SAN ANTONIO — When New York’s 53-year wait for an NBA championship finally ended Saturday, Karl-Anthony Towns bumped chests with Patrick Ewing.Coach Mike Brown hugged Spike Lee and wandered away from the orange-and-blue celebration at mid-court in disbelief.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.“It was surreal,” Brown said.
“I couldn’t believe that it was happening.”Amid the catharsis, Jalen Brunson stoically walked down the sideline to shake hands with Spurs coach Mitch Johnson.Only when he turned around and saw his father, Knicks assistant Rick Brunson, and his close friend Josh Hart, did the emotions come pouring out.“And then I was emotional for a good five, 10 minutes,” Brunson said.And for good reason.
The Knicks’ championship shattered two long-held NBA assumptions: that a franchise that struggled for so long lacked the ability to reach the top of the league again, and that a team built around a 6-foot-2 point guard could not win in a sport historically dominated by giants.New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson moves the ball up court against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday.Ross D.Franklin / APThe Knicks had spent years chasing that old formula, pursuing or courting stars like LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid.
But their best decision turned out to be the opposite: believing that Brunson could end one of basketball’s longest droughts.On Saturday, with the Knicks trailing by 10 points with seven minutes remaining, Brunson scored 13 consecutive points during a six-minute fourth quarter burst, finishing with 45 points in the 94-90 victory over San Antonio that earned him Final MVP honors.Although the Knicks set a postseason record for total scoring margin, they beat the Spurs by only 12 points across the five-game series.They rallied from 14-points deficits in Games 1 and 2, a 29-point hole in Game 4 and a...