NBA Daily Digest: Brunson Wills Knicks to Game 1 Win, Game 2 Tonight in San Antonio

The New York Knicks came out of San Antonio with a 1-0 series lead after erasing a 14-point second-half deficit to beat the Spurs 105-95 on Wednesday. Jalen Brunson scored 30 points — 13 in the fourth quarter — doing it through two separate injury scares that had Knicks fans holding their breath. Tonight, Game 2 tips at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC from Frost Bank Center.

The Knicks needed their best closer in his worst shooting night.

Brunson was 12 of 31 from the floor for the game. He limped to the locker room late in the first quarter when Harrison Barnes fell into his right knee, then tweaked his left ankle minutes after returning. By halftime he had 11 points on 5-of-15 shooting and the Spurs led 55-48.1

San Antonio pushed it to 14 in the third quarter — as clean a set of numbers as you can put up against this Knicks defense. Then Brunson came alive. He had a personal 8-0 run to put New York up eight with six minutes left, and when Victor Wembanyama's consecutive free throws tied it back at 95-94 with two minutes remaining, Brunson immediately answered with a corner three. His leaning jumper from 15 feet with 38 seconds left sealed it.2

The Knicks closed on an 11-0 run. Over the final 7:30, Brunson outscored the entire Spurs team 13-9.

Brunson's injury update: Both the knee and ankle held up. He called himself fine after the game and is expected to play Game 2.

Josh Hart's line reads almost absurd: one made field goal, yet he was arguably the Knicks' best player. His 15 rebounds tie Larry Bird's 1986 Finals game for the most rebounds in a Finals game by a player 6-foot-5 or shorter.2 He had four steals, including one with under a minute left that set up Brunson's sealing bucket.

The win was the Knicks' 12th straight in these playoffs, tying the all-time single-postseason record set by the 1999 Spurs and 2017 Warriors. They are the first team ever to beat San Antonio in a Finals Game 1 — the Spurs had gone 6-0 in openers before Wednesday.3

Wembanyama posted 26 points and 12 rebounds — and he was the losing team's best player. The problem was how those 26 points came: six field goals on 21 attempts, including 2-of-9 from three, with six turnovers. The Knicks kept him off the rim; only five of his field goal attempts came at the basket.2

He did become just the fourth player since the block statistic was first tracked in 1974 to record 26+ points, 12+ rebounds, and 3+ blocks in an NBA Finals debut — joining Shaq and two other Hall of Famers.4

His postgame quote was blunt: "I'm gonna figure it out. I was bad tonight. It's not more complicated than that."5 Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said the team needs to get Wemby rolling and moving toward the rim earlier — and defended his decision to bench rookie Dylan Harper during the fourth quarter, taking the blame squarely on himself.6

Harper had been San Antonio's most effective offensive player: 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting with eight rebounds, generating a real spark in the first quarter. He played just over 28 minutes, and his absence from crunch time remains the biggest tactical question heading into tonight.

Mitchell Robinson (NYK, C) — Probable (broken right hand). He played in Game 1 and the Knicks have officially listed him as probable for tonight.7 Robinson addressed his injury publicly for the first time, confirming he has the fracture but declining to elaborate on when or how it happened.8

Jalen Brunson (NYK, G) — Available. Brunson gave a positive update after the game and is expected to play.

No significant new injuries reported for San Antonio.

Giannis trade watch: The Bucks are nearing a franchise-altering decision on Giannis Antetokounmpo and intend to settle it before the June 23 NBA Draft. A report surfaced Thursday that Giannis has "strong interest" in being traded to the Boston Celtics.9 Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus ranked the Celtics' package — Jaylen Brown plus draft picks — as a viable top option.10 Giannis can opt out of his 2027-28 contract ($62.8M) starting October 1; the Bucks have no path to retaining him at max value without a deal.

Jaylen Brown to Pelicans: Reports linking Brown to New Orleans have not produced actual talks between the teams, according to New Orleans reporter Shamit Dua.11

NBA expansion: Commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday that a decision on Seattle and Las Vegas expansion franchises is expected before the end of 2026, and that NBA Europe remains on track for the 2027-28 season.12

Dallas coaching search: Mavericks president Masai Ujiri is exploring a wide candidate pool — including European coaches and candidates from women's basketball — to replace Jason Kidd. Duke's Jon Scheyer (Cooper Flagg's college coach) is expected to enter discussions.13 Assistant Wes Unseld Jr. appears headed for the Chicago Bulls job instead.14

Off-court at the Finals: A fan who ran onto the Frost Bank Center court during Game 1 to take a selfie with Wembanyama was arrested and banned from all NBA arenas for life.15 Separately, the NBA is investigating two courtside fans for allegedly directing vulgar taunts about flopping at Brunson during the fourth quarter.16

President at MSG: Trump will attend Game 3 at Madison Square Garden on Monday, per ESPN's Shams Charania. He was invited by Knicks owner James Dolan.17

Game 2 is tonight at Frost Bank Center, 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC. The Spurs have not lost consecutive home games in this postseason and need a win to keep homecourt relevant for the rest of the series.

For San Antonio, the questions are straightforward: can Wembanyama get more looks at the rim, and does Harper start or at least play full fourth-quarter minutes? For New York, the question is how much fuel Brunson has left after absorbing two knocks in Game 1.

2026 NBA Finals schedule (all times ET):

*If necessary