Knicks Didn't Just Win Game 4, They Did It in Record Fashion

A record-breaking comeback, capped off by what could go down as a legendary play. The long road back to the top of the NBA is almost complete for the New York Knicks, and the step they took Wednesday night was unforgettable, the AP reports. The Knicks came from 29 points down and moved to the brink of their first championship since 1973 by beating the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 in Game 4 of the finals on OG Anunoby's tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining. "That has to be the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball," Knicks coach Mike Brown said.

It's certainly high on the list—as high as Anunoby leaped when Jalen Brunson's long 3-point shot bounced off the front of the rim, with his right hand stretching high to softly flick it in. "Right hand from God," Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said. The Knicks, who have just two titles in their 80-year history and hadn't even been to the NBA Finals since 1999, have a 3-1 lead and three chances to win the best-of-seven series—starting with Game 5 on Saturday night in San Antonio.

It looked impossible early, when the Spurs rolled to a 27-point halftime lead. But Brunson helped bring the Knicks back with 36 points and Anunoby finished with 33. No team had come from more than 24 points down in a finals game, when Boston did it against the Lakers in 2008, since the NBA began keeping detailed play-by-play for all four quarters in 1997. The Spurs led 81-52 in the third quarter. The only bigger comeback on record in any playoff game was 31 points by the Los Angeles Clippers against Golden State in Game 2 of a first-round series in 2019. (President Trump wasn't at this game, but Taylor Swift was.)