Keep track of the potential NBA Finals clincher, as the New York Knicks need one more win to swipe immortality from the San Antonio Spurs.
It's up to you, New York, New York ... to ignite what could be the most raucous celebration your city has ever seen.
The New York Knicks are on the precipice of their first postseason championship since 1973, holding a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven NBA Finals set against the San Antonio Spurs. The first of three opportunities to secure that fateful win lands on Saturday night at Frost Bank Center, which will host Game 5.
New York is in position to seal the long-sough deal after completing the largest single-game comeback in NBA Finals history in Wednesday's fourth game. The Knicks trailed by as much as 29 in the second half only to pull off a 30-point swing capped off by OG Anunoby's game-winning putback in the final seconds. Jalen Brunson led the way with 36 points while the Knicks' defense limited San Antonio to only eight sunken shots from the field in the second half.
Though they have held double-figure leads in each game and trail the total margin by a mere eight points, Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs face some sizable odds in bringing the Larry O'Brien Trophy back to the River Walk. To date, only the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers have fully erased a 3-1 deficit on the Finals ledgers and the Knicks won each of the first two games at Frost Bank Center earlier in this series.
Keep track of all the championship action with BIL's in-game tracker below ...
FINAL: Knicks 94, Spurs 90 (NYK WINS SERIES 4-1)
Knicks (94)
POINTS: Jalen Brunson (43)
ASSISTS: Mikal Bridges (4)
REBOUNDS: Josh Hart (11)
Spurs (90)
POINTS: Dylan Harper (25)
ASSISTS: De'Aaron Fox (5)
REBOUNDS: Victor Wembanyama (14)
4th Quarter: Knicks 94, Spurs 90
0.0—Wembanyama misses one more three-pointer and the Knicks' 53-year championship drought is over.
7.7—Anunoby hits one of two.
8.5—Harper gets the inbound and is fouled instantly. He misses both. Anunoby gets the rebound and is fouled.
8.8—The Spurs nearly force Brunson into a backcourt, but he gets it to Bridges, who is fouled. He hits one, the latter. Timeout Spurs. Their final. (93-90 SAS)
16.3—Wembanyama misses a three, but Castle slams it right back. It's his first field goal of the game. Timeout Knicks. (92-90 NYK)
20.0—A series of misses ensues, but one from Harper looms particularly large. Hart is immediately fouled after his rebound. He hits one but Robinson gets the rebound. He quickly dishes it out and Anunoby is fouled. He hits one, Vassell rebounds. Timeout Spurs. (92-88 NYK)
1:06—Harper briefly ties the game, but Brunson answers right back on the other end with a floater. (90-88 NYK)
1:53—Wembanyama goes to the foul line after a Towns foul ... his sixth. Towns fouls out, Robinson returns. He misses the first, makes the second (88-86 NYK)
2:07—Vassell blocks Anunoby on a dunk, but goaltending is called. Knicks' largest lead of the night (88-85 NYK)
3:15—Brunson called for a push-off, offensive foul. It's his first foul of the night.
3:17—Fox misses a jumper. The Spurs attempted to foul Robinson, but the Knicks call a timeout. Towns will likely return upon resumption.
3:40—Three more free throws for Brunson, Vassell on the foul. Wembanyama returns to the game. He hits all three and the Knicks have the lead for the first time since the opening period (86-85 NYK)
3:53—Brunson misses a jumper but San Antonio fumbles the rebound out of bounds.
4:14—Vassell jumper gives the Spurs the lead back (85-83 SAS)
4:25—Anunoby charged with his fifth foul, one of the loose-ball variety.
4:48—Brunson scores 40, the Knicks have 10 straight, and a tie. (83-83)
5:18—Champagnie fouls Brunson on the a drive, two more coming. Wembanyama sits for Kornet during the freebies. Brunson hits them both. Two-point game. (83-81 SAS)
5:30—Towns misses a three but Wembanyama fouls him on the other end, knocking over Hart. Wembanyama, who would have his fourth, claims Towns pushed him into Hart, and the Spurs challenge. Wembanyama is proven correct, and the call is overturned (thought San Antonio loses its timeout and can't challenge). Towns has five fouls and sits for Robinson.
6:29—Further acrobatics from Brunson cuts the lead to four. Brunson with 36. (83-79 SAS)
6:50—Wembanyama charged with his third, as the Spurs miss on the timeout.
7:14—Brunson drives, hits two, now with 34 points. Timeout Spurs, perhaps sensing another Knicks run. (83-77 SAS)
7:43—Brunson is once again fouled on a three-pointer, this one on Castle. He hits two of three. (83-75 SAS)
7:54—Shamet was injured on his own double and commits a foul to stop play. He is taken to the locker room with an apparent ankle ailment.
8:23—Shamet and Harper exchange physical doubles (83-73 SAS)
8:51—Castle is fouled going up by Hart, his third. Timeout, Castle shoots two upon returning. The Knicks challenged during the timeout but the call stands. Castle hits one of two. (81-71 SAS)
9:10—Vassell immediately responds with his own three (80-71 SAS)
9:28—Landry Shamet hits his first three of the night and it's a six-point game (77-71 SAS)
10:34—Wembanyama scores on a second chance, slamming it down for the nine-point lead (77-68 SAS)
10:59—Hart immediately responds on the other end with his own three (75-68 SAS)
11:13—Johnson opens period scoring with ahis second three (75-65 SAS)
11:26—Towns returns and fumbles a second chance, firing a pass out of bounds to start the fourth.
3rd Quarter: Spurs 72, Knicks 65
4.1—Robinson tips in a Brunson miss to close scoring in the third. (72-65 SAS)
39.5—Jordan Clarkson hits the first points for the Knicks bench (72-63 SAS)
1:16—Fox hits a floater on the other end (72-61 SAS)
1:26—Harper's third foul comes on a Brunson three. He misses the shot but hits all three to cut the deficit to single-digits (70-61 SAS)
2:05—Following a Castle single at the line, Hart hits a three to cut it to a dozen (70-58 SAS)
2:51—Anunoby pokes Johnson, his fourth foul. Spurs are in the bonus and he hits one. Champagnie gets the rebound, but Spurs can't convert. (69-55 SAS)
2:59—Brunson gets to the line on a Harper foul. He hits both. (68-55 SAS)
3:10—Harper reaches 21 on his own putback. (68-53 SAS)
3:35—At the end of a frantic sequence, Hart is called for a foul on Harper. Both teams are in the bonus. He hits one. (66-53 SAS)
4:31—Harper hits a three after officials miss a foul on Bridges on the other end (65-53 SAS)
5:18—An exchange of threes between Brunson and Vassell. The Knicks call timeout and are infuriated that no foul was called on Wembanyama for a landing area foul. Brunson is a tad shaken up but gets up fairly quickly to argue the call. (62-53 SAS)
5:40—Wembanyama hits another double (59-50 SAS)
6:18—Harper hits a jumper out of the timeout (57-50 SAS)
6:31—Anunoby scores on a coast-to-cast drive, cutting the lead to five. Timeout Spurs (55-50 SAS)
7:14—With a small lineup in, Brunson drives for the two, his second in a row (55-48 SAS)
7:42—Harper returns and scores on a driving double (55-46 SAS)
7:48—Anunoby is charged for his third foul on Wembanyama.
8:36—The Spurs briefly push it to a dozen again but Bridges gets a three to fall (53-44 SAS)
9:29—Champagnie hits a three on the extra possession (51-41 SAS)
9:42—Brunson hits a double which Wembanyama responds to with a dunk a few possessions later. Wembanyama is fouled by Robinson with a push to the back and it's being checked for a flagrant. It's upgraded to flagrant one. Wembanyama hits the latter of a "two to make one" situation. Spurs maintain possession. (48-41 SAS)
10:41—Champagnie three doubles the lead in the corner (45-39 SAS)
10:56—A Brunson drive cuts the lead to one possession (42-39 SAS)
11:16—Castle pushes off on offense and picks up his second foul
11:45—Towns picks up his fourth foul for grabbing Wembanyama. Robinson checks in for him.
Halftime Leaders
Knicks (37)
POINTS: Jalen Brunson (16)
ASSISTS: Mikal Bridges (2)
REBOUNDS: Karl-Anthony Towns (8)
Spurs (42)
POINTS: Dylan Harper (11)
ASSISTS: Victor Wembanyama (2)
REBOUNDS: Victor Wembanyama (9)
2nd Quarter: Spurs 42, Knicks 37
0.0—Vassell sinks a driving two at the buzzer, putting the Spurs up five at the break. (42-37 SAS)
1:09—The Knicks capitalize on the extra possession, as Bridges drives for two. (40-37 SAS)
1:18—Following an Anunoby steal, Fox fouls Hart, pushing him in the back. Hart hits the shot on the shove and officials review it for a flagrant. It's upgraded to another flagrant one. He hits the flagrant free throw and the Knicks retain possession. (40-34 SAS)
2:34—Towns is charged with his third foul, one that will send Stephon Castle to the line. Towns sits with the fouls, Castle hits two. (40-32 SAS)
2:45—A Bridges three slices it to six (38-32 SAS)
3:15—Brunson goes to the line for two after a Wembanyama foul, his third. He hits one (38-29 SAS)
4:07—Following an exchange of doubles between Devin Vassell (earned via goaltending) and Brunson another Brunson three cuts it to seven. Another Knick run in progress, this one at 10-2 (35-28 SAS)
5:29—Just as Wembanyama enters the game, Brunson sinks another three to lower the gap to nine. He's 3-of-3 from deep. (33-24 SAS)
6:21—Knicks find some traction from three as Josh Hart sinks one at the top of the key (33-21 SAS)
6:42—Harper reaches double-figures with a jumper from the foul line (33-18 SAS)
7:42—The Knicks get a stop following the foul change and Mikal Bridges gets a three in the corner (31-18 SAS)
8:19—Wembanyama hooks Towns and is charged with his second foul. Timeout on the floor. Spurs are challenging. The call is overturned to an offensive foul, Towns' second. He remains in the game.
8:29—Wembanyama hits another three to increase the lead. (31-15 SAS)
9:03—Towns beats the fadeaway to beat the shot clock, ending the Knick drought (28-15 SAS)
9:29—Harper drives and draws a foul on Anunoby. He hits two. (28-13 SAS)
10:59—After yet another Wembanyama block, Champagnie responds with a three in the corner to open second period points (26-13 SAS)
1st Quarter: Spurs 23, Knicks 13
22.5—Champagnie hits a three to close scoring in the opening period. Jose Alvarado misses a three for the Knicks on the other end to close things out (23-13 SAS)
1:00—Brunson opens the final minute with a three (20-13 SAS)
1:24—De'Aaron Fox gets on the board after his Game 7 gaffe via foul line jumper (20-10 SAS)
1:40—Timeout on the floor after Luke Kornet fouls Mitchell Robinson going up. He misses both.
2:15—Brunson hits a fadeaway to stop the bleeding (18-10 SAS)
3:03—Johnson hits a three from the corner to give the Spurs yet another double-figure lead. They've led by at least 10 in all five games of the series to date. (18-8 SAS)
4:42—Harper hits an acrobatic double, pushes the lead to seven (15-8 SAS)
5:27—Out of the timeout, the Spurs get a stop and Harper gets a driving two (13-8 SAS)
5:51—Timeout on the floor as a tieup for the rebound goes in the Knicks' favor.
6:21—Anunoby in the corner sinks a three (11-8 SAS)
6:40—Harper sinks a three at the top of the key (11-5 SAS)
7:15—Wembanyama's putback increases the lead. (8-5 SAS)
7:49—Wembanyama is fouled by Towns on a shot attempt. He hits both. Dylan Harper and Keldon Johnson check in for the Spurs. (6-5 SAS)
8:08—The Spurs can't capitalize on another Wembanyama block and Anunoby but Champagnie fouls Anunoby on a dunk attempt. He hits both free throws. (5-4 NYK)
8:45—Following another Wembanyama rejection, Julian Champagnie hits a two to give the Spurs the lead back (4-3 SAS)
9:31—Jalen Brunson sinks a three for the Knicks' first points and the lead (3-2 NYK)
9:49—Wembanyama finally breaks the cover off the net with a dunk after a rejection (2-0 SAS)
10:06—Wembanyama now charged with a loose ball foul, his first.
10:16—Following an exchange of misses and turnovers, Castle is charged with a loose-ball foul
12:00—Karl-Anthony Towns wins the tip from Victor Wembanyama and the game is underway.
Pregame
WHAT: NBA Finals Game 5
WHO: (2) New York Knicks at (3) San Antonio Spurs (NYK leads series 3-1)
WHERE: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TX
WHEN: Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC
WAGER: SAS —5.5 (o/u: 216.5)
Starting Lineups
SPURS: Stephon Castle, Julian Champagnie, De'Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell, Victor Wembanyama
KNICKS: OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Karl-Anthony Towns
Injuries
SPURS: Luke Kornet (illness, AVAILABLE)
KNICKS: Mitchell Robinson (hand, AVAILABLE)
Officials
James Capers, Tyler Ford, Scott Foster
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
