2026 NBA Championship Blog
06/15/2026Game 5 - KNICKS WIN CHAMPIONSHIP!!!
Going forward, when you hear the word “comeback,” the first thought that should come to mind is the 2026 Knicks. Their resilience will be remembered for years to come. They won game five 94-90 and with that, the NBA Finals (4 games to 1) – their first championship in 53 years. They did this, despite trailing the Spurs by at least 10 points in the first quarter of every game. They trailed by seven points when the fourth quarter began and were down 10 before mounting one last rally.The final four minutes were about as tense and riveting as could be, with teams trading buckets and leads, and the Knicks taking the lead for the first time in the game. With 1:05 left on the clock, Jalen Brunson hit his trademark 12-footer. That gave the Knicks a 90-88 lead. Spurs Dylan Harper missed a 3-point shot, and Josh Hart hit the first of two foul shots with 26.1 seconds remaining. Mitchell Robinson (on the court because Karl-Anthony Towns fouled out) saved the possession with an incredible offensive rebound. OG Anunoby made one of two free throws to put the Knicks up four. Stephon Castle did a put-back dunk on Victor Wembanyama’s missed 3 point shot with 16.3 seconds left. Lotsa free throws, lotsa misses, but the Knicks won what became a free-throw contest, finishing with OG’s free throw with 7.7 seconds left on the clock, putting the Knicks up by four. The Spurs used their final timeout before the buzzer, and when Wembanyama’s desperation 3-point shot bricked, the game was over.
A few observation:
- Brunson, much doubted as undersized, unable to carry a team, and not drafted until the second round, gave his doubters much to think about and atone for. As the Finals MVP, he led the Knicks, averaging 32.6 points and in the final game, scoring 45 points, only four fewer points than the combined scoring of the rest of the team. With all that, he was not at his best. I think he was playing hurt since game 1 when Harrison Barnes fell into his planted right knee.
- The Knicks showed adaptability in an earlier round against the Hawks, when they moved KAT to the top, giving Brunson more room to work, literally changing their game plan.
- Wembanyama is a dirty player. He should have been called for a flagrant foul for sliding into Brunson’s landing zone. Not the first time in the series a flagrant was not called against him. I’ve already addressed the refs’ reluctance the call fouls (except for the most obvious ones) against a marquis player that the basketball world (read: the networks) wants to see.
- In multiple series games, there often is one play that captures the moment and signals on whom the sports gods are smiling (think Bill Buckner’s error on a routine ground ball in game 6 of the 1986 World Series). In this series, it was OG’s coming from nowhere to tip the ball in on Brunson’s miss with 1.2 seconds left.
- And, because I can’t resist, I will note that the only game the Knicks lost was the game that Trump attended…..
As for the news you’ve all been waiting for (the winners, anyway), Slava will be distributing the winnings to our five successful box landers. Here are our winners:
- Game 1 – Taj Rampersaud
- Game 2 – Angela Kong
- Game 3 – Angela Kong (yes, again)
- Game 4 – Mary Kellerman
- Game 5 – Michelle Chen
Your Commissioners,
Meryl and Slava
Game 4
It's taken me almost 24 hours to catch my breath. I am a sports nut; I play sports, I watch sports, I can get into any sport and find myself with a serious rooting interest. I don't think I've ever seen a game like last night's.I'm still trying to figure out how the Knicks managed the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history to pull out a 107-106 win over the Spurs, and put themselves on the threshold of their first title in 53 years. I wasn't quite ready to call it a night, but when the half ended with the Knicks down 27 points (which grew to 29 points in the beginning of the third quarter), you couldn't have blamed me if I did. By all accounts, it was an astounding performance by the Knicks - astoundingly bad for two quarters and astoundingly focused and purposeful for the next two.
The Spurs came out swinging. In the first half, it seemed like they couldn't miss, knocking down one 3-point shot after another, and playing with ferocious intensity. They connected on an NBA-Finals record of fourteen 3-pointers. The Knicks couldn't buy a bucket, committed turnovers and basically were sleepwalking. In the third quarter momentum changed and the Knicks slowly and methodically whittled away the Spurs' lead to start the fourth quarter down "only" fifteen points. The Spurs cooled off; they hit only two 3-pointers, scored only 14 points and committed five turnovers. (In the first half they were shooting at 60%; in the second half they were shooting at 21%). They were a little too casual. It is somewhat inexplicable to me why the Spurs continued to shoot 3-pointers when they weren't falling for them; they still held the lead and had 7'4" Wemby to rebound if a shot missed.
And then...the Knicks smelled blood. With 30 seconds left, Stephon Castle's two free throws put the Spurs up by a point. Jalen Brunson missed a short jumper. De'Aaron Fox grabbed the rebound and with 10 seconds to go, he went for a layup at the other end, but OG Annunoby blocked the shot. Personally, I question why he went for the layup instead of just dribbling and running down the clock. The Spurs fouled and set up the Knicks final possession. OG inbounded the ball. Unsurprisingly, the play was to Brunson; Brunson's shot clanged off the front rim. But then, OG, seemingly coming from nowhere, leaped...no, soared over everyone to tip the ball in, putting the Knicks up by one point with 1.2 seconds left. Last chance for the Spurs; but Castle fumbled the inbounds pass under the basket, and just like that, it was over. Having led all game, this has to be a devastating loss for the Spurs.
The Knicks now take a 3-1 lead in the series which heads back to San Antonio for game 5. The Knicks are within one win of their first title since 1973. That sounds awfully sweet to us long-suffering Knick fans.
Our local winner is Mary Kellerman, having landed in the 7-6 box. Congrats, Mary.
Your Happily-Deliriously-Excited-Commissioners,
Meryl and Slava
Game 3
Everything was off last night for the Knicks. They lost 115-111. They still lead the series 2 -1, but there were no heroics, no commanding 3-0 lead in the series, and no extension of their 13-game playoff winning streak, and well, no celebrations. The Spurs, led by Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle teamed up to score 55 points and bring the Spurs to one game away from tying the series and bringing a 2-2 series back to San Antonio. I’m a Knicks fan so I’m not about to prattle on about how good they were. But they were really good. The Knicks loss was of their own making.For a moment in the second quarter, it looked like the game would go into the “W” column for the Knicks, as they outscored the Spurs 42-24 (including a 10-1 run), ending the half with a seven point lead, 64-57. But, the Spurs were not to be vanquished that quickly. By the end of the third quarter the Spurs were ahead by one point. They had fewer turnovers, fewer mistakes, and their defense was ferocious. They had so many effective defense rotations. They prevented the Knicks from building offensive momentum and took away the Knicks ball movement, forcing them to settle for jumpers on a night they were not exactly ice cold, but they were not hot either; lukewarm at best. Not playoff caliber. And, the Knicks offense stalled in the fourth quarter, shooting just 7-of-27, while the Spurs shots were falling in. In the end, the Knicks simply did not execute on both ends of the floor. Thirteen Knick turnovers, which turned into 21 Spurs points did not help their cause. I will say one more thing about game 3. The officiating was awful (or as Alexander put it a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day). Game 3 was an incredibly physical game; anyone who watched the game would attest to that; yet the Spurs shot 24 free throw attempts in the second half while the Knicks shot only 8. That did not reflect what went on…nor did the bizarre (non) calling of flagrant fouls. I’m not naïve and I get that the networks and pretty much everyone except the players want a long series because that means more revenues, and I get that those same networks don’t want to see Wemby foul out because that’s whom everyone except Knick fans want to see, but the lack of foul calls against him were “flagrantly” obvious and possibly game changing (reminiscent of the protect Michael Jordan at any cost era). I get that bad calls are part of the game, and that more often than not they even out, but last night’s obviously poor officiating is worthy of mention.
Although the Knicks now look mortal, that is when they are the most dangerous, with the pressure back on them. Their strength is in their resilience. Game 4 is their chance to show that game 3 was a minor toe stubbing on their path to championship destiny. Personally, I would suggest they use KAT more and earlier on; he has been (in my view) the Knicks’ most valuable player so far in this series. Same for OG… use him more.
Our local winner is Angela Kong…again. This time having landed on the 1-5 box. Nice Angela, how do you do it?
Your Exasperated, Yet Hopeful and Believing Commissioners,
Meryl and Slava
Game 2
In the end, you blinked and it was over. Game 2 was a thriller, with the Knicks winning 105-104, to take a 2-0 lead in the series, as they head home to Madison Square Garden for the next two games. The Knicks now have won 13 playoff games in a row. It was a slugfest; it was not pretty; but a win is a win. And up two on a best of seven series is not nothing.Spurs were off to a good start, with a nine-point lead at the end of the first quarter that grew to 12 points in the second quarter. For a moment there it looked like they were going to avenge their first game loss. But Mikal Bridges' three 3-pointers erased the Knick deficit, and at the half, the Knicks were ahead 56-52. Knicks had a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, which they managed to blow in about five minutes, courtesy of a 21-5 run by the Spurs, which gave the Spurs a 104-102 lead with less than two minutes to play. Jalen Brunson tied the game with a fadeaway jumper. 104 to 104.
If that wasn't exciting enough, with the score tied, Brunson uncharacteristically missed his next shot. Victor Wembanyama grabbed the rebound and threw an outlet pass to Stephon Caslte who was racing down court (presumably thinking Wemby was going to bring the ball down himself). Wemby's pass hit Castle's back and the ball found its way into Brunson's hands. Wemby then fouled Brunson. Brunson made one of two free throws bringing the score to 105-104. With 7.5 seconds on the clock, Spurs called a timeout and the play was to go to Wemby for a last shot (not surprisingly, but erroneously, as De'Aaron Fox had a hot hand and a play to Fox would have enabled Wemby to post up for a rebound in the event of a miss). Wemby's shot - a 20 foot jumper - clanged off the rim, and just like that, the buzzer sounded and it was over. Knicks win.
Key observation: there was no significant drop off in the Knicks game even though Brunson was having an off night. Karl-Anthony Towns (best player on the court that night) led Knicks scoring with 21 points and convincingly outplayed the much (over) hyped Wembanyama on both ends of the court. The clutch shooting of OG Anunoby and Landry Shamet and the suffocating defense of MItchell Robinson more than picked up the slack. Can't wait for game 3.
Our local winner of game 2 was Angela Kong, who blissfully landed on the 5-4 box. Congrats, Angela.
Your Deliriously Excited Commissioners,
Meryl and Slava
Game 1
So much to say. On paper, Spurs are the better team, but our Knicks (I make no pretenses about objectivity) won game 1, 105-95. This was the Knicks first NBA Finals win in 32 years. They now have won 12 straight playoff games by an NBA record of 272 points. Let’s be honest: the Spurs have a great marquis player, Victor Wembanyama; championship teams have been described by one player (e.g., Bill Russell Celtics, Michael Jordan Bulls, SGA Thunder). Knicks don’t have that…but they do have Brunson, KAT, OG, and Hart, and so much more. They are a balanced team with depth. We love Brunson, especially in crunch time, but without the two-way effort of the team, he would not have gotten to that 3-point shot with two minutes left to put the Knicks up 97-95, not to mention his fadeaway jumper with 37 seconds left, essentially icing the game. The Knicks closed the game with an 11-0 run.This was not a pretty game. You can tell by the score that the offense of both teams was off (the Knicks were rusty after a 10-day layoff; the Spurs were tired having just played a tough seven game series against the favorite Thunder). Brunson had (for him) a poor shooting night (12 for 31 from the field) to finish with 30 points, but Wemby also had a tough night, finishing with 26 points on 6 for 21 shooting from the field. When the game began, it wasn’t looking great for the Knicks; at the half, they were trailing by seven points. In the third quarter, the Spurs extended their lead to 14 points and then blew it, with the third quarter ending in a tie. In the fourth quarter, predictably, Brunson took over offensively, but it was Hart and KAT who were stars too. Hart was everywhere defensively. He had a game high 15 rebounds (btw, that’s three more than 7’4” Wemby), and four steals. KAT successfully drew Wemby to the outside making way for easy (?) shots in the paint. Defense won the game.
Looking forward to game 2 tomorrow night. Let’s hope the Knicks continue to contain Wemby. My own thought is that they need to capitalize more on fast breaks when Wemby is not already in position under the basket. One more thought. I’m tired of hearing how the Knicks “upset” the Spurs, or how they come from the “weak East.” I don’t want to get ahead of my skis here, but this is OUR time.
As for our own game 1 winner: it’s Taij, having successfully landed on the 5-5 box. Congrats, Taij.
Your Knick-Loving Commissioners,
Meryl and Slava
