NBA Finals Picks 6/5 – Knicks @ Spurs Game 2

by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com

The NBA Finals continue tonight with Game Two between the New York Knicks (53-29 in the regular season) and the host San Antonio Spurs (62-20) at Frost Bank Center on ABC. New York leads 1-0 after picking up a 105-95 victory in Game One on Wednesday night. The Knicks have now won 12 straight playoff games. Their last loss was on April 23 at Atlanta. It was also New York’s first road win in the NBA Finals since June 10, 1994 (32 years ago) when they defeated the Houston Rockets 91-83 to even that series at one. 

San Antonio is a 6-point favorite and 214.5. 

PRE-FINALS STORYLINES

Both teams entered the NBA Finals on extreme highs. The Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks were riding an 11-game winning streak prior to Game One, while the upstart San Antonio Spurs eliminated the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder — who finished with a league-best 64-18 regular season record — in Game Seven on the road in the Western Conference Finals. 

Despite New York’s historic and dominant 11-game winning streak where their average margin of victory was 23.8 points, some questioned the level of competition they faced in the Eastern Conference. There was a belief that the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs were a lot better than the three Eastern Conference teams (Atlanta, Philadelphia, Cleveland) that New York pummeled en route to the NBA Finals.

San Antonio became the second-youngest team to make the NBA Finals with an average age of 25.06 years. They only trail the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers (24.55 years) who defeated the Philadelphia 76ers to win the title.

The 2026 NBA Finals will be the second time that New York and San Antonio compete for a championship this season. The teams met in the finals of the NBA Emirates Cup In-Season Tournament on December 16 in Las Vegas. New York beat San Antonio 124-113 and hoisted the Emirates Cup trophy in an on-court ceremony after the game.

The 2026 NBA Finals are also an NBA Finals rematch as the Knicks and Spurs met in the 1999 NBA Finals with the Spurs dispatching the Knicks in 5 games. The 1999 matchup was a lot more lopsided due to the fact that San Antonio registered the NBA’s best record (37-13) during strike-shortened 1998-99 season, while the Knicks squeaked into the playoffs as the eighth-seed (27-23) and made a miraculous run to the NBA Finals.

San Antonio closed as a (-190) favorite to win the series, while New York was a (+158) favorite to win the series. 

GAME ONE RECAP

The NBA Finals opener produced a physical, hard-fought battle with New York coming out on top 105-95. The Knicks closed the game on an 11-0 run to upset the Spurs. Jalen Brunson’s customary late-game heroics lifted the Knicks to victory yet again. The Knicks became the first team to defeat the Spurs in Game One of an NBA Finals series. San Antonio had been 5-0 before Wednesday night’s loss.

The game got off to an ominous start for New York when Jalen Brunson exited the game with a right knee injury after Spurs forward Harrison Barnes fell to the floor and bumped into his knee with 2:03 left in the first quarter. The visual of Brunson heading to the locker room with trainers likely startled every Knicks fan. But Brunson returned to the bench at the beginning of the second quarter. 

San Antonio led 27-19 after one quarter of action. Jalen Brunson checked into the game midway through the second quarter and proceeded to score 8 points in the quarter. The Knicks outscored San Antonio 29-28 in the second frame and trailed 55-48 at the half. The Spurs stretched their lead to 14 (65-51) with 6:31 left in the third quarter. New York then closed the quarter on a 25-11 run to tie the game at 76 heading into the fourth quarter.

The fourth quarter saw both teams exchange runs with the Knicks going on a final run that put away the Spurs. New York’s 8-0 run midway through the fourth quarter gave them a 94-86 lead with 6:07 remaining in regulation. San Antonio responded with a 9-0 run to take a 95-94 lead with 2:16 left in the game. New York then ended the game on an 11-0 run to win by 10.

Jalen Brunson scored 5 of New York’s final 11 points, he knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer that gave New York the lead for good at 97-95 with 1:50 left in the fourth quarter. Brunson also hit a clutch pull-up jumper over San Antonio’s star defender Stephon Castle which extended New York’s lead to 101-95 with 37.8 seconds left in regulation. OG Anunoby sunk 4 free throws to end the game.

Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 30 points (12-31 FG, 2-9 3Pt, 4-4 FT) for New York in the victory. Brunson poured in 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, demonstrating his clutchness yet again. Karl-Anthony Towns added 18 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and a block, while Josh Hart provided 3 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. The versatile, jack-of-all trades swingman Hart led the Knicks in rebounds, assists and steals.

Jalen Brunson became the second Knick player to score at least 30 points in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. He joins Willis Reed, who amassed 37 points in Game 1 of the 1970 NBA Finals.

Victor Wembanyama finished with team-highs of 26 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks for San Antonio, but shot just 6-for-21 from the floor and committed a game-high 6 turnovers. New York’s strategy of constantly bumping and pushing Wembanayma got him off balance, which caused him to take careless shots and commit sloppy turnovers. 

San Antonio’s 95 points in Game 1 were their lowest total since March 1, when these same New York Knicks crushed them by a score of 114-89 at Madison Square Garden. Have the Knicks figured out how to shut down Victor Wembanyama and San Antonio’s high-powered offense? Or is this a two-game anomaly? 

THE PICK: SPURS (-6)

San Antonio has not lost back-to-back games since January 11 and 13 at Minnesota (104-103) and at Oklahoma City (119-98). I expect a big bounce-back performance tonight from San Antonio. Lay the Points and take the Spurs!