Knicks Win 2026 NBA Title 94-90 Over Spurs as Brunson Scores 45

Jalen Brunson scored 45 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, to lead the New York Knicks to a 94-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night and clinch the 2026 NBA championship in five games. Brunson became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1998 to record 45 or more points in a Finals-clinching game on the road.

He also became the first player to score 15 points in the final quarter of a Finals-clinching win.

Brunson played the final quarter and a half on a rolled ankle after an uncalled flagrant foul by Victor Wembanyama. CBS Sports reported that Brunson won the 2026 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award by unanimous vote. Brunson is the eighth player in NBA history to win an NBA championship after leading his college team to a national title.

He is the first to do so since Jordan in 1998 and the third player overall, after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton, to win multiple college national titles and an NBA championship. Brunson won NCAA titles with Villanova in 2016 and 2018. He now holds the Knicks franchise records for most 30-point games in the NBA Finals with four and most points in an NBA Finals game with 45.

6 points per game average in the 2026 Finals is the highest by a point guard in NBA history. The Knicks became the first franchise to win the NBA treble of NBA Finals, conference championship, and NBA Cup. Brunson is the first player in NBA history to win MVP honors in the NBA Finals, conference championship, and NBA Cup.

Brunson finished the postseason with a 15-1 record in the Knicks' final 16 games. 5 points. "He is 'Him,'" Knicks coach Mike Brown said after the game.

"I've been saying it all along. He is an MVP candidate. Not the fifth, sixth, seventh guy. He is a top one, two, at worst three, and he displayed it tonight.