The New York Knicks took a 2-0 lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the series for the title in the National Basketball Association of the United States and Canada, BTA reported.
The Knicks won the second game of the Finals as guests with 105:104 and need only two more wins to win the "Larry O'Brien" trophy. This could also happen in their home arena, "Madison Square Garden", where the next two games in the series will be played.
The New Yorkers led by nine points before the start of the final quarter, and in the middle of it their lead reached 14 points.
However, San Antonio responded with a 14-0 run, after which the score became 97:97.
A basket by Victor Wembanyama plus a foul allowed the hosts to take the lead at 104:102 and 57 seconds left in the game for the first time since the end of the first half.
The guest star Jaylen Brunson, however, restored the tie with 39 seconds left.
Unsuccessful attacks followed by both Wembanyama and Brunson, but the French center of the hosts made a lot of mistakes 10 seconds before the end when he tried to pass to a teammate, but Brunson intercepted his pass.
The Knicks guard immediately found himself at the penalty line, where he scored on his first attempt, but missed the second. This gave the 224-centimeter Wembanyama one last chance to bring success to the "Spurs", but this time the Texans leader's shot was inaccurate.
For the winners from New York Knicks, the most useful in the game was center Karl-Anthony Towns with 21 points and 13 rebounds. Jaylen Brunson and Mikel Bridges each scored 20 points, and OG Ananubi added 17.
For San Antonio, Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points, and De'Aaron Fox finished with 20 points.
Game 3 of the series is on Monday night in New York. There have only been two occasions in NBA history when a visiting team has won the first two games of the Finals, and both times it ended in a title. In 1993, Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls won the series with a 4-2 victory over the Phoenix Suns, and in 1995, Hakeem Olajuwon's Houston Rockets defeated the Orlando Magic 4-0.
If the Knicks win the title, it will be the team's first trophy since 1973.