Thirteen is anything but a cursed number for the New York Knicks.
New York flipped a script that nonetheless featured a familiar ending. Erasing a 12-point deficit and withstanding a furious rally from the San Antonio Spurs, the Knicks escaped from Frost Bank Center with a 105-104 victory in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. It’s their 13th consecutive victory, the second team to earn such a tally and first since the 2017 champion Golden State Warriors.
The Knicks now own a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven set, having swept the opening Texas double. This is the closest they’ve been to a championship since 1994, when they owned a 3-2 lead on the Houston Rockets.
Jalen Brunson still came in clutch on a 7-of-25 shooting night, sinking the winning free throw that provided the difference with just under 10 seconds remaining. Karl-Anthony Towns had a 21-point, 13-rebound double-double while Mikal Bridges had 20 to provide brilliant bookends to the latest addition to the epic streak.
Eager to atone for the late shortcomings of the opener, the Spurs got off to sharp start. The hosts hit 13 of their first 20 with De’Aaron Fox leading the way with nine tallies en route to a 34-25 lead. From there, however, the Knicks cracked down, notably engaging in a literal paint job on Victor Wembanyama.
The effort was impressive enough considering the Spurs sank but four from the field in the second quarter, with no one Texan getting two. But the Knicks’ post game, headlined by a dominant effort from Towns, made sure Wembanyama left little impact on the statsheet even if he wanted to.
With Wembanyama taking only four shots in the first half, including just one in the latter dozen, the Knicks were able to turn a 12-point deficit into a four-game lead by the break. Towns was a game-best plus-13 during his 18 minutes and complemented his Wembanyama neutralizing with 17 points. Bridges was a perfect 4-of-4 and gave the Knicks their first lead with a last-minute floater off a feed from Towns. He’d return the favor on a Towns three that put the Knicks up 56-52 at intermission.
New York needed less than three minutes to expand the lead to double-figures but Wembanyama found his second wind and eventually united with Stephon Castle to trim the deficit to four. With Brunson struggling and Towns in foul trouble, Bridges quarterback a metropolitan run with a hodgepodge of subs that re-established the Knicks’ sizable lead by the end of the third. New York scoring in the period ended with Bridges finding Mitchell Robinson for an alley-oop, putting the Knicks up 11.
The total team effort continued in the fourth, with threes from reserves Miles McBride and Landry Shamet seemingly sealing the Knicks’ 2-0 fate, as they led 97-83 halfway through the fourth. But a run of 14 consecutive San Antonio point, punctuated by a driving double for Dylan Harper with three minutes left, set the stage for a thrilling finale. From there, neither team led by more than three the rest of the way and that advantage was wiped out when Harper followed up three OG Anunoby free throws with another two.
Despite his struggles, it was Brunson that posted the winning tallies: when Wembanyama turned a Harper steal into a go-ahead and-one at the top of the final minute, the point guard’s fadeaway tied the game at 104 with 39 seconds to go.
A would-be winner from Brunson fell short on the Knicks’ next possession but an ill-timed pass from Wembanyama (who had missed a go-ahead tally of his own on the other end) was procured by Brunson, who was immediately fouled by the French phenom. He sank the first of the awarded two tries but his latter miss was taken in by Luke Kornet with seven seconds to go.
One last Wembanyama misfire, however, finally sealed the deal for the Knicks, who were heralded with the cheers from a supportive and well-traveled supporters contingent. In another landmark, the Knicks become the third team to win the first two games of the NBA Finals on the road, joining the Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets’ champion clubs in 1993 and 1995 respectively.
Wembanyama ended the night with a game-best 29 points (22 in the second half) but that was far from enough to atone for a frigid final minute. In another sign of Bridges’ dominance, his defense on Fox limited him to three successful shooting attempts in the second half. Julian Champagnie was also held in check after a strong start, limited to three unsuccessful tries from deep after sinking his first two in the opening frame.
The series now moves to what’s sure to be a raucous Madison Square Garden, with Game 3 set for Monday night (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
