Spurs' Late Game 5 Blunders Proved Pivotal to Knicks Winning Title

A few miscues by the Spurs in Game 5 proved pivotal for the Knicks. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Knicks captured their first title in over 50 years Saturday night by winning Game 5 over the Spurs. This victory did not come easily, as New York faced offensive struggles, as well as foul troubles and another San Antonio-friendly whistle.

To overcome these dire circumstances, Mike Brown needed a few breaks. He got the most essential one in Jalen Brunson putting up one of the best title-clinching performances ever.

But he also received some help from his counterpart on the Spurs' bench, Mitch Johnson.

Knicks capitalized on Spurs' mistakes late in Game 5 to win title

After San Antonio pulled ahead 83-73 with just over eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, many might've counted Brunson and co. out. But the Knicks did what they do best: fight their way back into the game.

This all started with OG Anunoby stealing a pass from Julian Champagnie, which then turned into two made free throws by Brunson. The next Spurs possession, Victor Wembanyama was forced into a fadeaway jumpshot that he missed, and Brunson got another two points on the other end.

A missed pull-up by Stephon Castle, and a loose ball foul by Wembanyama, only added to San Antonio's unraveling. These were all either avoidable mistakes that turned the ball over, or higher-difficulty shots than ones at the rim, which would've been a better avenue to keeping New York at arm's length.

When the game became 83-81 with around five minutes left, Johnson decided to sub out Wembanyama in favor backup Luke Kornet, who was on the injury report ahead of this contest with an illness.

Wemby's presence down low defensively proved to be a major obstacle throughout Game 5, but without him on the floor, Brunson was able to score right near the rim and tie things up at 83. It was just one bucket, but it also capped another Knicks comeback after being down 10, and it notably occurred where Wembanyama operates best.

There's also the fact the Spurs leaned on De'Aaron Fox late in Game 5, despite his dreadful showing on Saturday. Overall, the veteran finished an ugly 3-of-15 from the field and 1-of-8 from three with just seven points. Yet, they had multiple possessions with him as the centerpiece down the stretch.

This included a missed pull-up with 5:32 left in the fourth when the team was trying to maintain its slim 83-80 lead. Then the next possession, he again was the one taking the shot—notably right after Wembanyama had subbed out for Kornet—and missed an even longer two-pointer.

He was shooting again with 3:24 left and the Spurs now trailing 86-85, but that also ended in a long two being off the mark. And to top things off, he missed a crucial three-point attempt at the 54.3 mark with San Antonio down 90-88.

Mitch Johnson:

"I don't get into social media. I think I've probably been fired 212 times, and we've traded Fox 72 times ... People have their opinions. I don't care ... De'Aaron Fox will have the basketball in his hands at the end of the game tomorrow."pic.twitter.com/CrR5TshJaU

— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) June 12, 2026

Johnson said after Fox's Game 4 blunder that he'd go right back to the vet, and while he was true to his word, he was better off breaking that promise. This is just another case of the Spurs seeming immune to needing to change this series, which put them in a 3-1 hole in the first place.

All of this isn't even to mention the fact that San Antonio didn't exploit the Hack-a-Mitch strategy to close the fourth quarter. Mitchell Robinson was forced to take the floor multiple times in the fourt with Karl-Anthony Towns being in foul trouble and eventually fouling out, but the Spurs didn't target New York's free throw-adverse backup once.

This kept his confidence high, and that surely made a difference, as Robinson grabbed two huge boards in the final period, including the offensive rebound with 22.2 left that effectively sealed the title.

On a night where a ton went wrong and things were ugly, the Knicks had to come out a little lucky in some unexpected places to claim the title. San Antonio's slip-ups opened up the window New York needed, and the players pounced on that opportunity to become champions.