SAN ANTONIO -- Cigar smoke filled the air of San Antonio's Frost Bank Center as thousands of patrons chanted "Let's go Knicks" -- a cathartic release of emotions some 53 years in the making.
During a postseason in which comeback victories had become their specialty, the New York Knicks completed one of the most dominant playoff runs in NBA history with a title-clinching 94-90 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night.
It wasn't a record 29-point comeback like New York pulled off in Game 4 but rather a methodical walking down of the Spurs, outlasting San Antonio as the Knicks had every playoff opponent. The Spurs led 83-73 with 8:21 left on Saturday night. Then the Knicks went to work.
A team full of players who had been given up on and a coach whom many believed couldn't put it together turned in one of the most gratifying victories in recent NBA memory.
As much as it felt inevitable -- the Spurs running out of offense and the Knicks riding Jalen Brunson -- it was another emotion-filled contest, and New York coach Mike Brown was frozen with emotion after the buzzer sounded.
"I couldn't believe it, that was the first thing," Brown said. "It was surreal. I couldn't believe that it was happening. And I am so tired. I mean, I'm gassed. And you know, just this stuff is harder than what you think. And you know, you have to have great assistants. You have to have great players, but I was gassed."
It was especially fitting for Brown, who was hired last summer after the Knicks attempted to interview so many other coaches in the wake of firing Tom Thibodeau. Brown stayed the course during the interview process, just as his team did during these Finals, rarely deviating from their reinforced competitive character.
"I've been around a long time. This business is just as crazy as any other business," Brown said. "I'm pretty good at trying to control what I can control. I had zero control over who else was interviewing, who was denied permission. I had zero control over that."
"I felt that I had great chemistry with Leon Rose and Quentin Dolan and Mr. Dolan, when I met with him," Brown continued. "But you never know. You try not to guess, because if you guess, it could drive you crazy because you don't really have the answer. I was pretty nonchalant about it as time went on. I just let it unfold the way it unfolded."
The Knicks didn't have a nonchalant approach the past two months, turning up their defensive intensity to another level and diversifying their offense to become an unstoppable unit.
Hours after the Knicks completed their comeback, when the halls of the arena emptied, they were back in their locker room -- with more cigars, dancing and champagne. After months of saying they focused only on the game in front of them, they were letting loose in the moment of winning the franchise's first NBA title since 1973.
Like Brown, Josh Hart often wondered about his place in the league. Being traded multiple times, it wasn't a guarantee he'd get to this point. Compared with Brunson, a stoic figure, Hart wears his emotions a little more vulnerably.
On Saturday night, after diving on the floor for crucial possessions and hitting three 3-pointers to finish with 13 points, Hart was able to assess the cost of becoming a champion.
"The one thing, no matter what I've always said, I want to be a winner. I want to win a championship at the highest level," Hart said. "I've been doubted so many times -- traded, had so much instability, had, what, seven, eight different head coaches. I found a home in New York, and they embraced me for the person that I am, the player that I am.
"I'm not perfect by any means. I make a lot of mistakes. But I try to put my heart out there. I try to do whatever I can do to help the team win. I don't care about points. I don't care about those things. I'm willing to sacrifice whatever it takes for this city, for this jersey, for this franchise."
Hart took the opportunity to stump for the much-maligned Mikal Bridges, who also was Hart's college teammate at Villanova, saying, "Forget them picks," in reference to the hefty bounty the Knicks gave the crosstown Brooklyn Nets to acquire Bridges two summers ago.
Hart also credited Brown for steering the Knicks to a title, a mark of how far that relationship has come. One season after Hart led the NBA in minutes played, Brown wanted to bring him off the bench to get more shooting on the floor.
The change was part of the reason Hart looked fresh to finish the last series, even though he carried the usual bumps and bruises his style of play often creates.
"He's the reason why we're here, and we've got love for him," Hart said of Brown. "He understands what it is to be a champion. He understands how to build a team, how to build habits that will put you in this position. We're so grateful, so thankful to have him at the top. He kept us even so many times. He's brought the best out of us, as people first."