From 2-0 to oh no to OG.
OMG.
Remember where you were.
Remember who you watched with. Remember this feeling.
This will live in those special places not just in Knicks lore, not just in NBA lore, but in sports lore. This is one of the great comebacks — 29 points, most in NBA Finals history — in sports history. One of the greatest moments you’ll ever see.
The Knicks were on the brink of a total collapse. Now, they’re on the brink of an incredible championship.
They trailed by one and, after a timeout, had the ball with 5.7 seconds left. Everyone knew Jalen Brunson was going to take the last shot.
What they didn’t know was who would be the actual hero.
Brunson’s shot missed off the front rim. But OG Anunoby skied high — over Dylan Harper and Devin Vassell — and tipped it in with his right hand with just 1.2 seconds left. The Spurs didn’t even get a shot off on the other end. Ballgame.
Anunoby delivered what might just be the biggest play in Knicks history to secure their miraculous 107-106 Game 4 win over the Spurs Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, which gave them a commanding 3-1 series lead with the NBA Finals heading back to San Antonio.
“That has to be the most iconic shot,” coach Mike Brown said, “in the history of New York basketball.”
“Right hand from God,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “Right hand of God.”
“I was about to cry,” Jose Alvarado, who played a big role down the stretch, said.
The Spurs scored 76 points in the first half and just 30 in the second half — the 46-point decrease was the largest in postseason history.
The fans inside MSG had no interest in leaving afterward. They knew they had just witnessed something special. Something that was too unbelievable to script. Something they will never stop talking about.
Well after the final buzzer, they sang “Don’t Stop Believin’” in unison as the celebrations continued on the court.
The Knicks never stopped believing. Brunson, as the song echoed around him, summed up the entire night in one word while speaking on the court:
“Belief.”
What went a bit under the radar was that Anunoby also delivered the most important defensive play, chasing down De’Aaron Fox and blocking his shot to give the Knicks their final possession. It was not a shot Fox needed to take, but he clearly thought he had an open layup.
Usually as monotone as they come, even Anunoby had to crack a smile after it was all done.
“We’re a resilient group,” Anunoby said. “We’ve been through a lot. We’ve come back plenty of times when we’re behind.”
The Knicks trailed by 19 after the first quarter, the biggest first-quarter deficit by a home team in NBA Finals history. They trailed by 27 at halftime, the biggest halftime deficit by a home team in Finals history. The Spurs’ 14 made 3-pointers were the most ever in a half in Finals history. The Knicks’ deficit was as much as 29 in the second half.
They, frankly, looked dead. They had lost their minds in the first half, fighting both the refs and Victor Wembanyama.
But they outscored the Spurs by 12 in the third quarter and by 16 in the fourth quarter. Wembanyama disappeared. Brunson and Anunoby emerged and powered a comeback for the ages.
“We clearly,” Wembanyama said, “weren’t the most hungry in the second half.”
Brunson scored 17 in the second half and finished with 36. Anunoby had 19 in the second half and finished with 33. He was 7-for-9 on 3s. Wembanyama, after scoring 16 in the first half, had just eight the rest of the way.
Anunoby’s 3-pointer cut the Knicks deficit to four points with 4:34 left in the game. That’s when the comeback truly felt like it could actually be completed. Brunson later rose up and drilled a deep, 27-foot 3-pointer in Wembanyama’s face to bring the Knicks within one with 2:21 left. Fox threw the ball away on the other end, and Hart had what would’ve been a wide-open breakaway dunk. But he got caught in the air and flubbed it.
Then the Knicks fouled Wembanyama on the other end.
But Wembanyama, just like he did in Game 2, melted in the biggest moment. He missed both free throws.
“You have to have a little luck in life,” Brown said. “You’ve got to have a little luck in sports. But you can also make your luck, too.”
Then Brunson came down the other end and nailed a floater to give the Knicks the lead with 1:22 left. It was their first lead of the game.
But Stephon Castle, with a pair of free throws after being fouled going for an offensive rebound, reestablished a one-point Spurs lead with 30.3 seconds left. Hart got caught ball-watching and allowed Castle to jump freely for the rebound. Between the missed dunk and that, Hart would have been the potential goat if the Knicks had lost.
But then came Anunoby’s block. Then came Anunoby’s tip-in.
- CHECK OUT THE LATEST NBA STANDINGS AND KNICKS STATS
“He saved me,” Hart said, “a lifetime of regret.”
Just like that, a championship is right there.
Remember this. All of it.
