LAS VEGAS (AP) — It’s been more than half a century since the Knicks hung an NBA championship banner inside Madison Square Garden.
The wait since 1973 to add another one didn’t end on Tuesday night, but New York can make room for the NBA Cup banner.
OG Anunoby scored 28 points, Jalen Brunson had 25, and the Knicks rallied to beat Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs 124-113.
“This is great and we’re going to enjoy this,” Brunson said. “But once we leave tomorrow, we’re moving on.”
This is a championship roster — NBA Cup MVP Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges cut down the nets in college at Villanova — with high hopes of representing the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.
“This is a single-elimination tournament when you get to a certain point, so every game counts,” New York coach Mike Brown said. “There was pressure on every game if you expect to be who you think you are. When you’re able to have success, it breeds confidence in everybody in the organization.”
New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points and 11 rebounds despite battling a calf injury. He went into the locker room with a minute left before halftime and later exited for the bench with 5:06 remaining in the third quarter and didn’t return until late in the fourth.
Dylan Harper led the Spurs with 21 points, Wembanyama scored 18 and De’Aaron Fox had 16.
Wembanyama excused himself early from the postgame news conference because he said “just lost somebody” on Tuesday.
New York dominated inside, outrebounding the Spurs 59-42, with Mitchell Robinson collecting 15 boards, including 10 on the offensive end in 18 minutes. That helped give the Knicks a 56-44 edge in points in the lane.
The Spurs, however, led for much of the game before the Knicks went on a 13-1 run that began late in the third quarter to go up 100-95. New York never trailed again.
“After 25 games in, I believe that we’ve shown some signs that we can be a pretty good team,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “We’ve also shown that we have a lot of areas of improvement. I think that’s where we were living today.”
The Knicks got more than a trophy. Each player with a standard contract got an extra $318,560 for winning, making the total $530,933 for even reaching the final.
This game doesn’t count in the standings, so both teams remain 18-7, putting them atop their respective divisions.
Just making the final bodes well for both teams. The previous four finalists — Los Angeles Lakers, Indiana, Oklahoma City and Milwaukee — also made the playoffs. The Pacers made the Eastern Conference finals in 2024, and the Thunder won the NBA championship last season.
Up next
Knicks: At Indiana on Thursday night.
Spurs: Host Washington on Thursday night.
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