The Knicks trailed by 13 points, 63-50 with 8:02 to go in the third quarter after San Antonio's Stephen Castle connected on a tip shot. At that point the Spurs had a 90.6 percent chance to win Game 1 of these NBA Finals, while sending a huge message to the Knicks and the rest of the league that these Spurs have arrived.
Then, the Knicks woke up.
Maybe it was because the Spurs opted to give their big man Victor Wembanyama a few minutes off, but once the 7-foot-4 giant who tortured the Knicks on the boards, even if he wasn't shooting well on the night, was out of the way New York settled down.
Mikal Bridges 11-foot jumper got it started, cutting the deficit to 12. That bucket was the first of an 11-0 run by the Knicks as they sliced the deficit down to six points 67-61.
Then Landry Shamet, who struggled all night long, finally connected on a big three-pointer to cut the Spurs lead to five. Then Karl Anthony Towns did his thing over the next handful of possessions, bobbing and weaving his way through traffic to cut the deficit to two.
Then Jalen Brunson tied it at 71 on a jumper. Just like that the Knicks were alive. And so was Bruson.
For three quarters Brunson was having a nightmare evening. He was missing huge shots, was battered with both knee and ankle soreness that he suffered in-game. He even left the court twice to get treatment.
But when it mattered the most, Jalen Brunson delivered, and in so doing, his teammates followed.
Miles McBride, the Knicks back-up point guard slayed the San Antonio crowd with a dagger three pointer, tying the proceedings at 76 as the quarter ended.
Then Brunson went to work in the fourth. He scored 13 points in the quarter, including nailing a far corner three pointer with 1:50 to go -- a ball that found its way into his hands after O.G. Anunoby's attempt bounced hard off the rim and miraculously landed in the hands of Mikal Bridges. Bridges kicked it back out to Brunson, who drilled the three ball to give the Knicks a 97-95 lead.
Then after Wembanyama lost control of the ball, Brunson stutter stepped and drilled a 14-foot jumper to give the New York a 101-95 lead with 37.5 seconds to go.
Ball Game Over! 105-95! A ten-point victory that nobody saw coming.
Talk about having ice water in his veins. Bruson on a night where things were looking so bad, found a way to turn frowns into smiles. Tears of sorrow into tears of joy in New York.
And for the Knicks a 1-0 series lead in the NBA Finals where the victor of Game 1 has on average a 70 percent chance of winning the series. That's what clutch can do.
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