The white-hot New York Knicks moved within two wins of their first NBA championship in more than half a century on Friday night, edging the San Antonio Spurs 105-104 in a Game 2 thriller to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the NBA finals before the series shifts to Madison Square Garden.
After stealing Game 1 with a furious fourth-quarter comeback, the Knicks once again turned to Jalen Brunson when the game hung in the balance. The All-NBA guard sank the go-ahead free throw with 9.5 seconds remaining after a costly turnover by Spurs star Victor Wembanyama. Moments later, Wembanyama’s clean look from the elbow at the buzzer caromed off the back rim, allowing New York to become only the third team to win the first two games of an NBA finals on the road after the 1993 Chicago Bulls and 1995 Houston Rockets.
The victory also extended the Knicks’ remarkable postseason run to 13 consecutive wins, matching one of the longest single-season playoff winning streaks in NBA history and fueling belief that a franchise still chasing its first title since 1973 may finally be on the verge of ending decades of frustration.
Brunson, who scored 30 points in Wednesday’s opener despite battling a sore knee and ankle, finished with 20 points on 7-for-25 shooting but once again provided the composure New York needed in the biggest moments.
“We played hard, we got ourselves a lead. It’s something we’ve done so well in this playoffs. We’ve gotten leads and we’ve held the leads,” said Karl-Anthony Towns, who led the Knicks with 21 points while adding 13 rebounds. “Today, the Spurs fought. They got themselves back into the lead and put themselves in a position to win … but we found a way to get it done.”
Wembanyama looked determined to atone for a frustrating NBA finals debut in which he shot just 6-for-21 and committed six turnovers. The 21-year-old French star responded with 29 points on 11-for-21 shooting in 40 minutes, but his wayward pass off the back of teammate Stephon Castle while trying to initiate the final possession and narrowly missed jumper at the death ultimately defined a heartbreaking finish for San Antonio.
No team in NBA history has lifted the trophy after dropping the first two games of the finals at home.
The Spurs trailed by 14 points midway through the fourth quarter but used a run of 14-0 behind Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox to tie it at 97-97 with 3:00 remaining, then took their first lead of the half with less than a minute to go.
Brunson responded immediately, knotting the game at 104-104 with a driving basket. Wembanyama came up empty on San Antonio’s next trip and Anunoby gathered the rebound before New York called timeout.
The Spurs briefly seemed to catch a reprieve when they forced a miss, only for Wembanyama to throw the ball away on the ensuing possession. Brunson capitalized, drawing a foul and sinking the free throw that put New York in front.
The Spurs still had one final opportunity. After a timeout, Fox found Wembanyama for an open look from 20 feet that would have won the game, only for it to rattle off the goal.
“Of course I liked the shot,” Wembanyama said afterwards. “In moments like this, results matter more than process. We just needed to score. I just needed to score. That’s the whole point.”
Now the series shifts to New York, where anticipation has reached levels unseen in a generation. Game 3 is scheduled for Monday night at Madison Square Garden, with Donald Trump planning to attend and secondary-market ticket prices approaching $9,000 for the worst seats in the house.
