Sports News
Knicks beat the Spurs 4-1 to win their first NBA title since 1973
The New York Knicks are NBA champions for the first time since 1973. ESPN reported that they beat the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 in the Finals, winning Game 5 94-90 in San Antonio. Jalen Brunson scored 45 points in the clincher, and Victor Wembanyama had 19 rebounds for the Spurs.
The series turned on close games. FOX 26 Houston reported that the Knicks came from 14 points down early in the third quarter of Game 1, then closed with an 11-0 run to win 105-95. Brunson scored 30 that night, while Wembanyama scored 26 on 6-of-21 shooting in his Finals debut. It was New York's first Finals game since 1999, a series they lost 4-1 to the Spurs.
In Game 2, FOX 7 Austin reported, the Knicks blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead but held on 105-104. Wembanyama missed a go-ahead jumper as time ran out. San Antonio won Game 3 at Madison Square Garden, but New York won the next two. ESPN said the Knicks' 13-game winning streak earlier in the playoffs was the second-longest in a single postseason in NBA history.
How each outlet framed it
- ESPN — the history: a title back in New York after 53 years, and both teams' route to the Finals.
- FOX 26 Houston — a Texas station on Game 1: the Spurs' lost lead and Wembanyama's poor shooting night.
- FOX 7 Austin — Game 2 from San Antonio: a 14-0 Spurs run that ended with a missed jumper at the buzzer.
Where the numbers differ: FOX 26 Houston called Game 1 the Knicks' 12th straight playoff win and FOX 7 Austin called Game 2 the 13th. ESPN's 13-game streak is the same run, which ended in Game 3.