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Legend of Jalen Brunson grows as he takes over in fourth, lifts Knicks to first Finals win in 27 years

· Yahoo Sports

SAN ANTONIO — This is how legends are made.

In the first quarter, Jalen Brunson pulled himself out of the game and limped back to the locker room. Spurs wing Harrison Barnes fell into his knee after a collision with Landry Shamet, and while Brunson tried to stay in the game, he was clearly dealing with something. New York was down 10 when he hobbled off the court and it felt like things could go sideways for New York.

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Instead, Game 1 of the NBA Finals will be remembered as the game where the legend of Jalen Brunson grew to almost mythical status.

"He's a gamer, man," Knicks coach Mike Brown said. "In the biggest moments, he shows up, and that's what MVPs are supposed to do. We put the ball in his hands and said we are going to live and die with him. And he got it done for us, and that's happened time after time after time."

Brunson returned to the court in the second quarter — and stayed in the game after Luke Kornet stepped on his ankle — then took over with 13 points in the fourth quarter, including some epic plays.

"With the ball in his hands, I'm never surprised," Karl-Anthony Towns said of Brunson. "I tell you, that last shot, I think it was a shoot floater, that was nasty. I ain't going to lie. "

"I think it starts with my confidence. It comes with my work ethic," Brunson said of his career of making clutch plays. "I think most importantly, knowing we're on the road, and knowing my teammates have my back, I think that's the biggest thing in an environment like this. The trust they have in me and the trust I have in them, it's got us to this point."

They put their trust in the right place.

Team win for New York

Those teammates gave Brunson plenty of help.

That started with Karl-Anthony Towns — his play in the first three quarters kept this game close for the Knicks. He finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, but that doesn't tell the real story — he stood toe-to-toe with Wemby and held his own on both ends of the court.

In more than eight minutes of game time with KAT as the primary defender, Wembanyama shot 2-of-10 from the floor (based on NBA tracking stats). Towns also went at Wembanyama on the offensive end.

"I try to be aggressive in playmaking," Towns said, as he again served as a hub of the Knicks' offense for much of the night. "Early in the game, you never know what the defense is going to give you. You don't know what is going to unfold but I just wanted to be aggressive, especially early in the game, Game 1 in the NBA Finals, and trying to bring that energy for our team."

Then there was OG Anunoby, who has a championship ring from his time with the Raptors and showed that experience with 12 points in the fourth quarter, including a clutch 3-pointer over Wembanyama.

It was a night when the healthy number of Knicks fans in the building grew louder and louder late, as New York went on an 11-0 run to close out the game — this Knicks team is their team. The Knicks players feed off that, especially in their comebacks. The Knicks came back from 22 down in the fourth quarter to beat the Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and they came from 14 down in the third quarter against the 62-win Spurs.

"It's something in the city. You feel that energy in the city, the grit, the grind, the hard work you've got to put in to make it in the city," Towns said of where the team's comeback energy comes from. "I think we reflect all our fans and lifestyles and what it takes to make it in New York City when we step on the court with a Knicks jersey."

Those fans will be back in Game 2, and the Spurs are going to have to find a way not just to grab the lead but also hold on to it, something no team has done for a dozen games.

Bottom line: San Antonio has to find a way to keep the legend of Jalen Brunson from growing any larger.

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