Knicks One Win From First Title Since 1973 in Game 5

Sport

By lines

June 12, 2026

The 2026 NBA Finals Game 5 tips off Saturday night in San Antonio. The New York Knicks carry a 3-1 series lead over the San Antonio Spurs. New York needs one win to claim its first NBA championship since 1973.

Anunoby’s Tip-In Fuels a 53-Year Championship Countdown

The Knicks completed the largest comeback in NBA Finals history in Game 4 on Wednesday. New York trailed by as many as 29 points before rallying to win 107-106. OG Anunoby tipped in the game-winning basket with 1.2 seconds remaining on the clock. Anunoby set a playoff career high of 33 points on 10-for-15 shooting, going 7-of-9 from three-point range.

Jalen Brunson led New York with 36 points and seven assists in the Game 4 win. Victor Wembanyama contributed 24 points and 13 rebounds for San Antonio in the loss. The Spurs built a lead of 29 points in Game 4 before the Knicks erased the entire deficit. Wembanyama also received a flagrant foul, leaving Wembanyama one infraction point from an automatic one-game suspension in Game 5.

History weighs heavily against San Antonio on Saturday. Teams holding a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals are 37-1 all time. The only team to overcome a 3-1 Finals deficit is the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers, who recovered against Golden State. Wembanyama and the Spurs must replicate the most improbable turnaround in championship history to survive.

The Spurs and Knicks share a Finals history that adds extra stakes to Game 5. San Antonio defeated New York in the 1999 NBA Finals, 4-1, with Tim Duncan earning Finals MVP honors. The Knicks have not returned to the Finals since that 1999 series, a 27-year absence from the championship stage. Duncan’s Spurs dynasty delivered the last blow to New York’s previous title run.

A Knicks title Saturday ends the franchise’s longest championship drought at 53 years. Jalen Brunson joined New York from the Dallas Mavericks in 2022 to take on a franchise-defining role. Brunson posted 36 points in Game 4, pushing the Knicks to one win from their first championship. A Spurs win sends the series back to Madison Square Garden for Game 6. New York has won all three home games at MSG this postseason.

Game 5 tips off Saturday night at the AT&T Center in San Antonio on ABC. San Antonio opens as a 5.5-point home favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook, with a 216.5-point total. Victor Wembanyama enters the elimination game one flagrant point from a mandatory one-game ban. The Spurs must become only the second team in Finals history to overturn a 3-1 series deficit. Wembanyama needs his best performance of the series while managing his foul situation carefully.