New York Knicks star, Jalen Brunson, played brilliantly as his side beat the San Antonio Spurs 109-95 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, at the Frost Bank Centre in San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Brunson had a rough time during the first half as he injured his right knee in the first quarter and his left ankle in the second. Knicks backup centre Mitchell Robinson played 13 minutes and had two points and six rebounds.
Julian Champagnie had 15 points on five 3-pointers as the Spurs led 55-48 at the half. Brunson logged 11 in the half for New York.
San Antonio led by seven at the break before scoring 10 of the first 13 points in the third quarter to take a 65-51 lead on Harper’s basket. The Knicks responded with a 20-6 burst and knotted the score at 71 on Brunson’s jumper with 2:01 remaining in the third.
Spurs had few answers over the final 12 minutes when it came to slowing Brunson. He was just 7-of-22 shooting entering the final stanza, before finding his groove. He hit 5 of 9 shots in the fourth.
Brunson scored eight straight points, including a driving hoop with 6:08 left to give the Knicks a 94-86 advantage. Wembanyama responded with eight points during a 9-0 run as the Spurs moved ahead 95-94 with 2:16 to play.
San Antonio wouldn’t score again, and Brunson drained a corner three-pointer to put the Knicks back ahead with 1:50 left. Mikal Bridges made two free throws, Brunson hit a jumper and Anunoby sank four consecutive free throws to seal it.
Brunson scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and the Knicks overcame a 14-point third-quarter deficit to win their 12th consecutive playoff game, tied for the second-longest postseason streak in league history.
“He’s an elite player,” Spurs star Victor Wembanyama said of Brunson. “We’re going to have many more chances. It’s the first-to-four series. We’re going to have time to work on it.”
Wembanyama registered 26 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots but made just 6 of 21 field-goal attempts.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Friday night at San Antonio.
