If the New York Knicks were going to have a chance at taking down the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, Karl-Anthony Towns was going to have to show up in a big way. At least in Game 1, he did.

He finished Game 1 with 18 points and 12 rebounds while giving Victor Webanyama the biggest physical battle on both ends of the court that the San Antonio star had seen all playoffs as the Knicks rose in the second half to take Game 1 by a score 105-95. 

That's not to say it was an easy road to get there. The Spurs jumped ahead with a 22-5 run early in the first half and went into the locker room leading the Knicks by seven. 

The Knicks finished the game shooting 41% from the field and 31% from three point range, but things looked much darker than that based on the way they were shooting in the first half. 

To make matters worse, Jalen Brunson suffered an injury scare early in the game when Harrison Barnes fell on his leg. Brunson grabbed at his knee and limped off the court, but fought his way back to the court a few minutes later and later delivered a massive fourth quarter performance that led the Knicks as they turned the tide.

Brunson led the game with 30 points, becoming just the second player in Knicks' history to score 30+ points in Game 1 of the Finals, joining Willis Reed who did so in 1970.

While Brunson provided a resilient scoring effort and Towns applied the needed physicality in the paint, the rest of the Knicks' supporting past all contributed in a way that showed off New York's most impressive trait: their scrappiness. 

While the Spurs have an abundance of flash and rapid pace on their side along with the energy of youth, the Knicks have built their brand of basketball off of their relentless effort and scrappiness. 

From Jose Alvarado to OG Anunoby to Josh Hart, the Knicks never knew when to quit in Game 1 and continued to pester the Spurs. 

Anunoby played lockdown defense throughout the game and finally came alive offensively in the fourth quarter with huge back-to-back three pointers, ultimately finishing with 17 points while shooting 5-`12 from the field and 3-6 from beyond the arc.

He had a staggering 15 rebounds, more than even Towns or Wembanyama, 13 of them being defensive boards that made sure that any errant shots by San Antonio found their way into New York hands. On top of that, Hart added six assists and four steals to boost his off-ball value even more.

With that massive collective effort, the Knicks outscored the Spurs 57-40 in the second half to take Game 1.