The New York Knicks raised their NBA Playoffs winning streak to a dozen games as Jalen Brunson starred in their Finals opener against the San Antonio Spurs.
Brunson scored 30 points and Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds as the Knicks erased a 14-point second-half deficit to beat the Spurs 105-95 in Game 1 on Wednesday night.
Great Britain's OG Anunoby also had 17 points as New York became the first of these teams to win on the road against the other this season.
French phenom Victor Wembanyama had 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs, but he shot just 6 for 21 from the field in his finals debut.
Stephon Castle scored 17, while Julian Champagnie and Dylan Harper each had 16 for the Spurs, who will have the chance to bounce back in Game 2 on Friday night, also in San Antonio.
Former San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich was at the game, as he has been for every finals game in Spurs history, albeit watching from a suite and not stomping the San Antonio sideline.
The Spurs legends - David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen and more - were there, too.
The Knicks led 14-7 early, the Spurs answered with a 20-13 run to go up by 10, the Knicks rallied and the second quarter saw six lead changes before San Antonio took a 55-48 lead into the break.
San Antonio pushed the lead to 14 midway through the third quarter before the Knicks stormed back, finishing the period on a 22-9 run and sending the game into the fourth tied at 76.
New York's lead was eight midway through the final period. Wembanyama made a pair of free throws with 2:16 left to put San Antonio up 95-94, but Brunson made a corner 3 on the next possession to put the Knicks on top for good.
San Antonio's run of never trailing the finals has had some close calls over the years. The Spurs were tied twice with New Jersey in the 2003 finals, tied with Detroit twice in 2005, tied with Miami three times in 2013 - they lost that series in seven games, so they only trailed when it was over - and then were tied with the Heat once more in 2014.
If the Knicks are to win a first NBA crown in over half a century, then winning this opening game will no doubt have proved a pivotal step in that journey.
Source: SkySports
