Knicks beat Spurs to win 1st NBA championship in more than 50 years

The New York Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs Saturday in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, winning their first NBA championship in 53 years.

The Knicks won 94-90 at the Spurs’ home court to a crowd that was packed with its fair share of Knick fans.

Back in the Big Apple, crowds across the city cheered as they watched from bars, outdoor watch parties and even outdoor kiosks. 

Knicks guard Jalen Brunson led the team with 45 points, capping an extraordinary run throughout the playoffs.

“I don’t know what I’m feeling. I’m in awe. Whenever anyone count us out, we found a way to go do something about it,” he told ESPN’s Lisa Salters.

Brunson was named finals MVP and joined on stage by his father Rick, an assistant coach on the Knicks.

“It’s everything I’ve dreamed of, that’s why I came to New York,” Brunson said.

Back in New York City, fans took to the streets to celebrate the long-awaited win. A huge crowd gathered outside Madison Square Garden, cheering enthusiastically as the win played out on a giant screen.

The New York Police Department said a 17-year-old was shot once in the foot during celebrations near West 42nd Street and Broadway. He was transported by private means to Bellevue Hospital where he was in stable condition, police said. There were three people of interest in custody and a firearm was recovered at the scene, police said. Police did not detail a motive or release potential charges.

About a block away from Times Square, at the intersection of West 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue, the Fire Department responded to a school bus fire. The call came in around 2:47 a.m. and firefighters were actively working to extinguish the flames, the department said early on Sunday.

In parts of Brooklyn, fireworks went off, and cars and buses honked their horns, joining the loud chorus of cheers and cries from the fans.

The Knicks last won NBA championship in 1973. The last time the team made it to the Finals was in 1999 when they lost to the Spurs four games to one, with the final game taking place at the Garden.

The last time a New York City team won a professional basketball championship was two years ago when the New York Liberty won the WNBA Finals.

The Knicks’ Finals run was highlighted by tight scores, incredible plays and, in Game 4, one of the biggest comebacks in NBA history.

Two of the most powerful New Yorkers also got in on Knicks Finals fever.

President Donald Trump became the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game, when he watched Game 3 live from the Garden, where he was booed by the crowd during the national anthem performance.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also attended Game 3.

Immediately after the win, the mayor’s office announced a ticker-tape parade for the team will be held at City Hall Thursday.

“For more than 50 years, New Yorkers have waited for this moment,” Mamdani said in a statement. “Through near misses, heartbreak and a hope that every year could be our year, this city never stopped believing in the Knicks. And this team fulfilled that hope with grit, resilience and heart — just like the five boroughs itself.”