For the first time in 53 years, the New York Knicks are NBA Champions. Jalen Brunson earned MVP honors.
NEW YORK (WABC) -- The Comeback Knicks did it again. And now they're the Champion Knicks.
For the first time in 53 years, New York rules the NBA. Jalen Brunson scored 45 points, including 13 straight for New York in the fourth quarter, and the Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night.
The Knicks won the series 4-1, rallying from double-digit deficits in all four of those victories. The deficit was 16 on Saturday night. Brunson and the Knicks were never fazed.
"It's surreal," Knicks coach Mike Brown, who was hired a year ago -- making him the franchise's 24th coach since the franchise's last championship in 1973. "I still can't believe it's happened."
Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart -- the other two parts of the "Nova Knicks" trio that also includes Brunson, three players who were NCAA champions at Villanova and teamed up in New York to try to do the same -- combined to score 27 points. Bridges had 14, Hart 13.
"I don't know what I'm feeling," Brunson said. "I'm in awe. Whenever someone counted us out, we found a way to come back and do something about it."
Dylan Harper scored 25 for the Spurs, who got 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots from Victor Wembanyama.
"This is the biggest lesson of my life, the biggest learning moment," Wembanyama said. "I can't tell exactly what the lesson is, but we're learning."
The Knicks improved to 4-0 in closeout opportunities this season, winning them all on the road. It didn't feel like the road, though -- not with thousands of New York faithful having made the trip to Texas to see a moment 53 years in the making.
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The horses in Central Park are getting into the Knicks spirit.
Twenty carriage horses have been decked out in blue and orange -- complete with flags, drapes and Knicks-themed decorations.
Physical security enhancements are being installed around Madison Square Garden, including anti-scaling fencing, vehicular mitigation barriers, crowd-control infrastructure and other protective measures.
NYPD will institute temporary street closures as President Trump arrives and departs.
The security perimeter will be from West 30th Street to West 35th Street, between Sixth and Eighth avenues.
Seventh Avenue and Eighth Avenue will be closed to vehicular traffic and general pedestrian traffic at 4 p.m.
No one will be allowed in the secure area without a ticket to the game, a train ticket, they are going to a business in the area, they have credentials or some other authorized reason. And everyone entering the secure area will be screened.
You can enter at one of five designated entry points:
Rail service will not be affected at Penn Station.
The New York Knicks enter Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals Monday night with a homecourt advantage and a 2-0 lead over the San Antonio Spurs.
For Knicks guard Jalen Brunson -- who scored 20 points for the Knicks in their 105-104 victory over the Spurs in Game 2 in San Antonio -- this NBA Finals is especially personal.
On the road to potentially winning his first-ever NBA championship and only the third for the Knicks in franchise history, Brunson is working under the tutelage of his own dad, Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson.
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We are taking a look at the how much the cheapest seats cost on a few resale sites.
Right now, the lowest price to get into MSG on Monday night is $5,186.
