Jalen Brunson, Knicks withstand Spurs' blitz defense in NBA Finals clinching win

Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News on Jun 13, 2026

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From start to finish, the San Antonio Spurs threw everything at Jalen Brunson. It didn’t matter.

The New York Knicks finished the first quarter of Saturday’s Game 5 4 of 22 from the field with six turnovers, a sloppy start to a potential NBA Finals clinching game.

The Spurs accrued a 10-point lead at that point, blitzing the Knicks with the type of pressure expected from a team that was a loss away from an offseason filled with sadness.

Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson ordered his players to get into each orange and blue jersey.

The pressure extended off the ball too with San Antonio guards denying entry passes to their opponents — especially Brunson.

Spurs guard Dylan Harper even forced Jose Alvarado into an eight-second violation as the Brooklyn native failed to cross the timeline at the 10-minute mark of the second.

But the Knicks withstood the pressure. The game flipped right after with a 10-2 spearheaded by Brunson, who no longer faced a flurry of denials on every single offensive possession.

The Spurs put the pressure back on at different times throughout the game, though.

It resumed in the fourth quarter with the game in limbo. Brunson, the crafty undersized guard, leveraged that pressure by drawing two shooting fouls in as many possessions on 3-point attempts.

At the end, it added up to the star’s 13-of-15 mark at the charity stripe.

They hounded Brunson.

But he found an answer each time and responded with the game of his life: 45 points on 14-of-27 shooting, three rebounds and three assists in 42 minutes. And it lifted the Knicks to a 94-90 NBA Finals Game 5 win that secured the franchise’s first title in 53 years.

After witnessing the Knicks’ previous win of the series, we knew how this one would end.

Brunson paced New York through the pressure. The undersized guard did.

And his performance adds to the lore of this historic Knicks NBA Finals win that included so many magical moments along the way.

The Spurs flew around the court from the opening tip. The rotations were sharp, hedges were hard and defensive possessions ended one-and-done.

The Knicks looked overwhelmed. Or perhaps, they just waited for the Spurs to tire down.

It would’ve been a valiant Spurs effort had the pressure remained all game. If it did for more consistent spurts throughout the game, they would’ve benefited with Karl-Anthony Towns — the focal point of New York’s offense — on the sidelines in foul trouble. He later fouled out in the fourth after scoring two points in 23 minutes of action.

That wasn’t the case, however. Brunson enjoyed the best overall performance of this NBA Finals.

Game 5 cemented Brunson as Finals MVP — and as the King of New York.

Gone are the conversions if a 6-foot guard could lead his team to an NBA title in today’s NBA.

His all-time performance silenced those critics.

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