NEW YORK, June 14 (Our New York News) — The New York Knicks are NBA champions for the first time since 1973, ending a 53-year drought with a 94-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on June 14, according to NBA game and series records.
The victory gave New York the best-of-seven series 4-1 and secured the third championship in franchise history, NBA historical records show. It also reversed the result from the Knicks’ previous Finals appearance in 1999, when San Antonio beat New York in five games.
The box score gives the clearest explanation for how the title was clinched: Jalen Brunson scored 45 points in Game 5, leading the Knicks in the championship-clinching win. The official score shows New York won by four points, a narrow finish that closed a postseason run marked by repeated rallies.
Game 5 was played in San Antonio, but the result immediately became a New York City event. The championship ended one of the longest title waits for a major New York team and brought the Knicks their first NBA crown in more than half a century.
The series record shows New York controlled the Finals overall, winning four of five games against the Spurs. But the path was not straight. In Game 4 at Madison Square Garden, NBA game records show the Knicks erased a 29-point deficit. Supplied accounts based on NBA records described that rally as the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, though the specific historical ranking depends on the league’s official comparison records.
In Game 5, the Knicks again trailed by double digits before coming back, according to accounts based on the official play-by-play and game book. One report put the deficit at 16 points, but that exact number should be read against the official play-by-play. What the final record proves is that New York closed the game ahead, 94-90, and closed the series, 4-1.
The historical weight of the win is documented in the NBA’s franchise and Finals records. Before Sunday, the Knicks had not won a championship since 1973. They had not reached the Finals since 1999. The 2026 title is their third overall.
Celebrations broke out in New York City after the final buzzer, including gatherings outside Madison Square Garden, according to scene reports from The Associated Press and other on-site accounts. The supplied records do not include official crowd estimates, police totals, arrest figures or injury reports.
City officials also began planning a public celebration. The New York City mayor’s office announced a ticker-tape parade and City Hall ceremony for the Knicks on the Thursday after the title win, according to reports citing the mayor’s office and Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s public statement. Reuters reported that Mamdani posted “HISTORY” on X after the championship-clinching victory.
The available record supports the central finding: the Knicks beat the Spurs 94-90 in Game 5, won the Finals 4-1, and ended a championship drought that dated to 1973. Brunson’s 45-point game was the individual box-score anchor of the clincher, and the result moved New York from long-running contender-in-waiting to NBA champion again.
