain, who had his jersey pulled and was mauled (without a whistle) time and again. Thankfully, due to a brief burst at the end, New York cut its deficit at quarter’s end to 27-19.

In the second period, the Knicks crept back and pushed their way ahead, especially when Wemby sat.

At the eight-minute mark, Brunson returned and New York reduced the differential to one. Two minutes later, Luke Kornet stomped on his ankle, and back to the bench he limped. He raged at Scott “The Extender” Foster as he went. With four-ish minutes on the clock, it was a Brunson floater in traffic (capping eight straight points) that gave them the lead again.

The score see-sawed from there. Bridges and Harper traded two-pointers, and Shamet and Keldon Johnson swapped treys. Jose Alvarado saw more floor time with Brunson needing rest, and he scored seven points in as many minutes, plus grabbed four boards and a steal. Good stuff, Jose! A fellow Brooklyn boy, he talked quite a bit of trash with Julian Champagnie, who had 15 points in the half on 5-of-6 shooting from deep.

go up and get it 😤 pic.twitter.com/VDQpFQEKG1

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) June 4, 2026

The score was tight until Fox stole from Brunson for a pick-six and Champagnie swished from deep. Unable to close the quarter strong, New York went into halftime on the wrong side of 55-48.

The Knicks were fortunate the game was that close, frankly. Despite slightly better shooting and dominating the paint (26-18), they gave away too many easy points. The Spurs made more threes (+3), attempted more free throws (+9), committed fewer turnovers (five to New York’s eight), and owned a 14-2 edge in fast-break points. Turns out, the Spurs are more fleet-footed than Cleveland. Champagnie led all scorers with 15 points, and Brunson had 11 for New York.

Both teams played solid defense, but more crappy shooting by New York (Brunson was 5-of-16 and counting, Towns was 3-of-9) allowed the Spurs to start on an 8-2 run. We’d start to panic if tonight’s lead tracker didn’t so closely resemble the NBA Cup game’s. (Okay, with so many shots rimming out and so few fouls being called, we’ll admit to a slight twinge of nervousness.)

Little was going right. Mikal Bridges, who had made all 19 of his free throws in the playoffs, missed from the line. Wemby subbed out, and New York cooked up eight unanswered points, cutting the gap to six. Through seven-ish minutes in the quarter, they shot 1-of-9 with Wemby on the floor; while he sat, they made all four shots. One clear advantage was Towns. The home team had no answer for him with Victor out. Thanks to a KAT putback plus a foul, our heroes were close to tying the score—and they did after a Wemby offensive foul led to Brunson magic at the other end.

Frost Bank Center shook with chants of MVP! when Brunson stepped to the charity stripe, and the adage holds true: Wherever you go, you’ll find Knicks fans. The French delight slammed an authoritative dunk late, but McBride swished his second bomb of the game as the quarter wound down to knot the score at 76.

Deuce ties us up at 76, just gotta beat them in the 4th pic.twitter.com/dC2aDdns45

— Teg🚨 (@IQfor3) June 4, 2026

Early in the fourth, my friend observed that Wemby had shot the same number of free throws as the entire Knicks team (10). Weird, no? Anyway, Anunoby was inconsistent through three quarters but scored eight points to give the good guys a brief four-point advantage. The Spurs weren’t folding up yet, though. Devin Vassell laid out Shamet under the rim (no call) and tipped in a layup to tie the score again with seven-plus minutes left.

Out of a timeout, the Knicks scored eight unanswered, all by Brunson. KAT was on the bench during that stretch, with Robinson fighting hard with Wemby for position in the paint. Following a couple of Knicks misses, Victor swished a three-pointer around the five-minute mark, and Brown decided it was time to reintroduce Towns to this fracas. While New York missed four shots in a row, Wemby shot a mess of free throws to regain a one-point lead heading into the final two minutes.

More Hart rebounds—he’s at 14 and counting by this point—kept the ball alive. It swung to Brunson, who swished from the corner, and two Bridges free throws made it 99-95. With under a minute left, Josh stripped Wemby around the three-point line, resulting in a dagger jumper by Jalen. 101-95.

JALEN MF BRUNSON IS UNREAL. 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/S0llLH0S5X

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 4, 2026

Victor missed from 27 feet, and Fox fouled Anunoby, who added two more points. 103-95. With 21 seconds left, Fox lost the ball out of bounds. That, plus two more freebies for OG, was the final nail in the coffin.

Brunson closed the books with 30 points, shooting 12-of-31 and 2-0f-9 from deep. He was clobbered all night, yet shot just four free throws and came up big when the Knicks needed him most. Captain Clutch, indeed.

BRUNSON IN HIS BAG 🚨 pic.twitter.com/xD8EmTsTre

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) June 4, 2026

Up Next

Professor Miranda is typing up his recap for you. Meanwhile, the Knicks hang around San Antonio to play Game Two on Friday. Rest up, Knickerbockers.

Box Score

12 CONSECUTIVE POSTSEASON WINS FOR NEW YORK.

THEY TAKE A 1-0 SERIES LEAD IN THE NBA FINALS! pic.twitter.com/ORCoyhHMdr

— NBA (@NBA) June 4, 2026

Charles Barkley made time for an outdoor workout while on his work trip to San Antonio for the 2026 NBA Finals.

During “NBA Tip-Off” on ESPN, Barkley explained that the now-viral video of him doing chairlifts on the San Antonio River Walk was all part of his workout before Wednesday’s Game 1 win for the Knicks over the Spurs.

“I took my walk today, everybody was fantastic,” Barkley said as an image of him lifting a chair over his head was showed on the broadcast.

Charles Barkley seen on the San Antonio River Walk doing chair lifts pic.twitter.com/BWOZPRxNiC

— Dallas Texas TV (@DallasTexasTV) June 4, 2026

“Somebody took a picture of me doing my exercises. I’m picking up a chair, I do sets of 25. I was down on the river walk. I’m sorry I was down on the creek walk. That’s a creek, that’s not a river.”

San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz, who appeared on “NBA Tip-Off,” disagreed, telling Barkley that she is proud of the river walk, which is the top tourist spot in the state.

Ortiz also chided Barkley over his previous remarks — when he said that San Antonio is the home of “some big ol’ women” while on-air in 2014.

“I learned a long time ago, you can’t teach courage. You can’t teach class,” Ortiz said. “And Mr. Barkley reminds us of that.”

Barkley laughed and added that he’s “just joking around.”

Barkley is open about his weight loss journey.

In April 2025, he became an ambassador for Ro, a GLP-1 weight-loss medication promoted by Serena Williams.

“I started at 355 [pounds] and I’m 270 now,” Barkley said on the “SI Media with Jimmy Traina” last month. “It’s been a long journey… this drug Zepbound has changed my life and I feel better now than I have in 20 years.”