Brunson dropped 30 points and took over the fourth quarter to lift New York past San Antonio.
The New York Knicks are one step closer to ending a 53-year championship drought, and Jalen Brunson is the biggest reason why.
New York overcame a 14-point second-half deficit on Wednesday night to beat the San Antonio Spurs 105-95 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, with Brunson pouring in a game-high 30 points.
Thirteen of those came in a fourth quarter that he completely took over, capped by a spinning jumper while falling to the floor with 38 seconds left to put the game away for good.
After the final buzzer, head coach Mike Brown made it clear just how much he trusts his point guard when the biggest moments arrive.
"He's a gamer. In the biggest moments, he shows up. That's what MVPs are supposed to do. We put the ball in his hands, we said we were going to live and die with him, and he went and he got it done for us."
Brunson Played Through the Pain
What made the win even more special is the fact that Brunson fought through two separate injuries just to stay on the floor.
He left the game in the first half with a right knee issue and came back, only to roll his left ankle shortly after when Luke Kornet stepped on it.
Brunson, who averaged 26.0 points and 6.8 assists during the regular season, finished 12-of-31 from the field and 2-of-9 from deep, but he attacked the rim and went 4-for-4 at the line when it mattered most.
When asked about the injuries afterward, he said he would "be all right."
A Rough Night for San Antonio
The Spurs could not get much going offensively.
Victor Wembanyama put up 26 points and 12 rebounds in his Finals debut, but he shot just 6-of-21 and turned the ball over six times.
De'Aaron Fox had it even worse, finishing with seven points on 3-of-13 shooting.
San Antonio shot 36 percent as a team, and the Knicks took full advantage by closing on an 11-0 run that silenced the Frost Bank Center crowd.
Why This Matters
The 53-29 Knicks are now riding a 12-game playoff winning streak, making them just the third team in NBA history to reach that mark in a single postseason.
They also became the first team ever to beat San Antonio in a Game 1 of the Finals, as the Spurs had been 6-0 in openers before Wednesday.
The team that wins Game 1 has historically taken the series around 70 percent of the time, and given the way New York is playing, the 62-20 Spurs should be feeling the heat heading into Game 2.
With the series shifting to Madison Square Garden for Games 3 and 4, the Knicks are in the driver's seat chasing their first title since 1973.
Game 2 tips off Friday night in San Antonio.
