06/03/26 11:21:00
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06/03 23:19 CDT Jalen Brunson scores 30 and Knicks finish on 11-0 run, steal
Game 1 from Spurs with 105-95 win
Jalen Brunson scores 30 and Knicks finish on 11-0 run, steal Game 1 from Spurs
with 105-95 win
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
SAN ANTONIO (AP) --- The New York Knicks' winning streak lives on, and they
struck first in the NBA Finals.
Jalen Brunson scored 30 points, Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 18 points and
12 rebounds, and the Knicks erased a 14-point second-half deficit to beat the
San Antonio Spurs 105-95 in Game 1 of the finals on Wednesday night.
OG Anunoby had 17 points for New York --- which has won 12 consecutive playoff
games, the seventh team to have such a streak in NBA history, and is the third
to do it in a single season. Brunson scored 13 points in the fourth, only six
fewer than San Antonio managed as a team in that quarter, and sealed it with a
spinning jumper while falling to the court with 38 seconds left.
"He's a gamer, man," Knicks coach Mike Brown said. "In the biggest moments, he
shows up. That's what MVPs are supposed to do."
And the Knicks, who finished on an 11-0 run, made a little more history. They
became the first team to beat San Antonio in a Game 1 of the title series ---
the Spurs were 6-0 in those --- and this is also the first time the Spurs have
trailed a finals before the finish.
As far as single-season playoff winning streaks --- Golden State won 15
straight games in the 2017 postseason on its way to the title. San Antonio won
12 straight in 1999 on its way to the title. And now New York has won 12 in a
row, with its title status to be determined.
"I think we know what we have to do," Brunson said. "I think we're a pretty
together group."
Victor Wembanyama had 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs, but he shot 6
for 21 from the field in his finals debut. Stephon Castle scored 17, while
Julian Champagnie and Dylan Harper each had 16 for San Antonio.
"I was bad tonight," Wembanyama said. "It's not more complicated than that."
Game 2 is Friday in San Antonio.
Former San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich was at the game, as he's been for every
finals game in Spurs history, albeit watching from a suite and not stomping the
San Antonio sideline. The Spurs legends --- David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Manu
Ginobili, Bruce Bowen and more --- were there, too.
So were Knicks great Patrick Ewing and the world's most recognizable New York
fans: Spike Lee, Tracy Morgan, Ben Stiller, Fat Joe, Timothe Chalamet and
more. Plenty of non-celeb Knicks fans made the trip as well; Tommy Sherlock, a
auto sales manager from Brooklyn, said it cost less for two Game 1 tickets in
San Antonio, with hotel and airfare, than Game 3 tickets in New York would have
set him back.
"First-class air, too," Sherlock said. "By a lot."
The Knicks led 14-7 early, the Spurs answered with a 20-13 run to go up by 10,
the Knicks rallied and the second quarter saw six lead changes before San
Antonio took a 55-48 lead into the break.
San Antonio pushed the lead to 14 midway through the third quarter before the
Knicks stormed back, finishing the period on a 22-9 run and sending the game
into the fourth tied at 76.
New York's lead was eight midway through the final period. Wembanyama made a
pair of free throws with 2:16 left to put San Antonio up 95-94, but Brunson
made a corner 3 on the next possession to put the Knicks on top for good.
"I think we let that one go," Wembanyama said.
San Antonio's run of never trailing the finals had some close calls over the
years. The Spurs were tied twice with New Jersey in 2003 finals, tied with
Detroit twice in 2005, tied with Miami three times in 2013 --- they lost that
series in seven games, so they only trailed when it was over --- and then were
tied with the Heat once more in 2014.
It's only 1-0. But the Knicks are only three wins away from their first title
in 53 years, and they just took home-court advantage away from San Antonio.
"We have a long way to go," Brunson said.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
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