The New York Knicks fell behind by as many as 29 points to the San Antonio Spurs early in the third quarter in Game 4 of the NBA Finals before going on to win 107-106 to take a 3-1 series lead. At that point, you could feel a lot of narratives starting to form.
One such narrative was that if the Knicks don’t get it done this year, they may not have another chance in the near future, as Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs could have the league in a chokehold over the next decade.
But it was Wemby and the Spurs who choked on this occasion. Wembanyama was held to just eight points on 3-of-14 shooting in the second half, as the Knicks’ gang defense forced the 7-foot-4 alien into some difficult looks near the rim.
Karl-Anthony Towns has been a thorn in Wemby’s side throughout this series, coming through with some critical stops while closing off driving lanes for Wembanyama to exploit.
The Spurs’ 3-point shooting and shot quality also declined considerably in the second half, as they went just 8-for-39 from the field.
The Knicks came to life in the final 24 minutes of play after a miserable first half that saw the Spurs essentially get all the benefits of the whistle and make all their shots. Towns was also saddled with foul trouble, and it appeared the Spurs were ready to Hack-A-Mitch the Knicks out of the game.
However, New York locked in with their backs against the wall, going on a 13-0 run in the third quarter after facing their biggest deficit of the night, with four different Knicks contributing in the scoring column.
The Knicks cut the deficit to a manageable 15 points at the end of the third quarter, bringing back flashbacks of their comeback win against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the round before.
At that point, a win still felt out of reach for the home team, but the thought was that if the Knicks could at least keep it competitive, they could build some momentum for the rest of the series.
However, the Knicks wound up outscoring the Spurs 32-16 in the fourth quarter. New York managed to get back within single digits after drilling a few triples and getting a driving layup from Towns to go against Wembanyama, who was all but stopping him in his tracks and blocking any access to the rim.
Jose Alvarado and Brunson kept the Knicks within striking distance, with the latter helping New York stay in front by hitting several clutch shots down the stretch.
Stephon Castle buried two free throws to give the Spurs a one-point lead, and the Spurs had a chance to go up by three with about 10 seconds left in the game. However, OG Anunoby came from behind to swat away De’Aaron Fox’s layup attempt on the break.
Brunson, as usual, was given the responsibility of taking the game-winning shot coming out of the timeout. Though he missed, Brunson managed to get a shot off over the outstretched arms of Wembanyama before Anunoby came flying in to save the day and help the Knicks secure the biggest comeback victory in NBA Finals history.
If a statue of Anunoby is someday built outside of Madison Square Garden, it’s safe to assume that that iconic shot would be the pose.
