Knicks Win 2026 NBA Title: Spurs 90–94 Knicks, Game 5 Recap
Brunson's 45-point masterclass seals New York's first NBA championship in 53 years over San Antonio
Note: The final score verified by WeeBet live data (San Antonio Spurs 90–94 New York Knicks) aligns with the ESPN and CBS Sports verified result of Knicks 94–90 Spurs in Game 5 on June 13, 2026.
New York Knicks Win 2026 NBA Championship: Game 5 Recap — Spurs 90, Knicks 94
The New York Knicks are NBA champions for the first time in 53 years.
The Knicks clinched their first championship since 1973 with a 94–90 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the 2026 NBA Finals on Saturday night
— confirmed at San Antonio Spurs 90–94 New York Knicks per WeeBet live data.
Brunson scored 45 points, including 13 straight for New York in the fourth quarter
, to seal the title at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio on June 13, 2026.
The Knicks won the series 4–1, rallying from double-digit deficits in all four of those victories.
New York trailed by as many as 16 in Game 5 and was down by 10 with eight minutes left before making a late push.
The Knicks' championship market had moved sharply heading into tip-off, and bettors who backed New York held their nerve through a brutal first half. Track live series closing odds and next-season futures now at WeeBet's NBA Finals 2026 hub.
- Final Score (NYK)0Knicks
- Final Score (SAS)0Spurs
- Brunson (Finals MVP)0 PTSGame 5
- Series Result0–1 NYKKnicks
- Max Spurs Lead (G5)–0Spurs
Series Context: A 27-Year Return to the Finals
The Eastern Conference was won by the third-seeded New York Knicks, who emerged as a serious title contender as the playoffs progressed after defeating the Atlanta Hawks in the first round and sweeping both the 76ers and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the following two rounds to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years.
This series was a rematch of the 1999 NBA Finals, which the Spurs won in five games for their first NBA championship.
The symmetry was striking — and ultimately inverted.
It was also a rematch of the 2025 NBA Cup championship game, which the Knicks won 124–113, and marks the first time that the two finalist teams for the NBA Cup met in that year's NBA Finals.
The Spurs had survived an epic seven-game Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder
, while
the Knicks became the fifth team in NBA history to win eleven consecutive playoff games
entering the Finals as one of the hottest teams the league had seen in years.
How Game 5 Unfolded: A Familiar, Brutal Script
Given the way the first four games played out, it was no surprise that San Antonio got off to a better start. For the fifth time in as many games, the Spurs held a double-digit lead during the first quarter, ending the frame with a 23–13 lead, with Dylan Harper and Victor Wembanyama leading the charge.
San Antonio extended its lead to 16, with New York continuing to struggle offensively and shooting just 5-of-26 from the field
at one point in the second quarter. A video review call compounded New York's misery —
a foul initially called on Victor Wembanyama was overturned, with Karl-Anthony Towns instead being whistled for hooking the Spurs' center's arm.
A 22–9 run in the second quarter got New York within three, before Devin Vassell scored just before the halftime buzzer to give San Antonio a 42–37 edge at the break.
The 79 combined points in the first half were the lowest in a Finals game since Game 7 of Lakers-Celtics in 2010, and the combined 31.8% field goal shooting was the lowest in the first half of a Finals game in the play-by-play era.
The third quarter remained a grind.
The Knicks gave themselves a chance by limiting the Spurs to 14 points on 4-for-20 shooting in the third quarter, using a 13–0 run to cut it to 90–75 heading to the fourth.
Then Brunson took over entirely.
After trailing since 7:49 in the first quarter, the Knicks tied the score at 83 with 4:48 remaining.
The Spurs retied it at 88 with 1:16 left, setting up a frantic finale.
Brunson hit the go-ahead floater with 65 seconds left in Game 5
— the defining shot of his career and of the Knicks' 53-year wait.
Brunson's Crowning Performance
The Knicks clinched their first title since 1973, defeating the San Antonio Spurs behind Jalen Brunson's 45 points.
Brunson's 45 points are the most by a Knick in a Finals game
—
it surpassed Willis Reed's 38-point effort against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the 1970 series.
Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart became the first trio of teammates to win an NCAA title and an NBA championship.
The Villanova pipeline, assembled patiently over four years at Madison Square Garden, delivered the ultimate dividend.
San Antonio built double-digit leads in all five games of the series. However, except for Game 3, they were unable to keep the Knicks from clawing their way over the finish line.
Market Analysis: How Betting Positions Called the Series
The Knicks entered June 2026 as narrow series favourites, a position that hardened after their
largest comeback in NBA Finals history in Game 4, erasing a 29-point deficit.
By Game 5 tip-off, New York had shortened considerably on the series-winner market despite being the road team, and Brunson was the clear favourite for Finals MVP event contracts at most major platforms.
The game-level market was more contested. San Antonio's consistent first-quarter dominance —
the Spurs had broken to double-digit advantages in the first quarter of all four previous games
— kept sharp money on Spurs first-half spread positions. Those positions cashed. But the fourth-quarter momentum market and live Knicks-to-win positions surged once Brunson hit 40 points and the deficit closed below five.
2026 NBA Finals — Series Results at a Glance
| Game | Result | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Game 1 — Jun 3 | NYK 105–95 SAS | Knicks |
| Game 2 — Jun 5 | NYK 105–104 SAS | Knicks |
| Game 3 — Jun 8 | SAS 115–111 NYK | Spurs |
| Game 4 — Jun 10 | NYK 107–106 SAS | Knicks |
| Game 5 — Jun 13 | NYK 94–90 SAS | Knicks 🏆 |
These Finals marked the NBA's eighth consecutive year with a unique champion, the longest such stretch in league history.
That historic streak will shape futures markets heading into the 2026–27 season, with no dynasty to price in as a dominant favourite.
Readers can track live closing odds, series-winner settlements, and emerging 2026–27 Knicks repeat markets at the WeeBet NBA Finals 2026 hub. The full match page for Game 5, including quarter-by-quarter live odds snapshots, is archived at /events/nba-finals-2026/match/nba-finals-2026-san-antonio-spurs-vs-new-york-knicks-2026-06-14.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What was the final score of Spurs vs. Knicks in 2026 NBA Finals Game 5?
The New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 94–90 on June 13, 2026, in San Antonio, clinching the series 4–1. This is confirmed by WeeBet live data (San Antonio Spurs 90–94 New York Knicks) and independently verified by multiple broadcast sources.
Who was named the 2026 NBA Finals MVP?
Jalen Brunson won Finals MVP honours. He scored 45 points in the clinching Game 5, the highest single-game total by any Knick in NBA Finals history, surpassing Willis Reed's 38-point performance in 1970.
How many times did the Knicks come from behind in the 2026 Finals?
The Knicks rallied from a double-digit deficit in all four of their victories across the series. In Game 4 they overcame a 29-point halftime hole — the largest comeback in NBA Finals history. In Game 5 they trailed by as many as 16 before winning 94–90.
Is this the Knicks' first NBA championship in 53 years?
Yes. The New York Knicks last won the NBA Championship in 1973. Their 2026 title ended the longest active drought among franchises that had previously won a championship.
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