Lead
Late in the third quarter of the 2025 NBA Cup championship in Las Vegas, the young San Antonio Spurs built a double-digit lead and threatened to pull away. The New York Knicks’ bench shifted momentum: Jordan Clarkson, Tyler Kolek and Mitchell Robinson erased the deficit and set the tone for the fourth quarter. New York opened the final period strongly and outscored San Antonio 35-19 to secure a 124-113 victory. Jalen Brunson was named NBA Cup MVP after a 25-point, eight-rebound performance and credited the supporting cast for the title run.
Key takeaways
- The Knicks defeated the Spurs 124-113 to claim the 2025 NBA Cup in Las Vegas, their first trophy since the 1973 NBA title.
- Jalen Brunson was named Cup MVP with 25 points and eight rebounds; OG Anunoby led New York with 28 points.
- Bench trio Jordan Clarkson (15 points, three 3s), Tyler Kolek (15 points, five rebounds, five assists) and Mitchell Robinson (15 rebounds, 10 offensive) flipped the game late.
- Robinson grabbed four offensive rebounds in the first 90 seconds of the fourth quarter; two became Clarkson 3-pointers and the second Clarkson triple gave the Knicks the lead for good at 10:27 remaining.
- New York outscored San Antonio 35-19 in the fourth quarter to pull away decisively.
- Organizational change and roster moves — Mike Brown replacing Tom Thibodeau and additions like Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele — have expanded the Knicks’ depth this season.
- The Knicks’ bench scoring rose to 30.7 points per game (2025-26) from a league-worst 21.7 (2024-25), though the unit still ranks 28th by the provided metric.
- Oddsmakers list the Knicks as Eastern Conference favorites at +250 and with +1200 odds to win the NBA title, positioning them as a legitimate contender.
Background
New York entered the Cup after a high-profile offseason pivot: the organization dismissed Tom Thibodeau following a loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals and hired Mike Brown as head coach. Under Thibodeau, New York leaned heavily on starters; five players averaged at least 35 minutes per game last season, and the bench was the league’s weakest scoring unit at 21.7 points per game.
The Pacers series highlighted the cost of that imbalance. Across six playoff games, Indiana’s reserves combined for 210 points on 50.7 percent shooting while the Knicks’ bench managed 117 points at 38.5 percent. That disparity helped trigger the front office’s push for depth — moves that included signing veteran scorers and role players to supplement the core.
Mike Brown emphasized a different rotation strategy this season: Brunson is the only Knick averaging 35 minutes, while ten players are now logging at least 10 minutes per night. The club added Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele and briefly signed Malcolm Brogdon before his retirement; those moves were aimed at reducing starter minutes and building a more resilient bench for the long stretch of an NBA season.
Main event
The championship game in Las Vegas tilted toward San Antonio late in the third quarter when the Spurs, fueled by youth and pace, pushed into double digits. New York’s starters struggled to contain the surge, and the bench was called on to stem the tide. That unit responded emphatically — Kolek, Clarkson and Robinson combined to blunt San Antonio’s momentum and trim the deficit to five entering the fourth.
The fourth quarter opened with Robinson asserting himself on the offensive glass. He pulled down four offensive rebounds in the first 90 seconds, creating second-chance points and possessions. Two of those rebounds kicked into Clarkson triples; the second of those threes flipped the scoreboard at 10:27 remaining and swung momentum decisively to New York.
With the lead changed, the Knicks increased defensive intensity and capitalized in transition and in the paint. Anunoby supplied efficient scoring, finishing with 28 points, while Brunson managed tempo and produced 25 points with eight rebounds. New York steadily extended its advantage and closed the game on a 35-19 fourth-quarter run to secure the 124-113 victory.
Analysis & implications
The Cup title provides immediate evidence that the Knicks can find production beyond their top five. Clarkson’s three-point shooting, Kolek’s secondary playmaking and Robinson’s offensive rebounding offered a blueprint for how New York might manage starter minutes and sustain energy in late-game stretches. For a team that struggled with depth last season, those contributions are strategically meaningful.
That said, the Cup is not the same test as the regular season or playoff gauntlet. Spurs’ roster construction and the single-elimination feel of the Cup differ from a seven-game series where adjustments, health and sustained shooting variance matter more. New York’s bench displayed potential, but consistency across months — not one night in Vegas — will determine postseason success.
Health and durability remain clear question marks. Mitchell Robinson’s offensive rebounding is a tactical asset, but his free-throw limitations and injury history can be exploited in playoff settings. Jordan Clarkson provides instant offense but is a known streaky shooter. Tyler Kolek earned crucial minutes and looks promising as a complementary playmaker, but he is still relatively unproven in high-leverage playoff contexts.
Strategically, Mike Brown’s willingness to deploy depth more freely could pay dividends during a compressed schedule and the postseason. If the bench can reliably produce 25–30 points and maintain defensive standards, New York will be better positioned for a deep run. Conversely, if those units regress toward last season’s levels, heavy starter minutes and fatigue could re-emerge as limiting factors.
Comparison & data
| Season | Bench points per game | League rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 30.7 | 28th |
| 2024-25 | 21.7 | 30th |
The table shows a sharp year-over-year bump in bench scoring from 21.7 to 30.7 points per game, reflecting new rotations and personnel. For context, the Pacers’ bench outscored New York’s by a wide margin in last season’s Eastern Conference finals (210 points on 50.7 percent shooting across six games vs. the Knicks’ bench 117 points on 38.5 percent). That discrepancy was a proximate cause for roster changes and coaching turnover.
Reactions & quotes
“Our role players were the difference tonight,”
Jalen Brunson, NBA Cup MVP
Brunson stressed the collective nature of the win, singling out bench contributors for their late-game impact and framing resilience as a team motto going forward.
“Any time you can hang a banner in Madison Square Garden, you take it seriously,”
Mike Brown, Knicks head coach
Brown said the Cup mattered to the roster but emphasized that the organization measures success by longer-term goals — primarily an NBA championship in June.
“Those fourth-quarter rebounds and second-chance points were the turning point,”
Game analyst (postgame commentary)
Broadcast and league analysts highlighted Robinson’s offensive glass work as the decisive sequence that catalyzed New York’s comeback.
Unconfirmed
- Whether the bench performance in a single Cup final predicts sustained playoff-level reliability for the rest of the season remains unproven.
- Long-term health and free-throw consistency for Mitchell Robinson are open questions and could materially affect late-game strategy.
- Tyler Kolek’s capacity to deliver consistent high-leverage minutes in a seven-game playoff series is still untested.
Bottom line
The Knicks’ 124-113 victory over the Spurs in the 2025 NBA Cup is a substantive, confidence-building accomplishment and the franchise’s first trophy since 1973. It validates offseason moves intended to broaden rotation options and demonstrates that reserve contributions can decide high-stakes games.
However, the Cup is an early-season snapshot rather than a forecast. New York’s odds to contend in the Eastern Conference and the Finals are encouraging, but sustained bench consistency, health management and matchup-specific adjustments will determine whether this team can translate Cup success into an NBA championship run in June.
Sources
- CBS Sports (media) — original game report and postgame quotes.
- Caesars (sports betting) — quoted preseason/predictive odds referenced for conference and title markets.