NEW YORK, June 14 (Our New York News) — The New York Knicks are NBA champions for the first time since 1973, ending a 53-year title drought with a 94-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on June 14, 2026.
The result is documented in the NBA’s official game and series records: New York won the best-of-seven Finals 4-1. The official box score lists Jalen Brunson with 45 points in the clinching game, the central performance in a four-point road win in San Antonio.
The championship changes the Knicks’ place in league history. NBA historical records show this is the franchise’s third championship. Before Sunday night, the Knicks had not won the title since 1973 and had not appeared in the Finals since 1999, when they also faced the Spurs and lost that series 4-1.
This time, the same series margin went New York’s way.
The records behind the title run show a Finals decided by more than the final game. In Game 4, the Knicks came back from a 29-point deficit at Madison Square Garden, according to NBA game records cited in accounts of the series. That comeback put New York in position to close the Finals in five games. Reports described the rally as the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, though the league historical record page supporting that superlative was not included in the materials reviewed for this article.
In Game 5, the available record confirms the final score and Brunson’s scoring total. Reports also said the Knicks rallied from a double-digit deficit, with one account placing the deficit at 16 points. Because the official play-by-play was not included in the materials reviewed, that exact deficit figure is not being stated here as independently confirmed.
The clearest evidence of the title is the NBA’s official result: Knicks 94, Spurs 90. The clearest evidence of the series outcome is the NBA Finals series record: Knicks 4, Spurs 1. The clearest individual statistic available from the box score is Brunson’s 45 points.
For New York City, the title was not only a league result but a civic event. Celebrations broke out outside Madison Square Garden and elsewhere in the city after the final buzzer, according to on-scene reporting by national and international news organizations, including The Associated Press and the BBC. The available reports did not provide official crowd estimates, arrest totals, injury reports or detailed street-closure records.
City officials also began planning the formal celebration. The New York City mayor’s office announced a ticker-tape parade and City Hall ceremony for Thursday after the championship, according to reports citing the mayor’s office and Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s public statement on X. Reuters reported that Mamdani posted, “HISTORY,” after the win.
The local significance is supported by the franchise record book. The Knicks’ first two championships came before the current title drought ended. The 2026 win gives New York its third NBA championship and closes the gap from 1973 to 2026, a span that included the 1999 Finals loss to San Antonio.
The championship also completes a reversal of that 1999 matchup. Then, San Antonio beat New York in five games. In 2026, New York beat San Antonio in five games, with the deciding score recorded by the league as 94-90.
