For most of Game 1 of the NBA Finals, it didn’t look like Jalen Brunson was engineering anything close to a signature performance.
He started 1-of-8 from the field, a rut that extended to 5-of-18.
He finished 12-of-31.
Between all of the misses, Brunson endured a pair of injury scares, including one that briefly sent him to the locker room.
But Brunson lifted the Knicks when they needed him most, delivering a huge fourth quarter — including the game-winning shot — in Wednesday night’s 105-95 victory over the San Antonio Spurs at the Frost Bank Center.
“He did what MVP candidates are supposed to do,” head coach Mike Brown said. “He carried us home.”
Brunson’s go-ahead 3-pointer came with 1:50 left in the fourth quarter, snapping a 9-0 Spurs run.
With Knicks trailing, 95-94, OG Anunoby missed an open 3-pointer. The ball caromed high off the rim, and San Antonio’s Devin Vassell leapt to catch it.
But Brunson, who is three inches shorter than Vassell, got a hand on the ball, directing the long rebound to Mikal Bridges.
Bridges then passed to Brunson, who knocked down the corner 3-pointer, putting the Knicks up, 97-95.
They never relinquished that lead.
“It starts with my confidence. It comes with my work ethic,” Brunson said of shaking off his cold start. “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.”
Brunson delivered the dagger a little over a minute later. With Vassell all over him, Brunson pump faked, leaned in and sank an off-balance jumper near the elbow, putting the Knicks up by six.
Brunson scored 13 of his game-high 30 points in the fourth quarter, shooting 5-of-9 in the period.
“We continue to find a way and just keep chipping away,” Brunson said. “We knew one play was not going to bring us all the way back, but we just kept chipping away.”
The late-game heroics followed an uncharacteristically rough start by Brunson, who was primarily guarded by the Spurs’ second-year defensive stopper, Stephon Castle.
After drilling a 3-pointer on the Knicks’ opening possession, Brunson missed his next six shots.
It got worse when, with 2:03 left in the first quarter, Landry Shamet collided with the Spurs’ Harrison Barnes, sending Barnes backward into Brunson’s right knee.
The crash left Brunson in visible discomfort, and two possessions later, he subbed out and went to the locker room.
Brunson checked back in about four minutes into the second quarter, but that wasn’t the end of his injury concerns.
Midway through the quarter, Brunson turned his left ankle as landed after a floater. Spurs center Luke Kornet then stepped on Brunson’s ankle, leaving the latter shouting in pain.
Brunson remained animated going into a timeout, contending to referee Scott Foster that he was fouled on the play.
With Castle on the bench, Brunson found a rhythm after the timeout. He went right at rookie Carter Bryant, scoring on three straight possessions, all in the paint, while shot-blocking Spurs center Victor Wembanyama also received a rest.
“Jalen came back, tough as nails, and to me, he didn’t seem like it had any effect afterwards,” Brown said.
“He didn’t look like it was bothering him down the stretch, and so I think he’s OK.”
Brunson shot just 5-of-15 in the first half, and he was a -11 as the Knicks trailed, 55-48. The cold shooting continued into the second half, as Brunson was 5-of-18 by the time the Knicks fell behind, 65-51.
But Brunson scored six points in the final five minutes of the third quarter, helping the Knicks unleash a 25-11 run and tie the game, 76-76, going into the fourth.
Brunson — the 2025 NBA Clutch Player of the Year — then played the role of closer, including with a personal 8-0 run that turned a tie game into a 94-86 Knicks lead.
“He’s an elite player,” Wembanyama said. “We got the chance [and] we’re going to have many more chances. It’s the first-to-four series. We’re going to have time to work on it.”
Brunson averaged 26.9 points on 48.6% shooting and 6.6 assists per game through the first three rounds of the playoffs.
However, the 6-2 guard had not faced a defender like the 6-6 Castle, whose mix of length, athleticism and energy has turned him into one of the NBA’s fastest-rising two-way stars.
Over three meetings during the season, Castle held Brunson to 3-of-11 (27.3%) shooting.
It was clear Castle would receive the Brunson assignment after he limited Oklahoma City’s Shai-Gilgeous Alexander — the back-to-back NBA MVP — to 45.5% shooting in the Western Conference Finals.
Brunson was even less efficient than that Wednesday, shooting 38.7% from the field, including 2-of-9 on 3-pointers, with four turnovers and two assists. He attempted only four free throws, making them all.
“He made some tough shots late,” Castle said. “I feel like a lot of his buckets were loud because they were back-to-back. The shots he did get to go were consecutive, so it hurt a little bit more. But looking at the box score, looking back on it, I think we did a pretty good job on him.”
But Brunson’s first-ever Finals game will be remembered for much more than the stat line.
“With the ball in his hands,” Karl-Anthony Towns said, “I’m never surprised.”
