NY Knicks Win First NBA Championship In 53 Years

NEW YORK, NY — The New York Knicks captured their first NBA Championship in 53 years, beating the San Antonio Spurs, 94-90, in Game 5 on Saturday night.

The Knicks rallied from a large deficit for the second straight game to get the victory, trailing by 16 points at one point in the second quarter.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the city will celebrate with a ticker-tape parade on Thursday.

Jalen Brunson carried the load for the Knicks, scoring 45 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter when Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby were forced to the bench for a time with their fourth personal fouls.

It is the third NBA championship for the Knicks, who last won the title in 1973. Their last trip to the NBA Finals was in 1999, when Brunson's father and Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson was a point guard for the Knicks.

The Knicks lost the 1999 finals to the Spurs, who won 4 games to 1.

In Game 5 on Saturday, the Knicks were coming off an improbable win in Game 4 in New York, when they overcame a 29-point deficit to win.

San Antonio (62-20 in the regular) was the favorite coming into the championship series but New York took three of its four victories on the Spurs' home court.

The Knicks trailed in every game, and Game 5 was no different. They were down 10 points after the first quarter, and closed a 16-point deficit to 5, trailing the Spurs 42-37 at the half.

The deficit was still five points after the third quarter, and San Antonio stretched it to 10 points with 8:21 left in the game. Brunson then scored the Knicks' next 13 points, hitting a trio of free throws to put New York ahead by 1, 86-85 with 3:40 remaining.

As the final seconds ticked off on the court in Texas, thousands of fans gathered outside Madison Square Garden and in bars and restaurants throughout the city watched then erupted in celebration.

The Knicks had plenty of support in San Antonio as well, in spite of efforts by the Spurs to limit how many Knicks fans were able to purchase tickets to the game.