Knicks clinch first NBA title in 53 years, as Brunson shines against Spurs

The New York Knicks ended their championship drought on Saturday, winning the best-of-seven NBA-finals" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="131934" data-entity-type="event">NBA Finals series 4-1 against the San Antonio Spurs.The New York Knicks, fuelled by a sensational 45 points from Jalen Brunson, rallied again to beat the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 and win their first NBA title in 53 years on Saturday.The Knicks won the best-of-seven championship series 4-1, denying Victor Wembanyama and his young Spurs teammates on their home floor to lift the trophy for the first time since 1973.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Vinicius drags low-key Brazil level against dominant Morocco at World Cuplist 2 of 4Qatar net late against Switzerland to secure historic first World Cup pointlist 3 of 4Scotland edge Haiti to mark winning return to World Cup after 36 yearslist 4 of 4‘Lion of Mesopotamia’: How Aymen Hussein beat tragedy to reach World Cupend of listThe Knicks, who recovered from 29 points down in game four to produce the biggest comeback in Finals history, erased a double-digit deficit to win for the fourth time in the series.Knicks vs Spurs timelineThe Knicks trailed by 16 in the second quarter and were down by 10 early in the fourth, but Brunson wouldn’t let them lose.“I’ve got no words,” Brunson said after setting a Knicks record for points in a Finals game, surpassing Willis Reed’s 38 in game three of the team’s 1970 triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers.“I don’t know what I’m feeling,” added Brunson, who was named Finals Most Valuable Player.“I’m in awe. Whenever someone counts us out, we find a way to come back and do something about it.”French star Wembanyama scored 19 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and blocked five shots, and rookie Dylan Harper scored 25 points off the bench for San Antonio.But once again, the Spurs team that vanquished the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals were unable to hold off the crafty and determined Knicks.New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson holds the MVP trophy after the Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA-finals" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="131934" data-entity-type="event">NBA Finals basketball series [Ross D Franklin/AP Photo]Empire State Building lit up in Knicks coloursThe win marked the final chapter of a dramatic playoff run which had captivated New York, with tens of thousands of long-suffering fans packing neighbourhood watch-parties throughout the Big Apple as the team inched towards a first title in more than half a century.