The New York Knicks are champions, and they celebrated on enemy territory.
After defeating the Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 on Saturday (June 13) at San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center, Knicks players lit up cigars and smoked on the court, capping the franchise's first NBA title win since 1973.
Footage of the scene spread across social media, with one video drawing nearly 185,000 views within seven hours of being posted.
The victory came after New York came back from a 16-point deficit, a fitting close to a series in which the Knicks rallied from double-digit holes in all four of their wins.
Finals MVP Jalen Brunson delivered the decisive performance, scoring 13 fourth-quarter points on his way to 45, a new Knicks record for points in a Finals game.
"I have no words. It's everything I ever dreamed of," Brunson said after the final buzzer, according to AP via WKRN.
Mikal Bridges added 14 points, and Josh Hart chipped in 13. Brunson, Bridges, and Hart, collectively known as the Nova Knicks, each won an NCAA championship at Villanova University before teaming up in New York.
Brunson's 2018 college title came in San Antonio, just miles from where he was crowned NBA champion Saturday night.
Per the Boston Globe, Spurs center and power forward Victor Wembanyama acknowledged the gap between the two teams.
"We weren't ready to win an NBA championship. The better team won," he said, adding: "This is the biggest lesson of my life, the biggest learning moment."
The series was defined in part by Game 4, when OG Anunoby tipped in the winning basket with 1.2 seconds remaining to complete the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, a 29-point deficit erased in a 107-106 win.
Knicks coach Mike Brown called it "the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball," while Karl-Anthony Towns described the tip-in as "Right hand from God."
Brunson's father Rick, an assistant coach on the staff, stood on the court alongside him after the final buzzer, making them the first father-son duo in NBA history to each play in the Finals for the same franchise, both times against the Spurs.
The Knicks’ championship win ends a drought of 19,392 days since their last title.
"Whenever someone counted us out, we found a way to come back and do something about it," Brunson told CNN.
