The New York Knicks have won the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup! Maybe it means nothing to you, but some of us are reveling in it. To finally add another trophy to the case (and another banner in the rafters),
to beat the San Antonio Spurs 124-113, and to see our Knickerbockers celebrating with confetti on a national stage? That’s some sweet stuff right there.
At the neutral location of T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the teams were neck-and-neck through the first, closing the quarter 30-28, and the trend continued through to halftime, with the Knicks on the wrong side of a 61-59 score. The Knicks got decked to start the third but managed to escape the quarter down by only five. And in the fourth quarter, Mitchell Robinson generated more second looks, Jordan Clarkson hit a bunch of timely buckets, and Tyler Kolek earned every penny of his Cup winnings, pushing the lead to 12 and closing out the win.
Jalen Brunson won the Cup MVP honors. He played great, scoring 25 points on 11-of-27 shooting, dishing eight dimes, and posting a team-best +15 in 41 minutes. You could make a fair case for the MVP to go to OG Anunoby, too. He led all scorers with 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting, knocking down 5-of-10 from three while adding nine rebounds and a +7. Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double, and added two steals; and Josh Hart contributed 11 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a block.
The bench, though. The bench. Often maligned, they came through huge tonight. Clarkson scored 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting with three threes and finished +15. Tyler Kolek delivered a stellar all-around performance with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting, five assists, and a +14. And Mitchell Robinson, the human cheat code, controlled the glass with 15 rebounds, including 10(!) offensive boards, added two blocks, and finished +9 despite scoring.
The Knicks shot 49-of-105 (47%) from the field and 15-of-40 (38%) from three, and finished with 32 second-chance points. They won the glass 59-42 and the points in the paint 56-44.
The Spurs finished shooting 41-of-99 (41%) from the field and 14-of-39 (36%) from three. Dylan Harper led them with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting, hitting 5-of-7 from three and adding seven rebounds, though he finished –15 in 28 minutes. Victor Wembanyama scored 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting, hitting 2-of-6 from deep, with six rebounds, 2 blocks, and a –18 plus-minus in 25 minutes. De’Aaron Fox contributed 16 points and a team-high nine assists, but also committed five turnovers and finished –4.
Our heroes won something. Enjoy it, fans.
First Half
Through the opening possessions, Jalen Brunson attempted to draw contact, but the refs swallowed their whistles. It seemed to be a let-em-play kinda game. Spreading the ball around, the Knicks took an early lead, but a few one-and-dones resulted in buckets going away. As the Knicks bricked, the Texans went on a 9-0 run to claim an 11-7 lead before OG drilled a corner three to slow the bleeding.
Around the seven-minute mark, the 7’4” Wembanyama checked into the game. Thanks to alert play by Anunoby (getting open in the paint for an uncontested dunk; striking again from the other side of the court), the Knicks mounted a 9-5 run to briefly reclaim the lead.
The quarter was evenly played, with both teams shooting 50% from the field and San Antonio holding a slight lead on the glass. Thanks to two late free throws by De’Aaron Fox and a Brunson miss at the buzzer, the Spurs took a 30-28 lead into the second.
Karl-Anthony Towns is an excellent passer.
Tyler Kolek was on the floor to start the quarter, and his 29-footer trimmed a six-point Spurs lead. Buckets from Bridges and Anunoby helped space the floor, but San Antonio (who hit less than 30% from deep in the first frame) answered with improved perimeter shooting. Wembanyama’s minutes stabilized San Antonio defensively, and the Knicks missed six straight shots. Unsurprisingly, Wemby was a problem, intercepting a pass from Brunson to Hart that became an assist to a breaking Castle. The Knicks were down by seven at the five-minute mark.
Missed bunnies! Blame the nerves. Towns missed a layup, Bridges missed a 13-foot chip shot, and Wemby bricked a dunk that he tried to reverse. The Knicks needed a steady hand, and Jalen stepped into the void. He scored at the rim and then blocked Luke Kornet (you read that right) at the other end. The Knicks cut their deficit to one. T-Mobile Arena might be a neutral site, but the MVP chants were loud when Jalen stepped to the charity stripe. He’d finish the half with 15 points.
Anunoby scored back-to-back buckets and tied the game with 27 seconds on the clock, but Fox hit a jumper to put San Antonio up 61-59 at the break.
Through the half, the Spurs shot 20-of-37 (54%) overall and scored 24 points in the paint, while also getting to the line more often (5-of-8 FT) and committing only three turnovers. They dished out 15 assists and spent 53% of the half in front, despite shooting 5-of-15 (33%) from the field.
The Knicks won the rebounding battle (20–18, 8 O-Boards) and sank 6-of-16 threes (38%), but they shot just 18-of-41 (44%) overall, got to the line only four times, and committed five turnovers. Anunoby led the Knicks with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while Vassell topped the Spurs’ scoresheet with 12 points.
Second Half
While the Knicks thought they were still warming up, the Spurs rattled off six unanswered points. With a 17-9 run, the villains took their first double-digit lead of the evening by the midway point. Luckily for them, they have a talented seven-footer of their own, and KAT lined up a tree to slow down what was starting to feel like a runaway train. One of the biggest concerns about the Cup Final is the potential for injury in a non-consequential (to the standings at least) game. You could almost hear the told-you-so’s from here to Vegas when Towns injured his leg in the third and limped to the bench. This wasn’t Towns hamming it up for the refs; he was in obvious pain.
With Towns out, the Knicks clipped the deficit to five, but Wemby drilled a pair from yard and alley-ooped a to temper New York’s momentum. Needing help, Jordan Clarkson dropped two triples to keep this from becoming a blowout. And thanks to a driving layup by Brunson, New York was down only 94-89 heading into the final frame.
The Knicks seized control early in the fourth quarter behind back-to-back triples from Clarkson and incredible play by Robinson and Kolek. The latter would have finished with more assists if Mitch hadn’t fumbled an inside pass and Bridges hadn’t whiffed on a wide-open three. Robinson was great, though, and dominated the glass as only he can. Meanwhile, the Spurs forgot how to put the ball in the net. When Brunson scored four unanswered, the Knicks were up by seven with just under eight minutes to go.
Towns returned, at last. The Knicks weathered a late push by the Spurs by leaning on timely scoring and defense. Hart delivered on both ends with a deep three and a key block on Fox, while Brunson, Towns, and Anunoby scored and chased down loose balls.
The Spurs tried to close the gap behind long-range shooting from Dylan Harper and free throws from Victor Wembanyama, but more turnovers and missed shots killed their energy. When Anunoby drained another triple with just under two minutes to go, New York’s eight-point lead had all the shine of that NBA Cup trophy. With under a minute to go, the Spurs had opportunities, but Fox bricked, and Kolek added four more points and an assist to put the cherry on top.
Up Next
The Knicks jet to Indiana to face the Pacers on Thursday. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.
