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The greatest clutch performance in Finals history
The 2026 NBA Finals will be remembered as the most dramatic in a generation. The Knicks trailed by double digits in all four of their wins, and in every game of the series the final score was within five points with under five minutes to play. No Finals series in the entire play-by-play era has produced five such nail-biters back to back. At the heart of it was Jalen Brunson, whose 0.574 points per fourth-quarter possession set a single-season record for the modern era, and whose 22 clutch-time Finals points were the most by any player since Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 in 2011.


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Finals game by game
[x] Game 1, San Antonio: Knicks 101-98. Brunson 28 pts, 7 ast. Knicks hold late lead for the opener.
[x] Game 2, San Antonio: Knicks 109-105. Brunson 31 pts. Knicks overcome a 17-point deficit in the third quarter.
[x] Game 3, New York: Spurs 112-107. Spurs avoid the sweep, Madison Square Garden silenced late.
[x] Game 4, New York: Knicks 107-106. Brunson 36 pts. The Knicks rally from 29 points down (81-52) for one of the greatest comebacks in Finals history.
[x] Game 5, San Antonio: Knicks 94-90. Brunson 45 pts, 15 in the final 7:43. Knicks clinch the title on the road.

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The comeback in Game 4. Down 81 to 52 midway through the third quarter, the Knicks reeled off a 40-to-9 run. Brunson scored 20 of New York's final 25 points. It was the largest deficit overcome in NBA Finals history, surpassing the Cleveland Cavaliers' 25-point comeback against Golden State in 2016.


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The 53-year wait. The Knicks' last title came on 10 May 1973, when Walt Frazier and Willis Reed beat the Los Angeles Lakers in five games. Brunson, who chose to re-sign with New York in 2024 at a below-market rate to help the team build around him, now stands alongside those legends in the Garden of fame.


:QUOTE [quotetype:plain, subtitle:Jalen Brunson]
It is everything we ever dreamed of. It is why I came to New York. This city, this team, these fans. We did it for them.


:LINK
https://www.nba.com/news/jalen-brunson-wins-bill-russell-trophy-as-2026-nba-finals-mvp
NBA.com: Brunson wins the Bill Russell Finals MVP Trophy