SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The New York Knicks’ winning streak lives on, and they struck first in the NBA Finals. Jalen Brunson scored 30 points, Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and the Knicks erased a 14-point second-half deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 105-95 in Game 1 of the finals on Wednesday night. OG Anunoby had 17 points for New York — which has won 12 consecutive playoff games, the seventh team to have such a streak in NBA history, and is the third to do it in a single season. Brunson scored 13 points in the fourth, only six fewer than San Antonio managed as a team in that quarter, and sealed it with a spinning jumper while falling to the court with 38 seconds left. “He’s a gamer, man,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “In the biggest moments, he shows up. That’s what MVPs are supposed to do.” And the Knicks, who finished on an 11-0 run, made a little more history. They became the first team to beat San Antonio in a Game 1 of the title series — the Spurs were 6-0 in those — and this is also the first time the Spurs have trailed a finals before the finish. As far as single-season playoff winning streaks — Golden State won 15 straight games in the 2017 postseason on its way to the title. San Antonio won 12 straight in 1999 on its way to the title. And now New York has won 12 in a row, with its title status to be determined. “I think we know what we have to do,” Brunson said. “I think we’re a pretty together group.” Victor Wembanyama had 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs, but he shot 6 for 21 from the field in his finals debut. Stephon Castle scored 17, while Julian Champagnie and Dylan Harper each had 16 for San Antonio. “I was bad tonight,” Wembanyama said. “It’s not more complicated than that.” Game 2 is Friday in San Antonio. Former San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich was at the game, as he’s been for every finals game in Spurs history, albeit watching from a suite and not stomping the San Antonio sideline. The Spurs legends — David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen and more — were there, too. So were Knicks great Patrick Ewing and the world’s most recognizable New York fans: Spike Lee, Tracy Morgan, Ben Stiller, Fat Joe, Timothée Chalamet and more. Plenty of non-celeb Knicks fans made the trip as well; Tommy Sherlock, a auto sales manager from Brooklyn, said it cost less for two Game 1 tickets in San Antonio, with hotel and airfare, than Game 3 tickets in New York would have set him back. “First-class air, too,” Sherlock said. “By a lot.” The Knicks led 14-7 early, the Spurs answered with a 20-13 run to go up by 10, the Knicks rallied and the second quarter saw six lead changes before San Antonio took a 55-48 lead into the break. San Antonio pushed the lead to 14 midway through the third quarter before the Knicks stormed back, finishing the period on a 22-9 run and sending the game into the fourth tied at 76. New York’s lead was eight midway through the final period. Wembanyama made a pair of free throws with 2:16 left to put San Antonio up 95-94, but Brunson made a corner 3 on the next possession to put the Knicks on top for good. “I think we let that one go,” Wembanyama said. San Antonio’s run of never trailing the finals had some close calls over the years. The Spurs were tied twice with New Jersey in 2003 finals, tied with Detroit twice in 2005, tied with Miami three times in 2013 — they lost that series in seven games, so they only trailed when it was over — and then were tied with the Heat once more in 2014. It’s only 1-0. But the Knicks are only three wins away from their first title in 53 years, and they just took home-court advantage away from San Antonio. “We have a long way to go,” Brunson said. ===== JOSH HART’S EFFORTS HELP KNICKS TURN AROUND GAME 1 OF THE NBA FINALS AND BEAT THE SPURS SAN ANTONIO (AP) — When the New York Knicks needed a lift, they turned to the player who has given them everything he has all season. Josh Hart overcame early foul trouble to lead a defensive effort that stymied the San Antonio Spurs in the second half as New York rallied for a 105-95 victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday. “That’s just who he is,” said Jalen Brunson, who led the Knicks with 30 points. “He’s always been that way. I can’t explain it. He just has a knack for doing things like that, and in crucial times, as well. It’s a credit to who he is as a player.” Scoring three points on 1-for-5 shooting doesn’t sound like an impactful line, but Hart’s value to the Knicks goes well beyond his offense. Hart finished with 15 rebounds, six assists, four steals and a blocked shot in 27 minutes. The Knicks outscored the Spurs by 22 points when Hart was on the court, the highest plus-minus by eight of any player in the series opener. Hart is first player with 15-plus rebounds, six-plus assists and four-plus steals in an NBA Finals game since Hall of Famer Larry Bird in Game 3 of 1986 NBA Finals for Boston against the Houston Rockets. “I don’t really don’t care about it, honestly,” Hart said, chuckling. “I’m happy we got the win. Happy I was able to impact the game. Obviously, I had a couple of shots that I felt good about that didn’t go in. How I play the game, it goes far beyond made shots, it goes far beyond box scores. Glory to God, he was able to strengthen me in moments of weakness and I was able to just go out there and just hoop.” The Spurs were held to 40 points in the second half and were outscored 29-19 in the fourth quarter. Hart had three steals in the fourth quarter alone as the Knicks sealed a victory in Game 1 with Game 2 scheduled for Friday in San Antonio. Hart picked up three early fouls that limited him to 6 1/2 minutes in the first quarter and only 37 seconds in the second. San Antonio shot 38% on 3-pointers in scoring 55 points in the first half with Hart largely on the bench. “These guys are resilient, man,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. ”They get better as the game goes along. They really try to pay attention to the details that we are throwing at them.” Hart was key to that turnaround in the second half. Spurs forward Julian Champagnie was 5 for 6 on 3-pointers in the first half but missed all five of his attempts in the second half. Champagnie finished with 16 points. At 20 years old, Spurs rookie Dylan Harper became the youngest player to score 10 points in the NBA Finals, doing so in his first six minutes on the court. He was limited to four points on 2-for-5 shooting in the second half and finished with 16 points. Hart’s first steal of the fourth quarter led to a running layup by Brunson that put New York ahead 92-86 with 6:34 remaining. His final steal led to Brunson’s 15-foot jumper with 38 seconds that sealed the victory. “You know, you look at Josh Hart’s line being 1 for 5 from the field, and the guy had 15 rebounds and four steals, and he made some unbelievable defensive plays and he helped us tremendously in transition,” Brown said. “So, heck of a job by Josh.” About The Author troyderengowski61@gmail.com See author's posts Post navigation NBA FINALS PREVIEW
