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New York rallied from an 11-point second-half deficit to beat San Antonio 124-113 in the NBA Cup championship game.
The Knicks outscored the Spurs 35-19 in the fourth quarter and held a 67-56 rebounding edge.
OG Anunoby led New York with 28 points, and Jalen Brunson added 25. Brunson was named the NBA Cup MVP. Dylan Harper paced San Antonio with 21.
Check out this week’s live coverage schedule at The Athletic here
GO FURTHER
NBA Cup takeaways: Knicks’ bench delivers New York’s first banner since 1973
Jalen Brunson earned 19 of the 20 media votes for the NBA Cup MVP award. There was one vote for OG Anunoby.
There were five votes reserved for fans. Three of those went to Victor Wembanyama, while the other two went to Brunson.
So technically, Brunson earned 21 of the 25 MVP votes.
Count Spike Lee among Knicks fans who are against raising a banner for the NBA Cup championship.
💬 “We don’t need that.”
So he said when asked directly by Steve Nash on the Prime postgame show.
Victor Wembanyama started to tear up after his first answer of his press conference and then said, “I’m sorry, I lost somebody today.”
He took one more question before leaving.
The Knicks won’t have much time to recover from this NBA Cup victory. In the past seven days, they’ve flown from New York to Toronto for the quarterfinals, then to Las Vegas for the semifinals and finals.
They must fly to Indianapolis (and back across multiple time zones) for a game against the Pacers in less than 48 hours, followed by a back-to-back at home against the 76ers on Friday.
Not that it’ll be a whole lot easier for the Spurs. Since Nov. 20 — i.e. less than a month ago — San Antonio’s had games in 10 different cities. The Spurs will then fly back to San Antonio to face the Wizards, then must go to Atlanta for a back-to-back against the Hawks, followed by a trip to D.C. to face the Wizards again on Nov. 21.
The past two NBA Cup champions have experienced a letdown following their victory. We’ll see if either of these two teams experience the same having made the final.
If you thought the Knicks were top-heavy, think again.
New York didn’t win the NBA Cup because Jalen Brunson was the best scorer on the planet, which he’s capable of being. The Knicks didn’t win this because Karl-Anthony Towns shot the ball like we know he’s capable of. Mikal Bridges wasn’t spectacular. Josh Hart has had better games.
The Knicks won because of heroics from the bench. Tyler Kolek, a second-round draft pick last season, scored double digits off the bench. Jordan Clarkson hit huge 3 after huge 3. Mitchell Robinson dominated Victor Wembanyama on the offensive glass.
New York needed something from everyone to raise its first banner since 1973. Yes, the Knicks are going to hang a banner inside MSG because everyone on the team agrees that when you work for something, you honor that.
The Knicks entered the conversation as legitimate NBA title contenders by beating the Spurs, who took down the almighty Thunder to have a spot in the final.
New York doesn’t need Giannis. It doesn’t need to make a big trade. It needs to see if what it has is as real as it appeared tonight.
The NBA Daily Podcast is live right now with reaction to tonight’s NBA Cup final. Give it a watch right here …
The Spurs travel home to face the Washington Wizards on Thursday. Like the Knicks, they play a back-to-back on Friday, traveling to Atlanta to face the Hawks.
Then, it’s a home-and-home against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Dec. 23 and Christmas Day. If it’s anything like the NBA Cup semifinal, then basketball fans will be in for a couple of glorious presents.
It’s a busy stretch of basketball upcoming for the Knicks. They play on Thursday in Indiana against the Pacers, a rematch of last year’s epic Eastern Conference finals.
Then, it’s right back on the court again on Friday for a back-to-back against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Knicks will play on Christmas Day against the Cleveland Cavaliers at 12 p.m. ET.
Tyler Kolek had only played at least 20 minutes in an NBA game once in his career before tonight. Last April, he climbed over the 20-minute threshold in a win over the lowly 76ers in a game Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns sat out.
Tonight, Kolek’s 20 minutes transformed this game and spurred (pun intended) the Knicks’ comeback. He ended up with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. No sequence was more memorable than the triple he hit over Victor Wembanyama in the third quarter, followed by what appeared to be him gesturing at the 7-foot-5 superstar.
With Miles McBride still out with an ankle injury, one wonders if Kolek will get even more opportunities to earn a bigger rotation role. The Knicks certainly could use his ball-handling when opponents pressure Brunson.
The irony: the game we may once look back on as Kolek’s breakout performance technically didn’t happen because this game doesn’t count toward the NBA regular-season standings.
No team has won the NBA Cup and NBA Finals in the same season. New York will now attempt to be the first team to accomplish this feat.
In 2023-24, the Lakers lost in the first round in five games to the Nuggets.
In 2024-25, the Bucks lost in five games to the Pacers in the first round.
The Knicks haven’t won an NBA title since 1970 …
The only team to beat the Knicks in the NBA Cup?
That’s right: the Chicago Bulls.
You can bet Artūras Karnišovas is going to mention that after the Bulls season ends with 39 wins and a play-in tournament L.
If you told the NBA three years ago that the first three champions of the NBA Cup would include the two most iconic brands in the sport and a team led by one of the most well-known international stars today, it probably would be thrilled.
Jalen Brunson entered tonight as the leading scorer in the NBA Cup. He delivered another stellar game tonight for the Knicks.
Brunson recorded 25 points on 11-of-27 shooting from the floor, along with eight assists and four rebounds. He was the best player throughout the NBA Cup, showing why he’s one of the best guards in the league.
Here were the final scoring leaders in tonight’s NBA Cup final …
Below are some of your postgame thoughts on tonight’s excellent NBA Cup championship game …
💬 Joe M: “The drought is finally over!!!”
💬 Taal M: “Tyler Kolek coming out game.”
💬 Nick D: “Brunson a true captain calling out the bench players.”
💬 Matt S: “Unreal trash 4th quarter from the Spurs. Our 19 year old rookie looked the most composed. Oh well, onward. Congrats Knicks.”
💬 Dennis B: “When’s the parade?”
💬 Zachary Z: “You can see it in Brunson’s eyes. He’s happy they won, don’t get me wrong. But he knows this is not it … Not yet. He’s hungry.”
It wasn’t the best Victor Wembanyama game tonight. He played more than the last game, but Wembanyama wasn’t as dominant as he was against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Wembanyama posted 18 points in 25 minutes and went 7-of-17 from the floor, made two 3-pointers and added six rebounds. He showed flashes of brilliance, whether it was shooting 3s or converting on baskets from lob passes into the paint.
If this NBA Cup proved anything, it was that the league is in good hands with Wemby!
It’s funny how soccer-pilled the NBA Cup is. This trophy presentation seems so reminiscent of how the Champions League awards their trophy to the winning team, even with the smoke and confetti in the background.
Feels more football than basketball in its vibe.
In his MVP acceptance speech, Jalen Brunson shouted out OG Anunoby, Tyler Kolek, Mitchell Robinson and Jordan Clarkson for being essential to tonight's win.
If there was a silver lining in tonight’s Spurs performance, it was how they spread their offense. Even though it went cold in the fourth quarter (just 19 points), a lot of the players got involved in making this a close game.
San Antonio had seven players with double-digit points. Dylan Harper led the Spurs in scoring with 21 points, providing a jolt off the bench.
