Sports
Jalen Brunson's 45 points carry Knicks past Spurs for 1st NBA title since 1973
Jun 13, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) drives to the basket past San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) during game five of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Pool Photo via Imagn Images SAN ANTONIO — Jalen Brunson set a franchise NBA Finals record with 45 points and nearly single-handedly ended the 53-year NBA title drought as the New York Knicks recorded a 94-90 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night.
Brunson scored 29 points in the second half of Game 5 as New York overcame a 15-point third-quarter deficit to win its first NBA championship since 1973. The Knicks won four of the five games in the best-of-seven series.
The Knicks also trailed by 16 points in the second quarter, one game after they rallied from 29 down to beat the Spurs in Game 4 on Wednesday in New York.
Brunson made four 3-pointers while posting his fourth outing of 30 or more points in the series en route to being selecting the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.
Brunson broke the team record of 38 points set by Hall of Famer Willis Reed in Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Mikal Bridges scored 14 points and Josh Hart registered 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks. OG Anunoby had 11 points and Karl-Anthony Towns collected 10 rebounds before fouling out. Mitchell Robinson also grabbed 10 boards.
Dylan Harper scored 25 points and Victor Wembanyama added 19 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots for San Antonio. Julian Champagnie had 14 points and Devin Vassell added 12.
New York trailed by 10 with under eight minutes to play before Brunson took over with 10 straight points to tie the score at 83 with 4:48 left. Brunson shredded the San Antonio defense by driving for three layups during the spurt.
Vassell knocked down a 17-foot jumper to put San Antonio back ahead at 85-83 with 4:14 left. Brunson then was fouled shooting a 3-pointer 34 seconds later and made all three free throws to give the Knicks a one-point edge.
A short time later, Harper’s basket tied the score at 88 with 1:16 left. But Brunson once again navigated through the defense and made a floater with 1:05 left.
Hart and Anunoby each split two free throws as New York led by four with 21.6 seconds remaining.
Wembanyana missed a 3-pointer on San Antonio’s next possession, but Stephon Castle’s putback dunk brought the Spurs within 92-90 with 16.3 seconds left.
Bridges split two free throws with 8.8 seconds left to give New York a three-point lead before Harper missed two free throws with 8.5 seconds to go.
Anunoby split two free throws with 7.7 seconds left to close it out.
The Knicks made just 35.6% of their shots (31 of 87), including 12 of 37 from 3-point range.
San Antonio connected on 38.4% of its attempts (33 of 86) and also was 12 of 37 from behind the arc.
Vassell and Harper connected on back-to-back 3-pointers and Harper followed with three more points during a 9-0 run to give San Antonio a 68-53 lead with 3:11 left in the third quarter.
A short time later, Hart buried a 3-pointer and Brunson knocked down three free throws after being fouled shooting a trey to start a quarter-ending 10-2 burst. Robinson’s late tip-in brought the Knicks within 72-65 entering the fourth quarter.
Both teams were shaky offensively during a first half that concluded with San Antonio holding a 42-37 lead at the break. New York trailed 31-15 with 8:29 remaining in the half.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Wyndham Clark ahead by 6 at US Open, Scottie Scheffler leads chasing pack
Jun 20, 2026; Southampton, New York, USA; Wyndham Clark makes a tee shot on the sixth green during the third round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Wyndham Clark navigated a fiendish Shinnecock Hills Golf Club course, made a magnificent eagle at No. 16 and posted an even-par 70 Saturday to give himself a six-shot cushion entering the final round of the U.S. Open in Southampton, N.Y.
Clark was in the fairway, 275 yards from the pin at the par-5 and struck a 3-wood that avoided a greenside bunker and settled 4 feet from the hole for eagle. That boosted him from 6 under par to 8 under, and even after pushing his par putt at No. 18 past the cup, he made himself difficult to catch at 7-under 203.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will be Clark’s biggest threat after a back-nine rally got him back into the championship. He made four birdies on the back, including three in a row for the first time at a U.S. Open, and shot 69 to get to 1 under for the week.
Scheffler turns 30 on Sunday and would complete the career Grand Slam with a victory.
Tied with Scheffler for second are Sahith Theegala (70), Sam Stevens (72) and South Korea’s Tom Kim (72). Theegala’s round of 70 featured exactly one bogey and one birdie, the latter coming at No. 18 when his approach sat down 12 inches from the cup.
Scheffler had one of only two sub-70 rounds on a day where the scoring average settled at 73.62, the highest of the week so far. Earlier Saturday, Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo shot a 3-under 67 featuring four straight birdies at Nos. 6-9, climbing to even for the championship.
Tied with Grillo at even are Keith Mitchell (70), Sam Burns (71) and Xander Schauffele (73).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Reports: Suns agree to 4-year, $48M deal with G Collin Gillespie
Apr 19, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie (12) shoots as Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) defends in the first quarter during game one of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Versatile guard Collin Gillespie is reportedly passing on free agency and has agreed to a four-year, $48 million contract to remain with the Phoenix Suns, according to reports on Saturday.
Gillespie emerged as a long-range shooting threat last season and set a franchise record with 232 3-point baskets. Quentin Richardson (226 in 2004-05) held the old mark.
Gillespie also recorded career highs of 12.7 points, 4.6 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 80 games (58 starts). He shot 40.1% from 3-point range.
Gillespie meshed well with Suns star Devin Booker in the backcourt, another factor in the push to keep him with a team that surprisingly posted a 45-37 record last season. Phoenix lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
After earning third-team All-American honors in each of his final two college seasons at Villanova, Gillespie wasn’t selected in the 2022 NBA Draft. He played 24 games for the Denver Nuggets in 2023-24 before joining Phoenix and playing in 33 games (nine starts) in 2024-25.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Spain seek reset vs. Saudi Arabia after opening draw
June 15, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.; Spain’s Marc Cucurella in action. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images Spain extended their unbeaten streak in competitive fixtures to 32 matches during their World Cup opener last week.
And yet, it was hard not to see La Roja’s scoreless draw against debutant Cape Verde — the third-least-populated country to ever qualify for the World Cup — as a disastrous start for Spain, who entered ranked second in the FIFA/Coca-Cola world rankings.
The Spaniards will look to reestablish themselves as threats when they continue Group H play against Saudi Arabia on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta.
Spain (0-0-1, 1 point) controlled their opening match, holding 65% of the possession, a 27-6 edge in shots and 7-1 in shots on net.
Defender Marc Cucurella chose to focus on the upside of starting with a performance like this.
“I think it’s good that it happened to us in the first match,” Cucurella said. “Because maybe it happens to you in another round and you go home.”
The addition of teenage star Lamine Yamal off the bench in the 71st minute, returning from a hamstring injury, transformed the attack. But even he couldn’t break through for Spain, who failed to win their World Cup opener for the fourth time in the last five trips.
It sounds like Yamal will once again be limited on Sunday as the team is playing the long game for what they hope will be a stretch of eight games this summer.
“I feel good physically, I’m ready for whatever the boss wants,” Yamal said Friday in a Spanish television interview. “It’s very early, it’s unnecessary (to play 90 minutes). I have a process of adaptation. It isn’t the moment to play a full game but I’ll play the minutes the boss wants.”
Saudi Arabia (0-0-1, 1 point) enter this match ahead of Spain via the goals scored tiebreaker. The Green Falcons did not have the same problem scoring in their opener against Uruguay, leading for nearly 40 minutes after Abdulelah Al-Amri’s late-first-half goal.
But a late equalizer from Uruguay kept Saudi Arabia from taking early command of the group with their second straight upset to begin a World Cup after the 2022 Argentina stunner.
In the end, Saudi Arabia, who trailed Uruguay 1.72-0.66 in expected goals, were likely satisfied with the draw, even though they blew a lead.
“When we’re faced with certain opponents, getting one point is a positive event and this is a booster for our psychology,” Saudi Arabia manager Georgios Donis said after the match. “Currently I’m trying to learn my team. I’m trying to learn my players and get to know them.”
Both draws leave all four Group H teams on one point entering a critical second matchday.
A win in either of the next two matches would likely be enough for Saudi Arabia to advance to the knockout stage for the first time since their World Cup debut in 1994. However, that may not be an easy task for a team that has won only two total matches in their six World Cup appearances since 1994.
–Group G, Belgium vs. Iran in Inglewood, Calif.: Belgium, looking to return to the knockout stage after missing it in 2022, opened with a somewhat surprising 1-1 draw with Egypt. Iran, who rallied twice for an opening 2-2 draw against New Zealand, are seeking their first-ever knockout stage appearance.
–Group H, Uruguay vs. Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Fla.: Likely the top storyline from the opening set of matches, Cape Verde have another tough test as they seek their first World Cup victory. Uruguay look to do what Spain couldn’t and take care of business against an overmatched team on paper.
–Group G, New Zealand vs. Egypt in Vancouver: Neither New Zealand nor Egypt have ever won a match at the World Cup, let alone advance out of a single group stage. A win by either would move them to the brink of clinching a spot.
–Field Level Media
