NEW YORK — From dead and buried to one win away from a championship, the New York Knicks pulled off the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, overturning a 29-point first-half deficit to defeat the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 in Game 4 on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Off a missed Jalen Brunson three-point attempt, OG Anunoby tipped home the game-winner with 1.2 seconds left, sealing the most dramatic victory in franchise history and perhaps the greatest NBA Finals game of all-time while delivering the Knicks a 3-1 series lead.
“That has to be the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said.
Stephon Castle had given the Spurs a one-point lead after hitting two free throws with 30.3 seconds left, setting up the Knicks’ dramatic last possession, which saw Brunson hit front iron from 30 feet out, and Anunoby outjump a pair of Spurs to get his right hand on the ball to tip it home.
The Spurs had one last chance for a winner, but the inbound to Castle was broken up by Josh Hart.
For every Knicks run, the Spurs appeared to have an answer all night. A Victor Wembanyam two from under the basket gave San Antonio a 20-point lead, 95-75, with 9:33 left in regulation. New York rattled off eight straight points to get to within 12 — a Karl-Anthony Towns corner three-pointer as the shot-clock expired with 7:28 to go offering the first real glimmer that it could be pulled off.
After two free throws from Castle, the Knicks went into overdrive. Anunoby hit a corner three, then came up with a steal that led to a Towns driving layup to make it a nine-point game. Castle sank another two free throws to make it 99-88, but then Brunson scored four straight points, and Anunoby sank another corner three to make it a four-point game with 4:34 to go.
De’Aaron Fox momentarily stopped the bleeding with a three-pointer 23 seconds later, then Jose Alvarado and Webanyama traded baskets. Two straight triples from Alvarado and Brunson brought the Knicks within one with 2:21 left.
After Wembanyama missed two from the line, and Josh Hart muffed a bunny of a wide-open layup with 1:57 left to give the Knicks the lead, they went in front when Brunson hit a five-foot floater of a jumper with 1:22 left, capping off a remarkable 30-9 run.
The Knicks’ defense clamped down from a shambolic first-half performance in which they allowed the Spurs to hit an NBA-record 14 three-pointers in the first 24 minutes. They then held the visitors to just 30 points in the second half — although the Spurs cooled off mightily along the way after a first half in which they shot 60% from the field and 54% from beyond the arc. By comparison, the Knicks scored 32 points alone in the fourth quarter.
“We didn’t change much,” Brown said. “We basically kept the same gameplan defensively. We just did it harder for lnoger stretches and were really in-tune to what we were supposed to be doing. Our level of physicality increased without sending them to the free-throw line, which was huge.”
They had to overcome a disastrous first half that began with instantaneous foul trouble. Towns had two fouls within the first 1:02 of the ballgame, ultimately limiting him to eight minutes in the first half. Without one of their most important playmakers, the Knicks shot under 40% from the floor in the first half. Upon his return, things turned around.
Brunson finished the night with 36 points with seven assists, while Anunoby put up his second straight big offensive game, adding 33 of his own. Towns finished with 13 points and 10 boards.
The Knicks will have an opportunity to clinch their first title in 53 years on Saturday night in San Antonio.
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