New York Knicks storm back to beat Wembanyama's Spurs in NBA finals opener

New York Knicks storm back to beat Wembanyama's Spurs in NBA finals opener Jalen Brunson scored 30 points as the New York Knicks rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to defeat the San Antonio Spurs 105-95 on Wednesday and seize a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals. Brunson overcame an early injury scare and scored 13 fourth-quarter points, outdueling Victor Wembanyama to complete the comeback. Jalen Brunson scored 30 points as the New York Knicks erased a 14-point second-half deficit to stun the San Antonio Spurs 105-95 and take a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals on Wednesday. Knicks talisman Brunson shrugged off an early injury scare to inspire a magnificent fightback and give New York a precious early advantage in the best-of-seven series. Brunson upstaged Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama with a masterful clutch fourth quarter display, scoring 13 points in the final frame as the Knicks closed out a win to silence an expectant home crowd in Texas. The game was tied with just over two minutes to go, but Brunson marshalled the Knicks brilliantly and a late burst of scoring put the game out of the Spurs' reach. "Just sticking together -- it wasn't really our night and wasn't really my night most of the night but we kept finding a way, kept chipping away," Brunson said afterwards. To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. The Knicks playmaker said the team's "chemistry" had helped them climb out of their 14-point hole in the third quarter. "Just knowing we have each other's back -- there's a lot of things we could have done better, but I think our togetherness was really the biggest difference," added Brunson, who left the court in the first quarter with a knee injury before returning. Brunson was one of four Knicks to finish in double figures, with Karl-Anthony Towns adding 18 points, OG Anunoby 17 and Landry Shamet 13. Wembanyama led San Antonio's scoring with 26 points but had a poor shooting night, making just 6-of-21 from the field while pulling down 12 rebounds with three blocks. Stephon Castle had 17 points and Dylan Harper and Julian Champagnie added 16 points apiece. Game two of the series takes place in San Antonio on Friday. (FRANCE 24 with AFP)