If you thought Game 1 was intense, Game 2 just made it look like a preseason scrimmage.
The New York Knicks won 105-104 in a game that had everything – lead changes, clutch shots, missed daggers, a wild turnover in the final seconds and a missed buzzer-beater to close it out. Two games in San Antonio, two wins for New York. A 2-0 series lead in the NBA Finals. And a city that hasn’t felt this kind of electricity since 1999 is now on the verge of something truly historic.
But let’s not get too far ahead, because this game deserved every single second of attention it demanded.
The Knicks led by 14 with 6:23 left on the clock and looked to be cruising. Then San Antonio woke up. The Spurs chipped away, the crowd got louder, and suddenly the game that looked wrapped up was anything but. Victor Wembanyama took the reins and dragged his team all the way back, orchestrating a stunning run that flipped the script entirely. With 57 seconds left, the Spurs led 104-102. The Frost Bank Center was shaking. It genuinely felt like this one was slipping away.
The Knicks needed a play. They tried to go to Mikal Bridges, who had been nothing short of brilliant all night – more on that in a moment – but Bridges coughed it up, turning the ball over and gifting San Antonio a three-point play opportunity that extended the lead to two. The momentum had completely shifted. And then Jalen Brunson happened.
With 39 seconds on the clock, Brunson caught the ball, created just enough space and launched a 13-foot fadeaway jump shot over the outstretched arms of Devin Vassell and buried it. Tied at 104. Just like that, the chaos reset.
Wembanyama had the ball now and the crowd was ready to erupt. He pulled up from 16 feet – the kind of shot he’s hit all postseason long – but this time the ball hit the rim. The Knicks had it. Brunson attacked again, trying to put it away in front of Wemby himself, but that shot missed too. Wembanyama grabbed the rebound and the Spurs had 12 seconds to steal this game and tie the series.
This is where it got genuinely surreal. In a desperate attempt to push the pace, Wembanyama fired a pass toward Stephon Castle – but Castle never saw it coming. The ball hit him in the back, Brunson swooped in, intercepted it, and was immediately fouled with 7.5 seconds left. The building went quiet.
He made the first free throw. Missed the second. Luke Kornet secured the rebound, called timeout. Knicks up 105-104.
Seven and a half seconds. That’s all San Antonio had. They got the ball to Wembanyama, who rose up over Mitchell Robinson, but the shot caught the rim and fell away. The buzzer sounded. The Knicks stole another one.
Now, let’s talk about the performances that made this possible, because this wasn’t just a survival act – it was a statement.
Karl-Anthony Towns was the engine all night long. He finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds, and when the Knicks needed size, presence and production, he delivered on every front. Brunson ended with 20 points but his value in those final two minutes was worth about 40. Bridges also finished with 20 points and the way he got there was remarkable – after missing his first field goal attempt, he went 8-for-8, becoming a catalyst for the Knicks’ fourth-quarter push that nearly buried San Antonio before the Spurs fought back. OG Anunoby chipped in 17 points, including two clutch three-pointers when the game needed steadying. And off the bench, Landry Shamet gave New York a huge lift with 17 points, knocking down three massive three-pointers that kept the Spurs at bay during the Knicks’ best stretches.
For San Antonio, Wembanyama was everywhere. He had a game-high 29 points, nine rebounds, four blocks, and made play after play that nearly changed the outcome. De’Aaron Fox added 20 points, Devin Vassell and Stephon Castle each contributed 14, and Dylan Harper came off the bench for 15. The Spurs had more than enough to win this game. They just didn’t get the last bounce.
It had the feel of a 90s playoff game. Physical. Brutal. Neither team backing down, both sides making big shots, both defenses making life as difficult as possible. It was exactly the kind of basketball the NBA Finals should be.
And now, the number that puts all of this in proper context: 13. Thirteen consecutive playoff wins for the New York Knicks, making them just the second team in NBA history to reach that mark in a single postseason. Only the 2017 Golden State Warriors have done better, winning 15 straight before finally dropping one in the Finals. And the way this Knicks team is playing, that record is very much within reach.
The overall winning streak itself is something else when you dig into the franchise history. The last time New York strung together 13 consecutive wins of any kind was back in the 2012-13 regular season – but we’re talking about the playoffs now, a completely different animal. The only Knicks teams that ever had longer streaks were the 1994 squad with 15 wins and the 1970 championship team with 18 – both in the regular season. This current group is writing itself into that conversation, game by game.
If the Knicks sweep the Spurs, they tie the 2017 Warriors’ record of 15 straight playoff wins. That’s the kind of territory we’re operating in right now.
Game 3 is Monday at Madison Square Garden. The series shifts to New York, where the city is already waiting. Madison Square Garden is going to be absolutely deafening, and this Knicks squad, playing the best basketball this franchise has seen in decades, gets to feel that crowd for the first time in these Finals.
Two wins away. Two games in their building. The 1999 Finals were a nightmare for this city. Twenty-seven years later, the Knicks are on the other side of that ledger and showing no signs of stopping.