NEW YORK – (Wire Service Report) – Mike Brown walked to the podium inside Madison Square Garden just before midnight on Wednesday, sat down and let out an exhausted sigh.
“Uhh, that was a good win by our guys, obviously,” the New York Knicks coach said.
It was a lot more than that, and now the Knicks are one win away from a goal more than five decades in the making.
OG Anunoby’s tip-in with 1.2 seconds left capped the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, as New York overcame a 29-point deficit to stun the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 in Game 4.
The Knicks, who trailed 81-52 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.
“Felt cool — I mean, everyone’s pretty excited, I’m excited too,” the normally poker-faced Anunoby said before breaking into a rare grin. “We’re all excited. We’re enjoying it right now, but we’re just focused on the next game now.”
The Knicks ended the game on a 55-25 run after Victor Wembanyama was whistled for a flagrant-1 foul on Karl-Anthony Towns with 9:27 left in the third. New York shot 52.6% (20-for-38) following the foul while holding the Spurs to 17.1% shooting (6-for-35), including 4-for-19 (21.1%) in the fourth quarter.
“To put as much good work into that first half as we did, get the lead that we had and not finish the job is disappointing to say the least,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.
Jalen Brunson, the symbol of the Knicks’ stoicism, was asked if the Wembanyama foul sparked him and his teammates.
“Not necessarily, no,” Brunson said.
Earlier in his press conference, Brunson invoked a baseball analogy to describe the Knicks’ approach.
“We need to hit singles, get on base and make plays from there,” Brunson said.
New York scored 13 unanswered points after the Wembanyama flagrant foul and trailed 90-75 at the end of the third. The Knicks 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. Consecutive 3-pointers by Alvarado and Jalen Brunson pulled the Knicks within 104-103 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 with 1:22 left. The teams traded turnovers, after which Stephon Castle hit two free throws to put the Spurs up 106-105 with 30.3 seconds left.
After Brunson failed to hit a short shot, Anunoby blocked De’Aaron Fox’s layup attempt, setting up an inbounds play with 5.7 seconds left. Brunson missed a long 3-point attempt, but Anunoby, who was at the 3-point arc across the floor from Brunson, swooped into the paint, outleaped Dylan Harper and tapped the ball home as the sellout crowd roared.
“I don’t know if there was a play bigger than (that) in the history of Knicks basketball,” Brown said.
Towns, 7 inches taller than Harper, guarded the latter on the ensuing inbounds pass. Harper threw the ball over Wembanyama’s head, and Castle, surrounded by Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart, couldn’t corral the ball or get a shot off as time expired.
“We, from the mud, found a way to get it done,” Towns said. “As anyone who lives in New York knows, if you want to make it in this city, you have to be OK getting out of the mud. And we did that tonight.”
The Knicks flooded the floor as a KNICKS WIN graphic flashed atop the scoreboard.
“Just happy that we found a way to come away with a win,” Brunson said. “But just there’s nothing — there’s nothing to celebrate. It’s not over yet, not even close.”
Brunson finished with 36 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Anunoby had 33 points and four rebounds after a pregame pep talk from Brown.
“I told OG — as big, as strong, as athletic as he is — he’s got to be a monster on the offensive glass tonight,” Brown said. “He took on the challenge and he went and won the game for us doing exactly what I called him out for during shootaround today.”
Towns added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Wembanyama finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Harper scored 21 points off the bench for the Spurs, while Devin Vassell and Fox had 18 points each. Castle contributed 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 San Antonio led by as many as 29 before ending the half with a 76-49 edge.
Now San Antonio must try to match the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers, the only team to overcome a 3-1 series deficit and win the NBA Finals.
“I think it’s going to go one of two ways,” Wembanyama said. “The bad one would be giving up. The good one would be getting stronger through this, getting more together. I know this is what we’re going to do.”
– Field Level Media