OG Anunoby’s tip-in with 1.2 seconds left Wednesday night capped the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, as the New York Knicks stunned the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 to move within one win of a championship.
The Knicks, who trailed by 29 points in the third quarter, lead the best-of-seven series 3-1. They can clinch their first title since 1973 on Saturday night, when Game 5 will be played in San Antonio.
Victor Wembanyama had 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs, but sparked the Knicks’ comeback by getting whistled for a flagrant foul on Karl-Anthony Towns with 9:27 left in the third, and San Antonio ahead 81-52.
New York scored the next 13 points to begin its rally.
The Knicks trailed 90-75 at the end of the third quarter and didn’t score on their first four possessions in the fourth as the Spurs extended the advantage to 95-75. A 3-pointer by Jose Alvarado that rolled around the rim sparked the stunning final rally for New York.
Knicks trail at end of third quarter, make historic comeback
Consecutive 3-pointers by Alvarado and Jalen Brunson pulled the Knicks within 105-104 with 2:21 left. The Spurs turned the ball over, but Josh Hart missed a layup, after which Wembanyama missed two free throws.
Brunson then hit a floater to give the Knicks their first lead of the game. The teams traded empty possessions, after which Stephon Castle hit two free throws to put the Spurs up 106-105 with 30.3 seconds left.
Anunoby blocked De’Aaron Fox after a Knicks turnover to set up an inbounds play with 5.7 seconds left. Brunson missed a long 3-point attempt, but Anunoby swooped in and tapped the ball home as the sellout crowd roared.
The Spurs could not get a shot off following a timeout.
Brunson finished with 36 points and seven assists, while Anunoby had 33 points. Towns added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Dylan Harper scored 21 points off the bench for the Spurs while Devin Vassell and Fox had 18 points each. Castle finished with 13 points.
Wembanyama (13 points) and Vassell (12) combined for 25 points during the first quarter, when the Spurs shot a blistering 65.2% – and held the Knicks to 29.4% shooting – to take a 41-22 lead.
The Spurs kept the Knicks at bay in the second, and the visitors led by as many as 29 before ending the half with a 76-49 edge.
‘Party pooper’ Mamdani: Knicks owner slams mayor, NYPD over restrictions
In the lead-up to the game on Wednesday, the New York Knicks’ owner, James Dolan, blasted New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch over security measures restricting access around Madison Square Garden and canceled a fan party outside the arena for Game Four of the NBA Finals, arguing that too few people would get through the barriers.
They’re New York’s “biggest party poopers,” he said, accusing Mamdani of turning “the streets around MSG into a police state.”
The mayor and the city said they granted Madison Square Garden’s request for a permit to host a 500-to-999-person watch party on Wednesday. The NYPD planned for participants to enter through a security zone that included street closures for the ticketed event.
But Dolan said the city’s approval was “disingenuous at best” and abruptly canceled Wednesday’s watch party, a tradition at Madison Square Garden for playoff games.
The 1,000-person attendance cap left “tens of thousands of people who want to come to The Garden to celebrate the Knicks out in the cold,” Dolan said. He said he canceled the event because it would have been unfair to those who could not attend.
