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TWELVE. STRAIGHT. WINS.

🎉 Happy birthday to Royce O’Neale, “Big Z” Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Ed Davis! 🎉

As we approached another highly anticipated NBA Finals, Game 1 felt like anyone’s to take. 

The Knicks decided it was theirs.

New York stole home-court advantage from the Spurs with a 105-95 win at Frost Bank Center, extending their playoff win streak to twelve straight games.

The Spurs set the tone early. Dylan Harper came out hot, scoring 10 of his 16 PTS off the bench in the first quarter. Jalen Brunson, meanwhile, headed to the locker room with early knee and ankle injuries. 

However, in what can only be described as a Willis Reed impersonation, Brunson returned to the game, and the Knicks managed to keep the game tight heading into the fourth.

With the Spurs up 95-94 with 2:16 left, the Knicks closed the game on an 11-0 run, led by its No. 11. After struggling from the field all game (12/31 FG), Brunson emptied the clip in the fourth quarter and scored 13 of his 30 PTS, making even the toughest buckets look effortless.

KAT played a stellar defensive game on Wemby and looked like a menace driving to the bucket, finishing the night with 18 PTS and 12 REB. OG Anunoby (17 PTS, 3-3PM) continued his two-way brilliance. He’s now sitting at a scorching 48.4% from three this playoff run. 🔥🏹

And of course, it wouldn’t be a complete Knicks win without Josh Hart (3 PTS, 15 REB, 6 AST, 4 STL) doing it all… except putting the ball in the bucket. Hart led both teams outright in REB, AST, and STL in Game 1, becoming the first person to do so in Finals history.

The Knicks are now three wins away from their first championship since the Nixon administration. But Wemby and the Spurs won’t go out lightly.

This series marks the first-ever Game 1 loss in the Spurs’ NBA Finals history (previously 6-0). Wembanyama (26 PTS, 12 REB, 3 BLK) struggled from the field, going 6-for-21. New York made the Spurs pay while Wemby was off the court, with Luke Kornet finishing -7 in 10 MIN while picking up 3 PF. Julian Champagnie was a bright spot for San Antonio, as he drilled 5 threes and grabbed 10 REB. De’Aaron Fox (3/13 FG) will look to bounce back as well after a tough night from the field.

Health will be another major storyline moving forward. Wemby was seen hobbling to the bench in the third quarter after a tie-up with Josh Hart. Brunson’s early scare is worth monitoring, while Mitchell Robinson played Game 1 with a broken fifth metacarpal bone.

The Knicks had eight days of rest entering the series, and while the Spurs may still be feeling some of the effects of a gruelling WCF battle with OKC. As the second-youngest team in NBA Finals history, they’ll hope that young legs can prevail.

Lock in, Enjoyers. Game 2 is tonight, and we’ll be on the edge of our seats to see if the Spurs can respond.

The Knicks have not lost a basketball game since April 23rd.

With twelve-straight wins (or winhausens) in this year’s playoffs, Mike Brown’s team is putting itself in some very elite company ⬇️

Earlier this week, the WNBA tipped off its in-season tournament, the Commissioner’s Cup.

Throughout June, teams will play in six or seven designated Cup games that also count toward the regular season standings. The team with the best Cup record in each conference advances to the Commissioner’s Cup Championship on June 30, where players will compete for the Commissioner’s Cup Trophy (one of the better looking trophies in sports) and a $500,000 prize pool.

Some highlights so far:

In the six-year history of the Cup, no team has ever won it twice. We’ll be keeping a close eye on the Fever to see if back-to-back can happen. Their next game will be a Cup Finals rematch against the Aces on Saturday.

One of the dopest parts of the Cup is that each team selects a local not-for-profit to play for throughout the tournament. After each Cup game, the winning team earns a $3K donation for its not-for-profit, while the losing team gets $1K. At the end of the Cup, the champion’s not-for-profit receives an additional $10K cheque, while the runner-up’s not-for-profit receives $5K.

Bill Walton and the Trail Blazers win Portland’s first NBA Championship in Game 6 vs Dr. J and the Philadelphia 76ers, 109-107.

June 5, 1977 - The Portland Trail Blazers made history on this day 49 years ago. The youngest team to ever make the Finals became the youngest team (average age 25.0 years old) to ever win the championship!

In a series that saw punches fly early (even some friendly fire), Julius Erving and the Sixers opened up a 2-0 series lead on Portland. The Blazers responded with back-to-back blowouts in Games 3 and 4, and claimed a tight win in Game 5 in Philly to set up the clincher in Portland.

Before Game 6, the NBA and CBS had beef over the broadcast window to air the game. CBS wanted to air the game at 10:30 a.m. to make room for the (now defunct) Kemper Open golf tournament. The game eventually tipped off at noon but CBS cut the entire trophy celebration from the broadcast, leaving no known footage of Portland’s first championship coronation behind to this day.

The last play of the game saw Sixers star George McGinnis miss a mid-range jumper that would have tied the game. Then, from a sea of bodies, Bill Walton swatted the rebound towards mid-court as time expired, claiming the Blazers’ first and only chip in franchise history.

Walton put in an all-time Finals performance with 20 PTS, 23 REB, 7 AST and 8 BLK, walking home with the Finals MVP. The very next season, he added the NBA’s regular-season MVP to his trophy case.

Walton, who passed away in 2024, lived a fascinating life both on and off the court. ESPN chronicled this in a 30 for 30 titled “The Luckiest Guy in the World”. If you’re looking for something to watch while you wait for Game 2, get to know more about Walton’s dominance at UCLA, political activism, and deep love of the Grateful Dead.

Thanks for spending part of your Friday with us! We’ll be back on Monday to chat about Game 2. In the meantime, box out and call out screens. It’ll save friendships.

Brian Shkabari