Knicks edge Spurs late, Brunson 30 for a 1-0 lead

San Antonio finished the third quarter as though the night was already settled. The home crowd was on its feet, the board read plus 14 for the Spurs, and the New York bench called a timeout that nobody watched with much hope. Then Jalen Brunson took the ball, ran two pick-and-rolls in a row, and quietly served notice of a fourth quarter that would flip everything.

The visitors won the last twelve minutes 29-19. Inside that stretch came an 11-0 run that wiped out the deficit in a few possessions and put New York in front for the first time. The Knicks won 105-95 in San Antonio and took a 1-0 lead in the series, with Brunson’s 30 points, 13 of them late, the main reason for the turnaround.

How did the Knicks erase a 14-point deficit?

The comeback did not rest on Brunson alone. Karl-Anthony Towns played a quiet but heavy game, 18 points and 12 rebounds, and down the stretch kept the glass clean just enough that every Spurs miss meant another New York possession. The Knicks defense squeezed San Antonio to 19 points in the final quarter, the first real wall a team that had played open all night had run into.

The key numbers from Game 1:

• Jalen Brunson: 30 points, 13 in the fourth quarter
• Karl-Anthony Towns: 18 points and 12 rebounds
• Victor Wembanyama: 26 points and 12 rebounds, but 6 of 21 from the field
• an 11-0 run in the final stretch and the quarter won 29-19
• a twelfth straight New York win in this year’s playoffs

The home side was led by Victor Wembanyama. In his Finals debut the Frenchman scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, a line that looks big on paper. The problem was the percentage. At 6 of 21 from the floor, Wembanyama too often finished possessions the hard way, and when New York doubled him late, San Antonio had no one else to take charge.

What now for the Spurs before Game 2?

San Antonio got a plain lesson: a 14-point lead against a team that has not lost twelve playoff games means nothing if the offense freezes at the finish. The Spurs played the final quarter tight, and Wembanyama was left without a second option beside him.

Their coach now has two days to work out where the shots will fall once New York closes the paint again. The Knicks, for their part, head home with the lead and with a Brunson who, late in the game, looked like a player who has solved nights like this many times before.

Game 2 of the series is on Friday, with coverage set for ESPN and NBA.com.

I think the Spurs cannot let a good start fool them. Anyone who watched the last twelve minutes saw that New York has a team that does not panic when it trails. Will Wembanyama find a way to punish the double team in Game 2, or will Brunson decide it late again?