Who says touching the trophy means you can't become the champion?

“Ladies and gentlemen, I was only 5 years old the last time the Knicks won the championship, and now I'm 51.”

Six years ago, die-hard Knicks supporter and famous commentator A. Smith harshly criticized the Knicks on an ESPN program, saying the sentence above. Now, six years later, the Knicks team has finally hoisted a championship trophy, even if it wasn’t in June.

The NBA Cup final was between the Spurs and the Knicks. For most players, this game was even more important than the NBA Finals. After all, the champion takes home $530,000, while the runner-up only gets $210,000—a difference of $320,000 in a single game.

In this game, the Spurs still had Wembanyama come off the bench, but he entered the game in the first quarter, so it wasn’t quite like the strategic matchup against the Thunder. Looking back after the game, matching Wembanyama against Miro was clearly not a good decision.

Wembanyama’s defensive dominance remained unbeatable; whenever he was on the court, Knicks players stayed away from the basket, and he provided maximum protection on defensive rebounds. However, on offense, Wembanyama struggled today.

The Knicks displayed playoff-level defensive intensity. Most of the Spurs’ key players, including Wembanyama, had never experienced playoff pressure before. Throughout the four quarters, Wembanyama only found his rhythm in the latter part of the third quarter; otherwise, his offense was disastrous.

He shot 1 for 4 in the first quarter and 0 for 4 in the last, scoring only 2 points from free throws. Counting his whole game, Wembanyama was 7 for 17, with more than half of his attempts from long range. In the final quarter, he missed all three three-point attempts, and several poor shots from deep indirectly cost them the game.

This reflects some of Wembanyama’s offensive issues: he struggles to get to the basket in high-intensity games, and his long-range shooting is unstable. Rationally, he should focus more on off-ball movement and let the guards handle the ball on offense.

Today, the Spurs almost won three quarters. In the first half, with Wembanyama on the floor, they were down by 7 points. During this time, the Spurs relied on the accuracy and defensive pressure from several guards. Castle played tough defense all game, Fox’s two early three-pointers in the second half temporarily stopped the Knicks, and second overall pick Harper had his best career three-point shooting performance.

The Knicks’ comeback started when Clarkson sparked it early in the fourth quarter, hitting two consecutive three-pointers. Miro grabbed an offensive rebound, helping the Knicks go from behind to ahead. After that, the Spurs never regained the lead.

When streaky shooter Clarkson gets hot, he’s truly unstoppable. As fans of the Chinese men’s basketball team, we can probably empathize. Clarkson finished the game 6 for 15 with 15 points; his efficiency wasn’t great, but those two threes were the turning point.

Brunson, who won the Cup MVP, scored 25 points with 8 assists today. His 11-for-27 shooting was considered poor, but he managed to hit some reliable mid-range shots at key moments. Even OG Anunoby, who scored a team-high 28 points, didn’t drive aggressively with the ball; his points mainly came from open threes on the weak side and fast-break opportunities—simple but deadly.

Compared to the Spurs, this Knicks team has faced many tough battles. They know how to play in critical moments and when to ramp up intensity for their core players. The Spurs’ young squad played hard, but when it comes to experience in tough games, they still can’t match the seasoned Knicks.

After ten years in the league, Karl-Anthony Towns finally won his first championship trophy. Before the game, when he saw the trophy, he couldn’t resist touching it. In football, this isn’t considered a good omen, most famously in the 2005 Istanbul Champions League final.

But curses are meant to be broken. Towns didn’t have a perfect game, but he was definitely tough. During the match, he injured his knee, sitting on the bench holding it and covering his painful expression with a towel. I thought he might not return in the fourth quarter, but he did.

Before the game, Towns said, “Whether it’s the mid-season tournament or the NBA Finals—winning any championship is an intoxicating feeling.” He lost many games during his nine years with the Timberwolves. Now that the team is doing well, he has been traded to the Knicks.

Including today’s game, the Knicks have won six straight and sit second in the East, having secured their first championship trophy since 1973. Towns might be closer to a title with the Knicks than he ever was with the Timberwolves.

After the game, Towns decided to donate the entire $530,000 prize to his foundation in the Dominican Republic to help local communities and families in financial hardship build homes.

In the past two NBA Cups, the playoff runs ended with first-round 1-4 losses. Towns has already broken one curse and surely won’t mind breaking another.

Dear Minnesota, I’m doing well here in New York.