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By Megan Armstrong
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New York Knicks All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson limped toward the locker room in the first quarter of Game 1, and the 2026 NBA Finals suddenly hinged upon the health of his knee.
Brunson eventually returned to the game and tormented the San Antonio Spurs down the stretch, powering the Knicks to a 14-point second-half comeback to steal Game 1 by a score of 105-95 in San Antonio. Brunson scored 13 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter.
There are plenty of statistics that illustrate Brunson's clutch gene and how much he elevates in the playoffs. For one, Brunson has shot 44.8% from the field in Quarters 1-3 this postseason. That number has ratcheted up to 58.7% in the fourth quarter and overtime. The difference of 13.9%, which is the third-biggest increase among NBA players with at least 250 field goal attempts in the past 30 years, per FS1's "First Things First."
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But Knicks legend Walt "Clyde" Frazier had a more succinct encapsulation of what makes Brunson so special.
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"He's got the tenacity of Willis Reed and he's got my cool," Frazier said, per The Athletic's Ian O'Connor.
For the record, Brunson's 30 points in his Finals debut were the most by a Knicks player since Willis Reed's 37 points in the 1970 NBA Finals, per Keerthika Uthayakumar.
Brunson and the Knicks have now won 12 straight games, but as magical as it's been for Knicks fans to witness their team reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, the job isn't finished. These Knicks are vying for the franchise's first championship since Hall of Famers Frazier and Reed won two championships in New York in 1970 and 1973.
The Knicks and Spurs will reconvene for Game 2 at San Antonio's Frost Bank Center on Friday night. The game will air on ABC, beginning at 8:30 p.m. EST.
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