LAS VEGAS — “I have this dope a** shirt on with the words Knicks and champions.”
Karl-Anthony Towns wore a big smile while talking about that shirt. Maybe this one is not the championship that’s going to bring a ticker tape parade to Manhattan, but it’s something for a franchise that hasn’t won a title in more than 50 years. More importantly, the Knicks displayed the kind of grit and depth needed on a big stage that they will have to show in May and June if they want to do something that could bring a parade.
The New York Knicks are the NBA Cup champions, coming from behind with a 35-19 fourth quarter fueled by their bench and knocking off the San Antonio Spurs 124-113.
The @nyknicks are the 2025 @emirates NBA Cup Champions! 🏆
— NBA (@NBA) December 17, 2025
OG Anunoby: 28 PTS, 9 REB, 5 3PM
Jalen Brunson: 25 PTS, 8 AST
Karl-Anthony Towns: 16 PTS, 11 REB, 2 STL
Jordan Clarkson: 15 PTS, 3 3PM
Tyler Kolek: 14 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST
Mitchell Robinson: 15 REB, 2 BLK pic.twitter.com/Yxq8mFHMjE
Brunson had 25 points and eight assists in the championship game, averaged 34 points a game through the entire NBA Cup and was named tournament MVP in a nearly unanimous vote. He epitomized the grit and attitude the Knicks needed in this game and will need down the line.
“We’re going to find a way. We’re going to fight,” Brunson said. “We’re not going to quit. We’re going to go out there and do what we got to do.”
It was this team’s depth that was the biggest difference.
“Jordan Clarkson going in and contribute the way he did, especially when we’re struggling to score, and then defensively coming up with some huge deflections on the defensive end of the floor,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “Mitchell Robinson, he had 10 offensive rebounds — 10 offensive rebounds in 18 minutes. That’s unbelievable…
“Tyler Kolek, we were struggling to score. We know that [the Spurs], they’re going to collapse their defense when you touch the paint. We told our guys, keep touching the paint, try to spray it. Keep touching the paint, try to spray it. And Tyler came in, and he paired with Jalen [Brunson] and just did a heck of a job touching the paint and spraying the basketball for us while hitting some timely threes. And then defensively, he was awesome.”
This was a game where the Spurs’ inexperience showed in the end, because for much of the night they were the better team. De’Aaron Fox finished with 16 points and nine assists, but also had five turnovers. Dylan Harper scored 21 points off the bench to lead San Antonio. Victor Wembanyama had 18 points and six rebounds on the night, but was not impacting the game the way he did against the Thunder.
The first quarter was even, with the Spurs up 30-28 after one. OG Anunoby and Brunson accounted for 19 of the Knicks points, but the more concerning trend for New York was the way De’Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell and Dylan Harper were getting into the paint on drives.
That trend continued throughout the first half. The Spurs were getting better looks — 30 of their first 37 shots were within four feet of the rim or from 3, they were 13-of-17 at the rim plus drew six fouls — but they shot just 6-of-20 (30%) from beyond the arc in the first half. New York was dominating the midrange, and that plus 20 from OG Anunoby in the first 24 minutes kept the Knicks within two at the half, 61-59.
It seemed like a good sign for the Spurs that they were up two at the half and Wembanyama had just four points and was -7 — he was not impacting the game the way we had seen in the past. That changed for a stretch in the third as Wembanyama scored 10 in a row and 12 in the frame.
WEMBY REVERSE SLAM ‼️
— NBA (@NBA) December 17, 2025
Never even turned to look at the basket 😮💨
SAS leads NYK in the 3Q of the @emirates NBA Cup Championship on Prime! Watch here: https://t.co/iOJEBfh901 pic.twitter.com/AtCSQDzudd
Still, the third quarter followed the pattern of the first two: It felt like the Spurs were playing better basketball, they were getting to the paint, getting better shots, and yet the Knicks were hanging around and were down just five, 94-89, after three.
Between the end of the third and the start of the fourth, the Knicks went on a 16-2 run and took the lead on back-to-back Clarkson 3-pointers.
From there, the Knicks’ grit showed through, and they are champions for it. Now they just want to build on that.
