The New York Knicks are 2025 NBA Cup champions, and made a case on Tuesday they can accomplish even more this season in the process.
Despite an 11-of-27 shooting night for Jalen Brunson and an injury that temporarily sidelined Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks erased a double-digit deficit to defeat the San Antonio Spurs 124-113 and win the third NBA Cup title. They join the Los Angeles Lakers (2023) and Milwaukee Bucks (2024) in accomplishing the feat.
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For a team that hasn’t won the NBA Finals since 1973 and hasn’t reached the Finals at all since 1999, that certainly means something.
The win will earn every Knicks player $530,933 in prize money, a substantial raise for some of the team’s younger and less-heralded players. The Spurs will have to settle for $212,373 each as runners-up.
The Knicks’ bench stepped up in the NBA Cup championship
For a while, San Antonio had the leg up. After knocking off the 24-2 Oklahoma City Thunder in the semifinals behind a returning Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs had the enormous Frenchman back and playing even more minutes, going from 21 on Saturday to 25 on Tuesday.
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They rode that momentum to an 11-point lead late in the third quarter. Seven different Spurs ended up scoring in double digits, while Brunson looked a long way off from his own 41-point semifinal performance. He still made a difference with his playmaking and gravity, but the Knicks needed someone else to step up, especially with Towns still grimacing from an apparent first-half injury.
Several players did.
OG Anunoby posted a game-high 28 points on 10-of-17 shooting, plus nine rebounds and three assists. Tyler Kolek and Jordan Clarkson both posted double-digit points off the bench. Mitchell Robinson extended possession after possession with 10 offensive rebounds and 15 total boards.
And Josh Hart kept doing Josh Hart things.
“Without Tyler Kolek, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and Jordan Clarkson, we don’t win this game,” Brunson said after the game, while accepting NBA Cup MVP honors.
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Say what you will about the Spurs’ inexperience and Wembanyama’s health, it was an impressive win for a Knicks team and another addition to their case as the team to fear in the East. Off nights for Brunson and/or Towns have frequently spelled doom for a team often lacking in depth over the past few playoffs, but this time it had three bench players step up in a major way.
With the team sitting in second in the East at 18-7, 2.5 games behind the Detroit Pistons, that’s a meaningful development.
Notably, none of the above stats will make it to the regular-season numbers. While every other game in the NBA Cup counts toward the regular season, the championship game does not.
Here’s how everything went down between the Spurs and the Knicks in the NBA Cup championship game.
Live coverage is over28 updates
Ryan Young
There was a lot of money on the line tonight in Las Vegas.
Every Knicks player will receive $530,933 for their win over the Spurs. That’s up about 3% per player from last season.
Every Spurs player will take home $212,373 for the team’s runner-up finish.
The teams that were knocked out in the semifinals took home just more than $106,000, and the quarterfinalists earned just more than $53,000.
Ryan Young
Knicks: 124
OG Anunoby
28 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists
Jalen Brunson
25 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds
Karl-Anthony Towns
16 points, 11 rebounds
Spurs: 113
Victor Wembanyama
18 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks
De’Aaron Fox
16 points, 9 assists, 2 rebounds
Stephon Castle
15 points, 12 assists, 7 rebounds
Ryan Young
While it’s not an NBA title, the New York Knicks have now won their first trophy since the franchise won the NBA Finals back during the 1972-73 season. That was more than 50 years ago.
Ryan Young
The New York Knicks have rallied back from a third quarter deficit to beat the Spurs 124-113 and claim the NBA Cup.
Ryan Young
The Spurs have only hit four shots so far this period, and the Knicks are starting to run away with this thing. OG Anunoby just drained a wide open 3-pointer in the corner, too.
The Knicks lead 118-110 with 1:44 left.
Ryan Young
Nevermind, here comes KAT. He’s checked back into the game with 4:49 left.
Ryan Young
Karl-Anthony Towns was just shown sitting at the end of the bench with his warmup shirt on. Still so specifics there, but his night is likely done.
The Knicks lead 108-102 now with about 6 minutes left.
Ryan Young
The Knicks just pulled out an 8-0 run in about 90 seconds — thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from Jordan Clarkson — to suddenly take the lead. This one isn’t over yet.
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Victor Wembanyama drained two 3-pointers there and 12 points in the third to keep the Spurs in the lead. He had a huge oop off a big save from Stephon Castle late in the period, too.
We’ve got 12 minutes left to crown an NBA Cup winner.
Ryan Young
Karl-Anthony Towns just limped off the court after a bucket here in the third quarter, and trainers are working on his leg apparently. Specifics aren’t known, but not a great sign for the Knicks star.
Ryan Young
This looked incredibly easy for Victor Wembanyama…
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That’s a four-point play, thanks to a huge Dylan Harper 3-pointer and a free throw from Stephon Castle — who was drilled away from the ball — and the Spurs are suddenly up by 11. They are in full control of this one here in the third quarter.
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That’s an 8-2 run to open the second half for the Spurs, capped by an easy lob to Luke Kornet down low. San Antonio is up by eight.
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Victor Wembanyama came so close to what would have been a truly wild dunk in the first half.
Ryan Young
Spurs: 61
Devin Vassell | 12 points (4-9 FG), 2 rebounds
Luke Kornet | 10 points, 5 rebounds
De’Aaron Fox | 9 points, 8 assists
Victor Wembanyama | 4 points, 4 rebounds
Knicks: 59
OG Anunoby | 20 points (8-10 FG), 3 assists
Jalen Brunson | 15 points (6-15 FG), 4 assists
Karl-Anthony Towns | 9 points, 7 rebounds
Ryan Young
OG Anunoby threw down back-to-back dunks in the final minute there to tie the game back up after the Spurs’ seven-point lead, including one on a huge fast break off a bad De’Aaron Fox turnover, but a Fox jumper put San Antonio back in the lead entering the locker room.
Ryan Young
Stephon Castle found Devin Vassell flying through the lane, and he immediately rose up and threw down a two-handed slam with OG Anunoby underneath him.
Castle completed a fast-break layup after a Victor Wembanyama steal on the next possession, too, to push the Spurs’ lead to seven now midway through the second quarter. This team is quick, and the Knicks appear to be struggling to keep up.
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The Spurs drained a trio of 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the second quarter, along with a Luke Kornet tip-in, to immediately take control of the game.
They’re up 46-40 now with about seven minutes left in the first half. They’ve missed their last six shots, too, before Mike Brown opted to call a timeout.
Ryan Young
The Spurs closed the first quarter on a quick 7-2 burst to take the lead again. OG Anunoby leads all scorers with 10 points.
So far, we’ve got a game working in Las Vegas.
Ryan Young
This pass from KAT was ridiculous. The Spurs had him doubled perfectly on the wing.