Drought Over: Knicks 2019-2020 Champions
Kyrie Irving was named Finals MVP after averaging 28.7 PPG, 9.3 APG, and 3.9 RPG for the series.
Jimmy Butler led the Knicks with 33 points and 6 rebounds as the Knicks brought home their first championship since 1973.
Rookie Cam Reddish showed that the Mavs were more than just Doncic and Porzingis, leading the Mavericks with 28 points.
New York, NY (AP) -- The last time the New York Knicks hosted a game 7 in the NBA Finals, Willis Reed hobbled onto the court with a badly injured leg and scored the Knicks first two buckets to inspire them to a 113-99 win over the Lakers "Big 3" of Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor. Walt Frazier was the "other" hero of that game, turning in an epic game 7 performance by scoring 36 points, assisting on 19 Knicks buckets, and grabbing 7 rebounds. Three years later the Knicks would once again climb basketball's zenith and win another NBA championship.
1973. That was the last time the New York Knicks won a championship. They came close 31 years later during Michael Jordan's baseball sabbatical, losing in seven games to the Hakeem Olajuwon's Rockets in seven games in the 1994 Finals. For one of the NBA's most ballyhooed franchises, one that is always in the league spotlight, a 47-year championship drought might as well be a 100-year championship drought.
All of the build-up; all of the emotion of yet another back-and-fort 7-game Finals series for the Knicks finally ended their drought. Led by two playoff-tested veterans in Kyrie Irving and Jimmy Butler, and a generational rookie talent in Zion Williamson, the Knicks once again, finally, sit atop the NBA.
The Knicks came out of the gates in the 1st quarter firing on all cylinders, shooting 18/23 from the floor to jump out to a 41-26 lead. The Mavericks fought back with a red hot 2nd quarter of their own, shooting 16/26 from the floor, and outscored the Knicks 43-36 to make it a 77-69 game at the half in favor of the Knicks. The Mavs drew closer after three quarters of play after outscoring the Knicks 37-31 to make it a two point game, 108-106 in favor of the Knicks.
The fourth quarter remained tight throughout, played within a four point window the first eight minutes of the quarter. With 3:50 left in the fourth, Kyrie Irving finally pushed the Knicks lead to five points with a transition three-pointer. After the Mavericks pushed back with six straight points to take a 131-130 lead, Kyrie Irving responded again with another three to give the Knicks a 133-131 advantage.
After Kyrie Irving split a pair of free throws, Luka Doncic knifed his way through the Knicks defense for a two-handed flush to make it a one point game, 138-137, with one minute remaining. The two teams traded buckets on their next possessions. With 45 seconds remaining on the clock, Kevin Knox fired on a wide-open three-point attempt that clanged off the iron right into the hands of teammate Enes Kanter. Kanter went up hard, was fouled, and calmly drained both free-throws to give the Knicks a 142-139 lead 26 left on the clock.
The Mavericks managed two great looks from three on their final possession. After Luka Doncic's corner three came up short, Porzingis grabbed the offensive rebound kicked it back out to Doncic who found an open Portis, but Portis' three-point attempt was off and the Knicks grabbed the rebound as time expired to clinch the championship.
Dallas Mavericks (3-4) at New York Knicks (4-3) |
Jun 21, 2020 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | Dallas | 26 | 43 | 37 | 33 | 139 | New York | 41 | 36 | 31 | 34 | 142 |
Top Performers | Dallas Mavericks | Cam Reddish - 28 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast | Kristaps Porzingis - 26 pts, 11 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk, 2 stl | New York Knicks | Jimmy Butler - 33 pts, 6 ast, 3 reb, 2 stl | Kyrie Irving - 32 pts, 12 ast, 2 reb, 1 stl |
| Team Stats Comparison | | DAL | NYK | FG Made-Att | 52/91 | 55/102 | 3PT Made-Att | 16/34 | 14/24 | FT Made-Att | 19/23 | 18/20 | Rebounds | 41 | 45 | Assists | 27 | 37 | Turnovers | 13 | 9 | Steals | 6 | 7 | Blocks | 4 | 2 |
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Dallas Mavericks | STARTERS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS | Kristaps Porzingis | 39 | 9/10 | 2/2 | 6/7 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 26 | Luka Doncic | 39 | 7/12 | 3/6 | 7/9 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 24 | Cam Reddish | 35 | 11/14 | 5/6 | 1/2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 28 | Tim Hardaway Jr. | 30 | 5/10 | 1/4 | 0/0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | Bobby Portis | 28 | 6/11 | 0/3 | 3/3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | BENCH | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS | Dwight Powell | 14 | 6/12 | 1/3 | 1/1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 14 | Courtney Lee | 14 | 4/8 | 1/5 | 1/1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | Dorian Finney-Smith | 14 | 1/8 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | Max Kleber | 13 | 2/4 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | J.J. Barea | 12 | 1/2 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
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New York Knicks | STARTERS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS | Jimmy Butler | 39 | 13/24 | 4/5 | 3/3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 33 | Kyrie Irving | 39 | 10/20 | 6/10 | 6/8 | 2 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 32 | Kevin Knox | 31 | 2/10 | 0/3 | 2/2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | Zion Williamson | 31 | 7/8 | 2/2 | 2/2 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 18 | Enes Kanter | 28 | 9/16 | 0/0 | 3/3 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 21 | BENCH | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PTS | Paul Millsap | 22 | 7/11 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14 | Dennis Smith Jr. | 14 | 1/5 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | Devin Robinson | 14 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Dewayne Dedmon | 12 | 5/7 | 2/2 | 0/0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | Frank Ntilikina | 8 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2/2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
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