The New York Knicks are back on top of the basketball world.
After 53 long years; five decades of broken promises and shattered dreams, fans of New York's preeminent basketball team were allowed to shed some tears.
Tears indeed. But tears of joy.
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As they have seemingly all series long, and all postseason long, the Knicks fell behind by double-digits to the young, athletic and potent San Antonio Spurs in the early stages of the first half, only to storm back by the fourth quarter to snatch away victory by a score 94-90 while capturing the franchises first title since 1973.
Leading the way was Jalen Brunson, an easy MVP recipient on this night, because he put his team on his back when it needed him the most.
Sure it would be easy to shrug at a loss in Game 5. The Knicks were up 3-1 in the series, and who wouldn't want to celebrate a championship in front of the home fans. Only thing is don't tell that to these Knicks, and don't tell that to its quiet leader.
Brunson scored 45 points on the night, the most points scored in a clinching game of an NBA Finals by one player since Michael Jordan scored 45 for the Chicago Bulls in the 1998 Finals against the Utah Jazz.
How impressive was Brunson's night? Consider this:
- The Knicks didn't have a single bench point until the final minute of the third quarter.
- The Knicks as a team shot only 28 percent from the floor (17-of-60) when someone other than Brunson took a shot at the hoop.
- Karl Anthony Towns was in foul trouble all night, fouling out in the fourth quarter.
- While Brunson was 4-of-7 from downtown, the rest of the team combined to go 8-for-30.
The Knicks were getting beat, and beat soundly in Game 5 through three quarters, then San Antonio forgot how to shoot themselves. The Spurs were awful, hitting at only 26 percent of their shots in the final stanza. They missed open three's and even failed to convert on easy buckets inside the paint.
After falling behind by 16 points, the Knicks kept finding ways to keep the deficit within reach at either nine or seven points. Then Brunson went off at the 7:43 mark of the fourth quarter as he went wild, carrying New York on a personal 13-0 run as he erased a 10-point deficit at 83-73, flipping it on its head and turning it into a 1-point Knicks lead as he converted on three consecutive free throws to make it 86-85 with 3:40 to play.
The Spurs seemingly panicked as they became careless with the basketball, including missing a number of driving layups to the hoop.
Meanwhile Game 4 hero, OG Anunoby put the game on ice when he took a pass from Josh Hart and dropped down a deuce to make it a three-point Knicks lead.
Anunoby would later bring the Larry O'Brien Trophy home when he converted on the second of two free throws to put the game out of reach at 94-90.
As Victor Wembanyama's final shot missed badly, the Knicks bench poured onto the court. The Frost Bank Center exploded, sounding a lot like Madison Square Garden as the Knicks celebrated.
Meanwhile back home, the fans went crazy deep into the night.
It was a surreal moment. One that nobody thought would be possible. But these Knicks proved, as they have all postseason long that anything is possible if one puts their mind to it. And so ends one of the longest skids in New York Sports history.
The Knicks went 53 years without a title, and now they have their third NBA title of all time. That should give hope to teams like the Jets (57 years), Nets (50 years), Islanders (42 years) and Mets (40 years) that dreams aren't impossible. You just gotta have the right people to make it happen.
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