The New York Knicks have ended their 52-year trophy drought by defeating the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup final in Las Vegas.
OG Anunoby’s 28 points led all Knicks starters in double figures including 25 to Jalen Brunson, who was named NBA Cup MVP, as New York downed Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs 124-113 in Wednesday’s tournament decider (all times AEDT).
Anunoby shot 5-of-10 from downtown and added nine rebounds in 40 minutes, while Karl Anth0ny-Towns (16 points, 11 rebounds) put up a double-double and overcame an in-game leg injury.
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Wembanyama again came off the bench in his second game back from a calf injury and finished with 18 points and six rebounds in 25 minutes. Dylan Harper top-scored for San Antonio with 21 from the second unit and Stephon Castle notched a double-double with 15 points and 12 assists.
It was a close game filled with runs and was neck and neck until New York rallied late with a 35-19 fourth quarter blitz.
After trailing by five, the Knicks opened the final term on an 8-0 run within the first minute and a half and stayed in control the rest of the way, not letting San Antonio get any closer than three.
It gives the iconic New York franchise its first piece of silverware since the team’s 1973 NBA Finals victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Now long-suffering Knicks fans will be daring to dream about bigger things as the 18-7 team, which sits second in the East amid a five-game wining streak excluding Wednesday’s contest, embarks on the rest of the season.
The Knicks are 2025 NBA Cup Champions (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
The rising 18-7 Spurs will also take plenty of confidence away from the tournament after defeating the juggernaut OKC Thunder in the semi-finals and ending their 16-game winning streak en route to Wednesday’s trophy decider.
Every New York player will take home the first-place prize of around $530,000, while San Antonio players will get approximately $212,000 as runners-up.
It’s the only game in the NBA Cup where stats or the result don’t count towards the teams’ regular season records.
New York stated hot out of the gates, racing to an early 7-2 lead. The Spurs were able to wrestle it back and took a 14-12 advantage as Wembanyama, who didn’t play any of the first quarter in the semi-finals, entered Wednesday’s game at the 7:03 mark of the opening term to a loud ovation.
A crafty Towns dish to Anunoby under the bucket while he was getting double-teamed was one of the highlights of the first quarter.
San Antonio led 30-28 at the first break, with Devin Vassell leading the way with seven points and Harrison Barnes and De’Aaron Fox adding six apiece.
The Spurs stayed on top in the second quarter, with triples to Julian Champagnie and Harper opening up a 41-35 edge in the first couple of minutes.
New York was stuck in a scoring drought, missing six-straight shots to force Mike Brown to call a time-out with his side down 46-40 at the 6:59 mark of the second term.
Anunoby stayed hot with a three out of the time-out to get New York within as many points and push his scoring total out to 16 points.
In the final minute of the half, Anunoby finished a tough layup then threw down a fastbreak slam to bring up 20 points and reduce the Spurs lead to 61-59 at the main break.
“He’s done everything tonight,” NBA legend Dwyane Wade said of Anunoby on Prime Video commentary.
But San Antonio took control again in the second half. Castle’s playmaking was on full display as he brought up his 11th assist in the third term, while a Harper layup with 6:33 remaining gave the Spurs their first double-figure lead at 78-68.
There was an injury concern for Towns in the third term, with the Knicks centre hobbling off the court and retrieving to the locker room. Towns eventually returned to the bench but was clearly in pain while given treatment on his left leg.
Wembanyama had his most dominant period late in the third term, when the superstar centre scored 12 of his 18 points, including an alley-oop finish and two 3-pointers.
“The extraterrestrial taking over!,” commentator Ian Eagle exclaimed.
The Spurs led 94-89 at the final change.
New York came surging back into the game to start the fourth term with an emphatic 8-0 run — capped off by a Jordan Clarkson three — to take a 97-94 lead within a minute and a half of the period, as Wembanyama watched from the bench.
In a key moment of the match, a Champagnie three was disallowed after New York was called for a foul before the shot. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson then lost it at the refs and gave away a technical foul.
It meant instead of the Spurs getting within four, New York got a technical free throw with a chance to go up eight, but Brunson couldn’t add to the 104-97 Knicks lead.
Towns and Wembanyama both returned to the ball game with 4:49 remaining when the New York lead was at 110-105.
Josh Hart came up with two big clutch plays on either end of the court, blocking a Fox jumper then hitting a three with the shot clock wining down to extend the Knicks advantage to 115-107.
But Harper instantly responded with a three of his own and it was game on again at 115-110 with 2:42 left.
An outside Anunoby dagger regained an eight-point buffer for the Knicks with under two minutes remaining as time began to run out for San Antonio.
It would prove to be the game-winning blow as San Antonio couldn’t get anything to drop for the following minute as the Knicks coasted to victory in the end.
New York became the third winner of the NBA Cup, joining the the Milwaukee Bucks (2024) and LA Lakers (2023).