The New York Knicks hadn’t played in the NBA Finals since 1999.
Back then, they had lost Patrick Ewing to a partially torn Achilles in the Eastern Conference Finals and subsequently lost the Finals to the San Antonio Spurs in five games. When the Knicks arrived in San Antonio for Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals, there was an air of confidence that this time would be different. All their best players were healthy, and they had won 11 straight games to get here.
Then, Spurs veteran forward Harrison Barnes fell into the knee of Jalen Brunson in the first quarter, and all of New York flashed back to 1999. Brunson walked gingerly back to the locker room.
Not again, right?
“When we all saw him limp off, obviously we was all worried,” Knicks All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns said. “Not only because he’s Jalen Brunson but more because he’s our brother. We’re a family in our locker room, and we’re just worried about his health.”
“When we were on the court and I saw him walking back out to the bench, it was a relieved feeling just to know he’s safe,” Towns added of his All-NBA and All-Star point guard. “That was really, at the end of the day, all we care about is his safety.”
After the injury scare, Brunson looked like his usual clutch self. The Knicks overcame a 14-point third-quarter deficit, and Brunson scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter. New York won, 105-95, to extend the winning streak to 12. More importantly, they’re only three more wins away from the franchise’s first championship since 1973.
Brunson said he’ll “be alright” moving forward, which should terrify the Spurs. Brunson isn’t 7-foot-4 like Victor Wembanyama, but his late-game presence currently looms larger than anyone else in the NBA.
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