The New York Knicks were proclaimed champions of the NBA Cup on Tuesday after defeating the San Antonio Spurs 124-113 with an excellent last quarter in the final played in Las Vegas.
The Spurs dominated 81-92 with two minutes left in the third quarter, in a game that seemed under their control. From that point on, the Knicks went on a 43-21 run and, with a lot of skill, won the trophy.
Million-dollar prize for New York
With this victory, the Knicks won the third edition of the NBA Cup, already won by the Milwaukee Bucks (2024) and the Los Angeles Lakers (2023).
For New York, one of the NBA’s historic franchises, it is the first trophy in the windows of Madison Square Garden in Manhattan since the league won in 1973.
In addition to the sporting glory, each Knicks player will receive a prize of $530,000, while the Spurs players will have to settle for $212,000 apiece.
Jalen Brunson, MVP
Jalen Brunson was named tournament MVP.
He was closely guarded by Spurs players, contributed 25 points and 8 assists, after scoring 40 in the semifinals against the Orlando Magic and 35 in the quarterfinals against the Toronto Raptors.
“OG Anunoby, Tyler Kolek, Jordan Clarkson and Mitchell Robinson worked their butts off tonight.”
“Without them, we wouldn’t have won this shit, we wouldn’t have won this. They left it all on the court,” Brunson said after receiving the award.
OG Anunoby was the leading scorer for New York Knicks with 28 points and 9 rebounds.
Especially instrumental in that final stretch of the third and final quarter was Mitchell Robinson, who came in after Karl-Anthony Towns received medical attention on the bench.
Robinson grabbed 15 rebounds, 10 of them offensive, an excellent job under the rim that gave the Knicks second and third chances in their attacks.
Knicks dominated the rebounding 67-56, with a 34-18 run in the second half.
Towns signed a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while reserves Jordan Clarkson and Tyler Kolek contributed 15 and 14 points, respectively.
At the gates of glory
The Spurs saw the trophy and part of the check slip through their fingers when they had accomplished the hardest thing:
Eliminate the Lakers in the quarterfinals and the all-powerful Oklahoma City Thunder in the semifinals.
Victor Wembanyama again started the game from the bench, as he did against the Thunder, with Mitch Johnson’s idea of saving him for the decisive minutes.
But against the Knicks his presence was much less explosive.
The Frenchman contributed 18 points and 6 rebounds, although the lack of competitive rhythm and some inaccuracy in shooting were noticeable.
He had a moment of lucidity in the third quarter, scoring 10 straight points that made it look like he was on his way to the ‘MVP’ before the Spurs went down.
San Antonio dominated… but failed to close
San Antonio led from the end of the first quarter until the beginning of the last quarter.
They even had a maximum lead of 11 points in that 81-92 that changed everything against a team like the New York Knicks, expert in competing in tight ends.
Rookie Dylan Harper was the Spurs’ top scorer with 21 points and 7 rebounds.
Stephon Castle signed a double-double with 15 points, 12 assists and 7 rebounds and De’Aaron Fox contributed another 16 points and 9 assists.
Keldon Johnson, who had become the face of the Spurs’ illusion, for wanting to use the prize money to buy a llama for his farm, barely scored 3 points.
With information from EFE
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