It took a full team effort for the Knicks to take a 1-0 lead in the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. Jalen Brunson came on late with 31 points in New York’s 105-95 Game 1 win. 

Karl-Anthony Towns was sublime with 18 points, 15 rebounds and six assists. Josh Hart did a little bit of everything. OG Anunoby (17 points) made big shots early in the fourth quarter, and Landry Shamet kept the defense honest with 13 points off the bench.

The victory continued a dominant stretch for the Knicks, who now have 12 consecutive playoff wins, tied for the second-longest postseason streak in NBA history. 

As New York looks to keep the good times rolling, let’s look at three keys to Game 2...

The Brunson storybook continues to be written. Now, the All-Star point guard can add an NBA Finals moment as another chapter in that book. Almost everything went wrong for Brunson in the first three quarters. He was 7-for-22 from the field with four turnovers. 

And he had injuries to his right knee and left ankle that disrupted him in the first half. It would've made sense if Brunson simply lived to fight another day, but he didn’t. 

Brunson turned it all around in the fourth quarter. He had 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the final frame, helping New York take control and win the game. Specifically, he knocked down a corner three-pointer and a tough, contested midrange jumper to put the game away in the final two minutes.

Brunson’s overall stat line of 30 points on 31 shots looks inefficient, but he shook off a rough start and closed out the game for the Knicks in a tough environment. Brunson has done it before, but it was extra special on the NBA Finals stage.

Despite the win, the Knicks need a more efficient Brunson in Game 2. Finding a way to create easier looks for him will be a priority.

Important to New York’s turnaround in the second half was controlling the pace. In the first half, San Antonio had a 14-2 advantage in fastbreak points. The second half was a different story, as the Knicks outscored San Antonio 10-1 in that category.

A key to the change was cutting back on turnovers. The Knicks had seven miscues in the first half, but followed that up with just one in the second.

San Antonio is a dynamic team in transition, with the club having electric guards capable of getting downhill like Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and De’Aaron Fox. Then there's star center Victor Wembanyama, who runs the floor well and is a great finisher.

The Spurs also have dangerous corner three-point shooters in Julian Champagnie and Devin Vassell. Specifically, Champagnie burned the Knicks in the first half, with 15 points on five treys, with a couple of his looks coming in transition. He was limited to just one point the rest of the way.

The Knicks will need to limit the turnovers to keep the Spurs offense in check going forward.

Hart scored just three points on Wednesday night, but he was all over the floor, accumulating 15 rebounds, six assists, and four steals along the way. Hampered by foul trouble in the first half, Hart was limited to just under 27 minutes of action. He was a game-high plus-22 on the floor.

Hart’s ability to grab rebounds and push the ball immediately was helpful for the Knicks, and they were able to get into their offense earlier in the second half.

Much is made of Hart’s outside shooting. He shot just 1-for-5 from the field, including misses on all three of his three-point attempts. Like other Knicks opponents, the Spurs will often dare Hart to shoot from outside. There will be some times where Hart’s iffy outside shooting will hurt, but games like Wednesday’s are a reminder of how he can leave his fingerprints all over a game without scoring.