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The Knicks clinched their first NBA title in 53 years as Jalen Brunson scored 45 points to close out the Spurs in five games, earning unanimous Finals MVP honors. Drake Maye took a hard hit at Patriots minicamp, ending practice early. Carolina can wi
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Welcome to The Sports Hangover Daily, I'm Michael Benatar. Today on the show: the Knicks are NBA champions, Jalen Brunson just had the game of his life, Carolina can clinch the Cup tonight, and Drake Maye took a scary hit at Patriots practice. Let's get into it.
The New York Knicks are NBA champions. I'm gonna say that again because it's been fifty-three years. The New York Knicks are NBA champions. Jalen Brunson dropped forty-five points in San Antonio last night, the Knicks beat the Spurs ninety-four to ninety, and New York closed it out in five games. Forty-five points. Fourteen of twenty-seven from the floor. Four of seven from three. Thirteen of fifteen from the line. Finals MVP, unanimous, all eleven votes. And he earned every single one.
This game was not easy. San Antonio jumped out to an eighteen to eight lead, pushed it to sixteen in the second quarter, and was still up eighty-three to seventy-three with about eight minutes left in the fourth. And then Brunson just said no. The Knicks ripped off a ten to nothing run to tie it at eighty-three. Both teams traded blows down the stretch, and then Brunson — the guy who's been carrying this franchise on his back for three years — hit a floater with sixty-five seconds left to put New York up ninety to eighty-eight. Free throws sealed it. A twenty-one to seven run to close the game. In a clincher. On the road. That is as cold-blooded as it gets.
One hundred sixty-three points across the series. Most by any Knick in a single Finals ever. And Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart just became the first trio of teammates to win an NCAA title and an NBA championship together. The Villanova pipeline is the most successful buddy system in basketball.
For San Antonio, Dylan Harper had twenty-five, but Castle and Fox combined for thirteen points on four of twenty-five shooting. You're not winning anything with that. Wemby had nineteen, fourteen, and five blocks, but he was seven of nineteen and couldn't drag them home. He said afterward he's not running away from it, called it the biggest learning moment of his life. And honestly? That's the right answer from a twenty-two-year-old. He'll be back. But last night belonged to Brunson and New York.
Mayor Mamdani already announced a ticker-tape parade Thursday. First one in Knicks history. The city is gonna lose its mind.
NFL now. Drake Maye took a hit at Patriots minicamp Thursday that ended practice early. Second-year edge rusher Bradyn Swinson collided with Maye after a throw during eleven-on-eleven red zone work. Maye went down hard. Vrabel gathered the whole team, talked to them for several minutes, then shut it down about twenty minutes early. Maye walked off fine, everything's precautionary, but A.J. Brown's reaction tells you the mood in that building. He said: "That's not OK. Nobody should be on the ground in practice." That's the new guy laying down the law. And when your brand-new receiver is the one policing contact in June, he's already locked in. The Patriots made it to the Super Bowl last year. Maye is the franchise. You don't let a minicamp rep turn into a problem.
George Pickens still hasn't shown up in Dallas. He skipped voluntary OTAs, and he's sitting on the franchise tag. But both Brian Schottenheimer and Dak Prescott sounded confident he'll report when mandatory minicamp starts Monday. Dallas has been clear they're not doing a long-term deal this offseason, so Pickens is playing on the tag or he's not playing. My guess? He shows up. You don't have leverage when the team already told you no.
Jalen Coker got a three-year, thirty-five million dollar extension from the Panthers. That's real money for a young receiver Carolina clearly believes in.
And on the conduct front, the NFL closed its personal conduct review into Stefon Diggs. Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper picked up a felony assault charge after allegedly violating a protection order. That situation is getting worse, not better.
The Stanley Cup Final could end tonight. Carolina leads Vegas three games to two after a four to two win in Game five Thursday. Jordan Staal scored for the fifth straight Finals game, tying an NHL record that goes back over a hundred years. Svechnikov had two power-play goals. Brandon Bussi made twenty-three saves. Game six is tonight in Vegas at eight on ABC. Carolina can clinch their first Cup in twenty years.
Here's my Hangover Take. Wemby is going to be fine. I know that sounds obvious, but I want to say it plainly because the internet is gonna spend the next seventy-two hours turning a four to one Finals loss into some kind of referendum on his career. He's twenty-two. He just played twenty-three playoff games in his second season. He averaged over twenty and twelve with elite rim protection against the best team in the East. The Spurs weren't supposed to be here. They were a play-in team a year ago. Castle and Fox shot a combined sixteen percent last night and Wemby still almost dragged them to overtime. The Knicks needed a fifty-three-year exorcism from their point guard just to close it out. San Antonio's problem wasn't Wemby. It was everything around him. Give that kid one more reliable scorer and a year of seasoning and the Spurs are the favorites in the West. I'd bet on it right now. This loss is gonna fuel him for a decade.
That's your hangover. Go hydrate. I'll see you tomorrow.