What the Knicks Proved to Rich in Their NBA Finals Game 1 Road Win over Wembanyama’s Spurs

Rich opened the show in the wayback machine, because the Knicks had just done something they had not done in a generation. Their Game 1 road win over the Spurs was their first NBA Finals victory away from home since June 10, 1994, against Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets, back when Patrick Ewing, John Starks and an Armani-clad Pat Riley roamed the Garden. Win their first Finals road game of a series? That had not happened since Willis Reed dropped 38 on Wilt Chamberlain in 1970. Open a Finals on the road with a win? Not since 1953, against George Mikan's Minneapolis Lakers. No wonder Knicks fans are out of their minds.

It nearly did not happen. Jalen Brunson took a Harrison Barnes collision to the knee, courtesy of a Landry Shamet screen, and disappeared into the locker room. He later tweaked an ankle when Luke Kornet stepped on it, the same kind of injury that doomed New York against the Pacers a year ago. The Spurs led by 14 in the third quarter while Julian Champagnie rained threes.

Then the second half flipped. The Knicks defense arrived, and Brunson went to the rescue with 30 points, 13 in the fourth. After San Antonio surged ahead late, Brunson snapped a Knicks scoring drought with a corner three and New York closed on an 11-0 run to steal the opener and a 1-0 lead.

What impressed Rich most was the defense. As the primary defender, per ESPN, Brunson held the Spurs to one-of-14 from the floor and zero-for-eight from three, two-way stardom on the league's biggest stage. Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson harassed Victor Wembanyama into a career-high six turnovers and 15 misses, reducing him to what Rich called a free-throw merchant: 12-of-13 from the line, six-of-21 from the floor. The Knicks won the paint 50-42 and second-chance points 23-4, and held San Antonio to 16 assists, its fewest in any game since 2022.

The leadership behind it came from an assistant coach. Mike Brown admitted his team lost its composure barking at officials in the first half, until Rick Brunson, Jalen's father, told everyone to be quiet and leave the refs alone, refocusing their energy for the second half.

Brunson, for his part, credited trust. His clutch gene, he said, starts with confidence and work ethic, but matters most on the road, when he knows his teammates have his back. He is now, by Rich's estimation, three wins from a statue.

The most remarkable part may be that the Spurs lost despite Wembanyama posting a stat line for the ages. Even on what he called an off night, he finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. Since blocks became official in 1974, only three other players have produced that line in their first Finals game: Shaq, Olajuwon and Elvin Hayes.

Wembanyama himself shrugged it off with the confidence Rich has praised for weeks. He does not feel he has much to fix, he said, only to play normal rather than great, because the Spurs mostly beat themselves. He is not worried, and promised both his team and himself will be much better.

The catch, Rich noted, is that the same logic cuts both ways. The Knicks will be better too, without the foul trouble and the injuries and Champagnie's unrepeatable first half. This, he reiterated, is the best Knicks team he has seen in his 57 years, and they just cracked the code on the road.