If you had the New York Knicks winning it all this year, go ahead and collect your money.

Jalen Brunson put together a game for the history books, scoring 45 points to lead the New York Knicks past the San Antonio Spurs 94-90 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night at the Frost Bank Center. With the hard-fought win, the Knicks locked up a 4-1 series victory, taking home the franchise's third NBA championship and their first since 1973.

The title serves as a big statement for head coach Mike Brown. He had been let go four times throughout his career—with stops in Cleveland, Los Angeles, and Sacramento—and was often overlooked by critics. When New York parted ways with Tom Thibodeau to bring in Brown, plenty of people thought the move would backfire.

Instead, the Knicks quieted the doubters by checking every box of a true contender, pairing a top-five offense with a top-10 defense that gave Brunson the space to take over when things got tight.

Game 5 followed a script New York became very familiar with during this series. The Spurs came out firing on their home floor, jumping out to a quick double-digit lead and building a 16-point cushion at 31-15 in the first quarter. But just like they did in three of their other wins this series, the Knicks kept their composure and chipped away.

Brunson carried the load on a night when both teams really struggled to get shots to fall. The guard kept the Knicks within striking distance early on by knocking down his first three 3-point attempts.

New York started to find its footing in the second quarter by hitting open looks and locking down defensively, cutting the deficit to 42-37 by halftime. Mikal Bridges bounced back from a slow start to chip in eight points in the first half.

The shooting slumps returned in the third quarter, though. The Knicks shot a tough 33% from the floor through the first three periods and trailed 72-65 going into the fourth. To make matters tougher, Karl-Anthony Towns picked up his fourth foul early in the third and sat out extended minutes, while Game 4 standout OG Anunoby was held to seven points on 2-of-10 shooting through three quarters.

Down by seven entering the final frame, Brunson put the team on his back, scoring 13 straight points for New York down the stretch. He gave the Knicks their first lead of the second half at 86-85 after drawing a foul on a 3-pointer and calmly sinking all three free throws with 3:40 left on the clock. From there, New York used its defense and conditioning to close things out.

While Brunson handled the bulk of the scoring, Bridges finished with 14 points, and fellow Villanova teammate Josh Hart added 13. Anunoby helped ice the game by grabbing a defensive rebound and making a free throw in the final seconds. The rest of the roster combined for 49 points, but the defense stepped up when it mattered most, forcing the Spurs into tough looks late in the fourth quarter.

The championship wraps up a postseason full of turnarounds for New York. Just a game earlier, the Knicks pulled off the biggest comeback victory in NBA Finals history, erasing a 29-point second-half deficit to win Game 4.