Knicks overcome 14-point deficit to beat Spurs 105-95 in Game 1 of NBA Finals

The New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 105-95 in Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals on June 3 at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. The victory marked the Knicks' 12th straight playoff win and gave them a 1-0 series lead. Jalen Brunson scored 30 points, 13 of them in the fourth quarter, after Harrison Barnes landed on his right knee late in the first quarter.

Brunson left the floor briefly but returned and scored the bulk of his points in the final period as New York erased a 14-point third-quarter deficit. Karl-Anthony Towns added 18 points, 10 of them in the third quarter. OG Anunoby opened the fourth quarter with a strong scoring run that helped keep the Knicks within reach before Brunson took over.

Brown has repeatedly described Brunson as an MVP candidate despite Brunson receiving no votes, not even a fifth-place vote, in this season's balloting. Eight players received votes, and Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the award for the second consecutive year. Brunson said the Knicks showed composure under pressure.

"I don't want to say calmness, but I think we know what we have to do," he said. "I think we are a pretty together group. Be able to trust each other and still have each other's back and know that we just have to keep chipping away, chipping away.

Towns described his approach early in the game. "For me, when I go out there, I try to be aggressive in playmaking," he said. "Early in the game, just you never know what actually the defense is going to give you.

The Knicks have trailed by large margins in earlier playoff series and come back. They trailed by 22 points in the fourth quarter of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals against Cleveland before forcing overtime. Last year they overcame multiple 20-point deficits against the Boston Celtics in the second round, took a 2-0 road lead, and won that series in six games.

The Spurs eliminated the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals. Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs' star, is the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year.