To start things off in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals, Jalen Brunson did not have the most comfortable time dealing with the San Antonio Spurs defense. The New York Knicks star banged knees with Harrison Barnes in the first quarter, and in the second period, he seemed to have had enough after Luke Kornet bumped into his already-ailing knee.
But in the end, Brunson had the last laugh — scoring 13 in the fourth quarter to push the Knicks past the Spurs, 105-95, to claim a 1-0 series lead.
Brunson entered flow state in the fourth quarter, getting to his spots and hitting some of the biggest shots of his career as the Knicks weathered a late comeback attempt from the Spurs. Despite the rough shooting for most of the night, Brunson still finished with 30 points, the most any Knicks player has scored in their NBA Finals debut since Willis Reed (37 points in 1970), as per Keerthika Uthayakumar of StatKeeks.
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The difficulty level on some of the shots Brunson hit approached ridiculous levels, and there is no doubting that the Knicks earned this Game 1 victory over the Spurs on the road. Brunson hit the big triple that gave the Knicks back the lead, 97-95, after the Spurs regained the advantage, and he hit the dagger with 38 seconds remaining — a bonkers well-contested fadeaway that he's made a living off of making.
Brunson may get most of the plaudits, and deservedly so, but OG Anunoby also deserves a huge shoutout for the way he set the tone for the Knicks to start the fourth quarter. He scored eight points to give the Knicks the advantage to begin the period, and he then iced the game with four consecutive makes from the charity stripe in the dying embers.
The Knicks have now won 12 consecutive games, which is an incredible achievement to accomplish under the postseason bright lights. But the series is far from over.
To start things off in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals, Jalen Brunson did not have the most comfortable time dealing with the San Antonio Spurs defense. The New York Knicks star banged knees with Harrison Barnes in the first quarter, and in the second period, he seemed to have had enough after Luke Kornet bumped into his already-ailing knee.