Jalen Brunson’s postseason masterclass fueled a dominant 15-1 postseason stretch, as Villanova’s iconic trio secured historic rings by capitalizing on the youthful San Antonio Spurs’ late-game collapses.
After over half a century, the New York Knicks are NBA Champions again.
Following their 94-90 Game 5 victory, the Knicks toppled the San Antonio Spurs with a 4-1 Finals series victory.
It’s the perfect conclusion for what has been one of the most impressive playoff runs put together by an NBA team. The Knicks won 15 of their last 16 postseason matchups including sweeps in both the Eastern Conference Semifinals and Finals matchups.
For more on the Game 5 victory, Knicks Roundtable writer Colin Costigan has an in-depth recap of the action.
The championship run was pioneered by star guard and Finals MVP Jalen Brunson, who scored 45 points in the close-out victory Saturday night, 15 of which came in the fourth quarter.
The elite scorer was consistently great in the clutch throughout his postseason run and put together one of the best Finals performances average 32.6 points per game.
Brunson, who has been consistently counted out throughout his team’s run, was left speechless following the game as the moment had only just begun to sink in.
He and teammates Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart become the first trio of players to win both a college National Championship and an NBA Finals Championship together. The three Villanova teammates won the Men’s NCAA tournament in 2016.
Meanwhile, the Spurs faltered in four games in which they held a lead throughout the series. San Antonio led for better than 75% of the five games played, coming up with only one win in the process.
The Spurs’ youth was a major factor, especially late in games.
An errant pass from star forward Victor Wembanyama off of the back of guard Stephon Castle was a major contributor to their loss in Game 2.
The team blew a 29-point lead in Game 4, with De’Aaron Fox’s uncanny decision to attack the rim with a late lead end up being a major error.
In Game 5, with a chance to narrow the Knicks’ fourth-quarter advantage to just one point, rookie playmaker Dylan Harper, who was brilliant throughout the postseason run, came up empty on a pair of free throws.
San Antonio’s youth got the best of them multiple times throughout the series and will provide a valuable learning opportunity for the team’s future, which is sure to be bright.
Wembanyama, Castle and Harper shouldn’t have to wait long before they are competing for a title again.
A new team has won the NBA Finals in each of the last eight seasons, the longest such streak in NBA history. Imagining the Spurs learning from this moment, adding clutch veteran talent and returning to a championship appearance isn’t far from the realm of possibility.
But until then, five decades since the last title, the Knicks reign supreme, led by a player in Brunson who has heard over and over again what he’s not. But it’s what he’s become that’s most important: a champion.
