LAS VEGAS — The decision on whether to hang a banner in the rafters at Madison Square Garden may wait, but the Knicks were still going to celebrate late into the night, capturing their first overall title of any kind in more than 50 years.
Whether it was the banner, the paycheck or simply the bragging rights, the Knicks clearly played this game as if it were a Game 7 of the NBA Finals rather than a mid-December night in a city that was just a spot for the summer league until this tournament was born three years ago. The Knicks fought rabidly down the stretch, pulling away for a 124-113 win over the San Antonio Spurs to win the title.
And when it was over they still had the energy to rush onto the court to celebrate.
“I’m very excited,” Jalen Brunson said, sitting on a stage with the championship hat and T-shirt on. “It’s a goal of ours that we get to check off and it’s an important stepping stone for us. We can still learn from this game and get better as well. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to present ourselves, through the ups and downs of the game, being down 10 and being up 10, we found a way to win.”
This was the Knicks first time beyond the knockout round and after beating Orlando on Saturday and seeing the Spurs upset the Oklahoma City Thunder, the path was clear to try to get this title. Unlike Saturday’s win, this didn’t have the sound of a home game with Spurs fans crowding into the arena.
Nothing seemed quite right for much of the night and it wasn’t until the Knicks threw out the game plan and the carefully plotted minutes sheet of Mike Brown and went with the hot hands — riding an unlikely trio of Mitchell Robinson, Tyler Kolek and Jordan Clarkson to spark a fourth-quarter turnaround — that the game turned in their favor.
Brunson of course did the things he always does, scoring 25 points and handing out eight assists as he was named the NBA Cup Most Valuable Player. OG Anunoby was spectacular on both ends, leading the Knicks with 28 points.
But it was the other pieces that made the difference in the fourth quarter. Josh Hart was limping badly, but with the Spurs racing up the court he couldn’t get out of the game. So of course he managed to block a De’Aaron Fox jumper, scrambled to grab the loose ball and with he shot clock running down, calmly drained a three-point field goal with 2:58 remaining to stake the Knicks to an eight-point lead.
With the Spurs defense hounding Brunson, Brown went with Kolek for nearly the entire fourth quarter and he responded with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in 20 minutes of action on the night. Clarkson added 15 points and Robinson had 15 rebounds, 10 offensive, in 18 minutes.
When he was named as the MVP on the court, Brunson was asked to describe his performance, but he offered one more assist.
“Can I say something,” Brunson said. “OG Anunoby, Tyler Kolek, Jordan Clarkson, Mitchell Robinson, they played their [butt] off tonight, We don’t win this (without them). We got down 10, whatever it was, we found a way to win. That’s it.”
“Great win by our guys for a lot of different reasons,” Brown said when he arrived from the locker room celebration, pausing for a moment and joking, “Excuse me, I just had a beer. Kind of sits in my throat. Excuse me, mom.
“You talk about a team and that was a team win. Everybody always talks about next man up and think that’s just a BS coach’s saying. But there is reasons behind us saying that and doing that. Our group has done a fantastic job of staying ready.”
Up two at the half, the Spurs came out of the locker room with the same fire they’d displayed in the first half. The Spurs pushed the lead to to double-figures, 78-68, on a layup by rookie Dylan Harper. Minutes later, Harper then drained a three-point field goal while Brunson was called for a loose ball foul underneath the basket, sending Stephon Castle to the line to.complete a four-point possession and up the lead to 82-71.
Victor Wembanayama then got loose, draining a pair of three-point field goals around a layup off of a lob to the rim. Kolek pulled up for a three-pointer, draining it and pointing his fingers at Wembanyama. But Wembanyama answered with a long jumper — capping a run of 10 points in two minutes — and the Spurs took a 94-89 lead into the final quarter.
Wembanyama would finish with 18 points in 25 minutes, but it was the Knicks’ Robinson who dominated the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, triggering an 8-0 run to give the Knicks a 97-94 lead. Robinson slammed in an offensive rebound and then on consecutive possessions grabbed offensive rebounds against Wembanyama and kicked out to Clarkson, who delivered a pair of threes. In that 93-second span, Robinson had five offensive rebounds, a steal and an assist.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
