{"id":5688,"date":"2025-12-17T07:56:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T07:56:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=5688"},"modified":"2025-12-17T07:56:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T07:56:47","slug":"knicks-rally-to-beat-spurs-win-first-nba-cup-final-basketball-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=5688","title":{"rendered":"Knicks rally to beat Spurs, win first NBA Cup final | Basketball News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>New York Knicks end their more-than-half-a-century trophy drought in the NBA with a victory over the San Antonio Spurs.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 17 Dec 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">17 Dec 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Forward Anunoby rattled in five three-pointers and point guard Jalen Brunson finished with 25 points as New York clinched their first silverware since the 1973 NBA Finals at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>San Antonio went into the final brimming with confidence after upsetting top seeds and reigning NBA champions Oklahoma City in Saturday\u2019s semifinals, thanks to a superb display from French prodigy Victor Wembanyama.<\/p>\n<p>But a dogged all-round performance from New York thwarted San Antonio\u2019s hopes of crowning their cup campaign with victory.<\/p>\n<p>The Knicks limited Wembanyama to 18 points while delivering a balanced offensive performance to pull clear in the fourth quarter after trailing by 11 points late in the third.<\/p>\n<p>Seven Knicks players finished in double figures, with Anunoby and Brunson backed by Karl-Anthony Towns (16 points), Jordan Clarkson (15), Tyler Kolek (14) and 11 points apiece from Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges.<\/p>\n<p>Mitchell Robertson provided a valuable defensive cameo from the bench, hauling in 15 rebounds with two blocks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOG Anunoby, Tyler Kolek, Jordan Clarkson, Mitchell Robertson \u2013 they played their as**s off tonight,\u201d said Brunson after being named the tournament\u2019s Most Valuable Player.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout them we don\u2019t win this,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cWe got down 10 or whatever it was and we found a way to win. That\u2019s going to be our motto going forward: We\u2019re going to find a way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>San Antonio had looked to be motoring towards victory when Wembanyama knocked down a 27-foot three-pointer with just more than two minutes left in the third period to put the Spurs up 92-81.<\/p>\n<p>But Clarkson and Kolek drained three-pointers to trim the Spurs lead to five points, and the Knicks then cut loose in the fourth quarter, outscoring their opponents 35-19 to seal the win.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4178880\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4178880\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-4178880\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AFP__20251217__2252287318__v2__HighRes__SanAntonioSpursVNewYorkKnicksEmiratesNbaCupC-1765953661.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C513&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"OG Anunoby in action.\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4178880\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">OG Anunoby (#8) led the Knicks with 28 points against the Spurs [Steve Marcus\/Getty Images via AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"last-one-standing\">Last one standing<\/h2>\n<p>Knicks head coach Mike Brown said winning the title augured well for the team\u2019s hopes of mounting a championship run at the NBA Finals in his first season in charge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny time you can participate in an event where you\u2019re the last one standing and you\u2019re able to hang up a banner, especially at iconic MSG (Madison Square Garden), you take that seriously,\u201d Brown said. \u201cAnd all of our guys took it seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>San Antonio\u2019s scoring was led by Dylan Harper with 21 off the bench, while De\u2019Aaron Fox was the pick of the starters with 16 points.<\/p>\n<p>Spurs coach Mitch Johnson blamed collective shortcomings for the defeat rather than Wembanyama\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we struggled more as a team\u2026 We gave up a lot of offensive rebounds, which hurt us getting out in transition,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we played with the appropriate space, but the right spacing and the right tempo, we got some really good looks. And we missed them. I think it was probably more of a team thing than I thought Victor was individually struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson, though, believes San Antonio have plenty to build on as they set about pursuing leaders Oklahoma City in the Western Conference.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPlaying really competitive games against really, really good teams,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cSeasoned, experienced teams that have been in similar situations. To be able to feel those games, work those games, be in the moment in those games, I think is a valuable experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4178883\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4178883\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-4178883\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AFP__20251217__2252293258__v2__HighRes__SanAntonioSpursVNewYorkKnicksEmiratesNbaCupC-1765953861.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C513&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama in action.\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4178883\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">San Antonio\u2019s Victor Wembanyama (#1) had 18 points in a losing effort [Ethan Miller\/Getty Images via AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New York Knicks end their more-than-half-a-century trophy drought in the NBA with a victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Published On 17 Dec 202517 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share OG Anunoby scored 28 points as the New York Knicks ended their 52-year trophy drought with a 124-113 NBA Cup [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-canada-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}