SAN ANTONIO — Jalen Brunson fully understands what leading the New York Knicks to the NBA championship means for him, for his team and for the city of New York.

He’s heard it from Walt Frazier, who was a part of NBA champions in 1970 and ’73. He’s talked about it with Bernard King and Patrick Ewing, stars who got the Knicks close in the 1980s and ’90s, and he’s lived it though his father, Rick Brunson, a former player and now an assistant coach for the team.

Jalen Brunson knew what it would take to carry the Knicks to their first title in 53 years, the price he would have to pay to get his team to the Finals for the first time in 27 years, and what he would have to do to get the Knicks over the finish line against San Antonio and its superstar forward Victor Wembanyama, one of the league’s faces of the future.

Now it’s time to reap those rewards and put to rest one of the most dubious title droughts in pro sports history.

Brunson poured in 45 points, 29 in the second half, to lead New York to a come-from-behind 94-90 win over the Spurs in Game 5 of the Finals on Saturday night, clinching the best-of-seven series 4-1. Three of the Knicks’ wins came on the road with each of them coming down to the final minutes and requiring comebacks from New York.

Brunso, the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, was the ticker that never flickered.

The 45 points tallied by Brunson set a Knicks record for a Finals game, supplanting the 38 scored by the legendary Willis Reed in 1970. Reed scored his in the third game of a series that went to seven and ended with the big center literally willing New York to the title over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Brunson’s effort in this series was just as arduous and will go down in Big Apple lore with Reed’s performance in that distant Knicks championship run. The undersized New York captain took a beating as the Spurs employed four different players to defend him and knock him around every time he touched the ball. His bruises had bruises and his lumps had bumps.

“I’m hurting right now, oh, I do hurt right now,” Brunson, 29, said after the win. “I’m feeling maybe a little bit worn down physically just because of the game and what (San Antonio was) trying to do. Mentally, I feel fresh. I feel like that’s where I thrive. I’m just happy we’re able to find ways to win the games.”

There was nothing more San Antonio could do. Brunson was just too good. He’s one of just 11 different players to score at least 45 points in an NBA Finals game, for a total of 15 games.

San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson had a matter-of-fact response when asked what his team could have done differently against the Knicks star.

“Make (Brunson) score less points,” Johnson explained. “He’s aggressive. He got to spots. We were undisciplined at times. He got going, then he got going later on. He’s a heck of a player. He deserves everything he’s got.”

On a night when the Knicks got next-to-nothing offensively from Karl-Anthony Towns (two points) and OK production from Game 4 hero OG Anunoby (11 points, eight rebounds), it was up to Brunson to make the plays that produced the victory and the championship. His 15 points in the final quarter were one more than the rest of his teammates combined (14).

“You know, people say (Brunson is) too small. People say he’s a 1B or a 2B or whatever,” New York coach Mike Brown said of the three-time All-Star, listed at 6-foot-2. “He is a freaking 1A. He is an MVP candidate. Brunson — he is him, man, when it comes to New York basketball. He is freaking him.”

Brunson averaged 32.6 points per game in the Finals, scoring 30 or more in four of the contests. As hard as it is to fathom, he got better as the series went on, racking up 32, 36 and then 45 in the last three slugfests.

“That’s who Captain is, man,” Towns said about Brunson. “Captain always finds a way to get back into court and produce as a testament to who he is. It’s just his story, (he’s) never given up, always has been the underdog, always been looked down upon.”

“Shout out to everybody told him he couldn’t do it.”

After the final buzzer on Saturday, Brunson — a white towel over his head — ran on the floor toward half court, but he was overcome with emotion, and stopped and crouched near the scorer’s table. At his side were teammates Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges, his running buddies and fellow former stars at Villanova, loving him up before literally lifting Brunson to a standing position.

He had carried the Knicks to the title — and now, fittingly, it was his teammates that helped him to his feet. The weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders. The hopes and dreams of the whole of New York City and its rabid and vocal fan base had finally been realized.

After the game, Brunson clutched the Larry O’Brien Trophy and offered a weary smile. There’s a trip to the Canyon of Heroes in lower Manhattan in his and the Knicks’ future, as the team will be feted in the time-honored Big Apple parade tradition at long last.

It will be a day cherished for a generation of New Yorkers, an “I-remember-where-I-was-when” moment, for fans young and old.

Someday there might even be a statue of Brunson outside Madison Square Garden. If so, let’s hope it’s as tough and as durable as the man is himself.

–Steve Habel, Field Level Media

Daniel Schneemann hit a two-run homer off Tarik Skubal, spoiling the American League Cy Young Award winner’s return from left elbow surgery, as the Cleveland Guardians beat the visiting Detroit Tigers 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.

Skubal (3-3), making his first start since April 29, pitched 4 2/3 innings and allowed three runs, two earned, on five hits. The impending free agent struck out four, walked one and hit a batter while throwing 80 pitches.

Guardians starter Joey Cantillo (5-3) retired the final nine batters he faced in a five-inning, one-run outing. The lefty gave up six hits and struck out four without issuing a walk, winning for the first time since May 21 at the Tigers.

Schneemann gave Cleveland a 3-1 lead in the third with his 417-foot shot to right field, scoring Jose Ramirez, who left the game later and is set to be placed on the injured list with a broken hamate bone in his left hand. Dillon Dingler singled in Gleyber Torres in the first for the Tigers, but gifted the Guardians the tying run in the second by throwing the ball into left field on an attempted steal of third base by Travis Bazzana.

Dodgers 7, White Sox 1

Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s no-hit and shutout bids were broken up by Tristan Peters’ homer leading off the bottom of the ninth, but Los Angeles cruised past host Chicago.

Yamamoto (7-4) only allowed the home run, did not walk a batter and struck out seven in 8 1/3 innings. He retired the first 23 White Sox batters. Max Muncy hit two two-run homers, was 3-for-3 to lead the onslaught. Shohei Ohtani homered, scored two runs and walked three times while Kyle Tucker drove in two runs for the Dodgers.

White Sox starter Sean Burke (3-4) gave up four runs on six hits in four innings with five walks and six strikeouts. Chicago had its eight-game home winning streak snapped.

Cardinals 9, Twins 6

Ivan Herrera hit two home runs, with the second sparking a five-run seventh inning for St. Louis, which posted a victory over Minnesota in Minneapolis.

The Cardinals broke a 4-4 tie with a five-run outburst in as many batters in the seventh. After Herrera and Jordan Walker delivered back-to-back two-out solo homers, Blaze Jordan capped the inning with his first major league long ball, a three-run shot. Matt Svanson (2-1) was perfect in 1 2/3 innings of relief for the Cardinals.

Royce Lewis hit his third home run in his last four games for the Twins. Byron Buxton hit his 22nd home run and Luke Keaschall added a two-run shot. Justin Lawrence (0-3) struck out the first two Cardinals he faced in the seventh before allowing four of the five runs.

Padres 9, Orioles 3

Jackson Merrill and Samad Taylor hit two-run home runs in the first inning as San Diego posted a victory against host Baltimore.

Gavin Sheets, Rodolfo Duran and Manny Machado also homered as part of San Diego’s five-homer outburst while starter Randy Vasquez (6-4) brushed off a rough first inning to pick up the victory. Taylor finished with three of the team’s 10 hits and recorded three RBIs.

Pete Alonso homered, provided a run-scoring double and came a triple short of the cycle. Blaze Alexander also notched three hits for the Orioles, who had a three-game winning streak end.

Yankees 3, Blue Jays 1

Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning and visiting New York defeated Toronto.

Louis Varland (3-2) allowed Cody Bellinger’s bloop single to center to open the ninth. Goldschmidt followed by smashing an 0-1 knuckle curve to left for his ninth home run of the season. David Bednar struck out the side in the home ninth to earn his 14th save, as the Yankees earned a split of the first two games of the three-game series.

Fernando Cruz (4-1) survived three walks in the eighth to get the win. Kazuma Okamoto hit a solo homer for the Blue Jays.

Pirates 3, Marlins 2

Spencer Horwitz’s bases-loaded hit by pitch in the eighth inning was the difference as host Pittsburgh beat Miami.

Tyler Callihan and Jake Mangum tagged Anthony Bender (1-1) for singles and then Jared Triolo drew a walk to bring Horwitz to the plate, whom Bender plunked with the first pitch of the at-bat to give the Pirates the lead. The victory was just the second in the past eight games for Pittsburgh.

Yohan Ramirez (4-2) allowed the first two hitters he faced to reach base in the top of the eighth, but he escaped the jam with no runs allowed. The loss snapped a season-best string of six straight victories for the Marlins, whose scoring came in the form of a pair of RBI singles by Liam Hicks and Heriberto Hernandez. Otto Lopez was 2-for-3 with a walk.

Red Sox 6, Rangers 3

Ceddanne Rafaela hit a go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning to lead Boston to a win over visiting Texas.

Jarren Duran hit a two-run home run and Rafaela had two hits and two RBIs. Isiah Kiner-Falefa had two hits and two runs and Willson Contreras was 2-for-4 with a double for the Red Sox. Garrett Whitlock (4-1) earned the win with a scoreless inning of relief, striking out one. Aroldis Chapman threw a scoreless ninth for his 14th save.

Jake Burger hit his 12th home run, Wyatt Langford was 3-for-5 with an RBI and Nicky Lopez had two hits for the Rangers.

Nationals 8, Mariners 3

Luis Garcia Jr. hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the fifth inning and Washington defeated visiting Seattle.

CJ Abrams had three hits, drove in two runs and scored twice for the Nationals, who had lost two straight. Starter Cade Cavalli (4-4) picked up the win, allowing three runs on four hits over five innings.

The Mariners capped off a game-tying three-run fifth with Colt Emerson’s second homer in as many days and sixth of the season. Luis Castillo (2-6) gave up five runs (two earned) on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.

Reds 2, Diamondbacks 1

Noelvi Marte blasted a tie-breaking solo home run in the eighth and Cincinnati held on for a win against visiting Arizona in the second game of their three-game series.

Juan Morillo (1-3) replaced Diamondbacks starter Michael Soroka to start the eighth and served up Marte’s second home run of the season to left-center field with one out to break the 1-1 tie. Reds starter Rhett Lowder went 5 2/3 innings, allowing one run and five hits while striking out six and walking two.

Caleb Ferguson and Chase Petty (1-1) combined for 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief before Tony Santillan closed in the ninth for his third save. Cincinnati had dropped seven of eight.

Braves 3, Mets 1

Martin Perez continued his resurgence by giving up one run over 5 1/3 innings, and Atlanta edged host New York in the middle game of a three-game series between the National League East rivals.

Eli White went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs, while Michael Harris II homered in the eighth for the Braves, who snapped a three-game losing streak. Perez (5-3) gave up one run on four hits and one walk while striking out four over 5 1/3 innings.

Mark Vientos had a sixth-inning RBI single for the Mets, who fell to 2-3 on a homestand slated to conclude Sunday. New York starter Sean Manaea (1-2), who made his first 14 appearances this season out of the bullpen, allowed two runs on four hits and no walks while striking out six over six innings.

Phillies 9, Brewers 8

J.T. Realmuto homered and drove in four runs as Philadelphia held on for a road victory over Milwaukee.

Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh, Edmundo Sosa and Realmuto had three hits apiece for the Phillies, who registered a season-high 17 hits after getting one-hit by Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski on Friday. Bryson Stott contributed two hits, two RBIs and two runs. Left-hander Tim Mayza (2-1) allowed one hit in one-third inning and earned the win for Philadelphia, which has captured eight of its last 11 games.

Jackson Chourio homered twice as part of a 4-for-5 night for Milwaukee. Garrett Mitchell also homered for the Brewers, while William Contreras had three hits for the hosts. Shane Drohan (3-2) was charged with four runs and eight hits in five-plus frames.

Angels 8, Rays 0

Jo Adell went 4-for-5 with a double and three runs scored, and Jose Siri hit a two-run homer as Los Angeles pounded out 15 hits in an 8-0 victory over Tampa Bay in Anaheim, Calif.

Denzer Guzman went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a run scored, and Donovan Walton had a double and three hits with two RBIs. Nolan Schanuel also had two hits and two runs scored for the Angels, who won their fourth straight and for the fifth time in six games. Jose Soriano (8-4) allowed three hits, walked two and struck out five.

Rays starter Griffin Jax (1-5) suffered the loss despite allowing just one unearned run on five hits over five innings while striking out five without a walk. The victory clinched the second straight home series win for Los Angeles, the first time that has happened since June 5-11, 2025, against Seattle and the Athletics.

Athletics 7, Rockies 5

Zack Gelof homered and singled to extend his hitting streak to 17 games and the surging Athletics beat Colorado in Las Vegas.

Alika Williams had three hits, Henry Bolte had two hits and Jose Suarez (1-2) tossed 1 2/3 innings of relief for the A’s, who have won four straight in their first homestand at their future home city. Elvis Alvarado got the final three outs for his second save.

Brett Sullivan homered and TJ Rumfield and Troy Johnston had two hits each for the Rockies, who have lost three in a row and seven of nine. Starter Kyle Freeland (1-7) allowed six runs on 10 hits over 5 2/3 innings.

Astros 8, Royals 7

Christian Walker hit one of Houston’s four homers and reached on a fielder’s choice that allowed the tiebreaking run to score in the ninth in a win over host Kansas City.

Jose Altuve, Jake Meyers, Brice Matthews and Walker homered for the Astros, while Yordan Alvarez had three hits. In the ninth, the Astros had runners on first and third with one out when Alex Lange (0-4) got Walker to bounce into a potential 6-4-3 double play, but second baseman Nick Loftin’s throw was wide of first, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Bryan King (1-1) pitched a scoreless with a strikeout.

Carter Jensen’s three-run double in the sixth gave the Royals a 7-5 edge. Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. doubled, for his third hit, in the ninth, but he was doubled off second on Isaac Collins’ liner to end the game.

Cubs 6, Giants 1

Pete Crow-Armstrong hit the first pitch of the game for a home run, Ben Brown beefed up his All-Star credentials with five solid innings and visiting Chicago thumped San Francisco for a second straight win in their three-game series.

Rookie Pedro Ramirez smacked his first career homer and Ian Happ added a third for the Cubs, who also had four doubles amongst their 11 hits. Brown (3-2) pitched into and out of trouble for 15 outs, limiting the Giants to one run despite serving up seven hits and three walks.

San Francisco went 0-for-7 in the game with runners in scoring position, all while Brown was on the mound. The Giants’ only run came in the third when Drew Gilbert walked and came around on a Luis Arraez triple. Trevor McDonald (2-4) was charged with four runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings.

–Field Level Media

The New York Knicks are in the midst of celebrating an underdog run to the franchise’s first NBA title in 53 years which concluded Saturday night in San Antonio.

The Knicks again will have to beat the odds to repeat as champs — at least according to the opening odds for the 2026-27 NBA Championship winner which were released shortly after the season concluded.

New York opened not with the best, second- or third-best odds to win next year’s championship, according to DraftKings. Instead, New York has the fourth-best odds to win it all at +700.

Instead, it’s the top teams which met in the Western Conference finals in the Oklahoma City Thunder, who won the 2024-25 league title, and the San Antonio Spurs, who lost this year’s NBA Finals in five games. The squads opened tied for the best odds to win next year’s championship at +250.

The Boston Celtics, who earned the No. 2 seed this season before a surprising first-round exit, are the other Eastern Conference team in the top tier of odds to win the 2026-27 title at +550.

After the Knicks, the odds fall precipitously to the Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets at +2800, and the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Lakers, Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers at +3000.

Alone with the worst odds? That would be the Sacramento Kings, who are at +100000 to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy next summer.

2026-27 NBA title odds (DraftKings)

Spurs +250

Thunder +250

Celtics +550

Knicks +700

Pacers +2800

Nuggets +2800

Timberwolves +3000

Lakers +3000

Pistons +3000

Cavaliers +3000

Heat +4000

Warriors +4500

76ers +5500

Rockets +6000

Clippers +7500

Magic +8000

Trail Blazers +9000

Hornets +9000

Raptors +10000

Hawks +10000

Wizards +12000

Mavericks +12000

Suns +12000

Jazz +20000

Pelicans +25000

Bucks +25000

Nets +25000

Grizzlies +50000

Bulls +75000

Kings +100000

–Field Level Media