By Nicole Fernandes
June 13 (Reuters) - The New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 on Saturday to claim their first NBA championship since 1973, putting the long-suffering franchise back on top and unleashing mass celebrations across the city's five boroughs.
Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 45 points as the Knicks closed out the best-of-seven NBA Finals in five games, just days after completing the greatest comeback seen in the championship round.
Comebacks have been the theme for the Knicks
this series as they rallied from double-digit deficits in all four of their Finals victories on the way to their first championship in 53 years.
'EVERYTHING WE DREAMED OF,' SAYS MVP BRUNSON
"I'm in awe," an emotional Brunson said during on-court celebrations as he soaked in the moment. "Whenever someone counted us out, we found a way to come back and do something about it."
Brunson was named Finals MVP after his relentless performance saw a strong contingent of traveling Knicks fans chant his name moments before he was crowned with the honor.
"It's everything we dreamed of," he said of winning the championship. "It's why I came to New York."
San Antonio started strong once again, taking a double-digit lead in the first 12 minutes. But New York crawled back in the second quarter as Brunson started to come alive, slowly cutting a 16-point deficit to trail by five points at halftime.
A quick transition play early in the third quarter set up Frenchman Victor Wembanyama for a dunk. That spurred a rally from the Spurs, who led by as much as 12 points before the Knicks eventually slashed the deficit to five.
A three-pointer from Dylan Harper, who was red-hot for the Spurs all night with 25 points off the bench, restored San Antonio's double-digit lead though it was cut to seven heading into the fourth quarter.
New York tied the game with just under five minutes left to play and took their first lead with 3:40 to go. The Spurs were unable to regain the lead after that and the Knicks capped off a dominant championship run that saw them lose just three games in the postseason.
PARTIES ERUPT FOR LAUGHINGSTOCK-TURNED-COMEBACK CHAMPS
Wembanyama recorded 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots for a young San Antonio team that reached the Finals ahead of schedule.
"This is the biggest lesson of my life, the biggest learning moment," the 22-year-old Frenchman told reporters post-game. "I can't tell exactly what the lesson is, but we're learning from that for sure."
The time has finally come for Knicks fans, many of whom have waited their whole lives to see their team at the top once more, after years of being the laughingstock of the league.
Watch parties across the boroughs erupted into cheers when the final whistle sounded, bringing an end to their years of suffering, and the streets were quickly flooded by a sea of blue-and-orange-clad fans.
“HISTORY,” the city's sports-mad Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote on X after the championship-clinching win, adding that the Knicks’ parade will take place on Thursday.
The Knicks' usual cast of celebrity fans made the trip down to San Antonio, including filmmaker Spike Lee, actors Timothee Chalamet and Ben Stiller, and comedian Tracy Morgan. They were joined by traveling Knicks fans who showered the team in cheers all night.
Knicks Executive Chairman and CEO James Dolan had a message to those celebrating back home: "Hey New York, I'm sorry it took so long. But here we are, and hopefully it won't be that long again."
(Reporting by Nicole Fernandes in Toronto; Editing by William Mallard)
