The New York Knicks end more than half a century of NBA trophy drought with a victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
Published on December 17, 2025
OG Anunoby scored 28 points as the New York Knicks ended their 52-year trophy drought with a 124-113 NBA Cup final victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.
Forward Anunoby made five three-pointers and point guard Jalen Brunson finished with 25 points as New York captured its first trophy since the 1973 NBA Finals at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
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San Antonio entered the final full of confidence after beating top-seeded and reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City in Saturday’s semifinals, thanks to a superb performance from French prodigy Victor Wembanyama.
But a tenacious overall performance from New York thwarted San Antonio’s hopes of capping its Cup campaign with a victory.
The Knicks held Wembanyama to 18 points while delivering a balanced offensive performance to pull away in the fourth quarter after trailing by 11 points late in the third.
Seven Knicks players finished in double figures, with Anunoby and Brunson supported by Karl-Anthony Towns (16 points), Jordan Clarkson (15), Tyler Kolek (14) and 11 points each from Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges.
Mitchell Robertson provided a valuable defensive appearance off the bench, grabbing 15 rebounds with two blocks.
“OG Anunoby, Tyler Kolek, Jordan Clarkson, Mitchell Robertson – they played hard tonight,” Brunson said after being named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
“Without them, we won’t win,” Brunson said. “We were down 10 points or whatever and we found a way to win. That’s going to be our motto going forward: We’re going to find a way.”
San Antonio appeared to be headed for victory when Wembanyama drilled a 27-foot three-pointer with just over two minutes left in the third period to give the Spurs a 92-81 lead.
But Clarkson and Kolek scored three-pointers to cut the Spurs’ lead to five points, and the Knicks then went on a rampage in the fourth quarter, outscoring their opponents 35-19 to seal the victory.
The last one standing
Knicks head coach Mike Brown said winning the title bodes well for the team’s hopes of winning the championship in the NBA Finals in his first season at the helm.
“Any time you can go to an event where you’re the last one standing and you can hang a banner, especially in the iconic MSG (Madison Square Garden), you take that seriously,” Brown said. “And all of our guys took it seriously.”
San Antonio’s scoring was led by Dylan Harper with 21 points off the bench, while De’Aaron Fox was the pick of the starters with 16 points.
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson blamed the defeat on collective shortcomings rather than Wembanyama’s performance.
“I think we struggled more as a team…We gave up a lot of offensive rebounds, which hurt us in transition,” Johnson said.
“When we played with the right space, but with the right spacing and the right tempo, we had some really good looks. And we missed them. I think it was probably more of a team thing than I thought Victor was having some individual struggles.”
Johnson, however, believes San Antonio has plenty to build on in pursuing leading Oklahoma City in the Western Conference.
“Playing really competitive games against really, really good teams,” Johnson said. “Seasoned, experienced teams that have been through similar situations. Being able to feel these games, work these games, be in the moment in these games, I think it’s a valuable experience.”
