A wild Game 4 at Madison Square Garden flipped from despair to delirium as the Knicks erased a 29-point second-half deficit to beat San Antonio 107-106, with OG Anunoby’s last-second tip-in clinching a historic comeback and pushing New York to a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
I won’t lie: at halftime I wanted to bail. The Spurs came out scorching from three and owned a 76-49 lead, turning a must-win Game 4 into a nightmare early on for the home crowd. The Garden looked stunned as San Antonio’s early barrage left the Knicks facing the kind of hole that usually ends title runs.
Instead of folding, New York staged a relentless climb back into the game. The second half turned into an endurance test and a showcase of belief, with the Knicks chipping away at the margin possession by possession. By the final minutes the arena had shifted from dread to an electric expectation.
Jalen Brunson swung the momentum with a massive scoring night, pouring in 36 points and shouldering much of the comeback’s late push. His final three missed, but the effort kept the Knicks in range while teammates crashed the boards and forced turnovers. When Brunson’s shot rimmed out with 1.2 seconds remaining, it set the stage for one of the most dramatic finishes in Finals history.
OG Anunoby soared from — where? Maybe the Empire State Building? — for the greatest putback in New York Knicks’ history, finishing off the biggest in-game comeback in NBA Finals history and moving the Knicks to within one win of their first title since 1973.
Trailing by 29 early in the second half, New York clawed its way back to win Game 4 over the San Antonio Spurs, 107-106, on Anunoby’s putback of a Jalen Brunson miss with 1.2 seconds left.
Brunson, who scored 36 and otherwise was the co-author of the comeback, had a 3-pointer clang off the front of the rim, but Anunoby jumped over everyone to corral the miss and tip it in.
The Spurs had one more chance, but Stephon Castle fumbled the inbounds pass, and pandemonium at Madison Square Garden followed. The Knicks can close out the finals and claim the franchise’s third title with a win Saturday in San Antonio.
Game 5 is at 8:30 p.m. at the Frost Bank Center. The Knicks lead the series, 3-1, and became the first home team to get a win in the 2026 finals.
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The final sequence felt scripted for maximum drama: Brunson’s shot, Anunoby airborne, the putback, then chaos on the inbound that ended San Antonio’s last chance. Madison Square Garden exploded with noise, confetti-free but euphoric, as fans celebrated a comeback for the record books. The play will replay for days as the highlight that flipped the series.
San Antonio’s early shooting created the deficit, but the Spurs couldn’t sustain that efficiency against a Knicks defense that tightened when it mattered. Key stops and hustle plays kept New York alive long enough for the offense to regroup. Mistakes in the final inbounds sequence underscored the tiny margins between a series sweep and a momentum-switched matchup.
For the Knicks, the narrative now pivots to closing the deal in Game 5. They are one win from a title that would end a decades-long drought, with every player and coach aware of how thin the margin can be between triumph and collapse. For the Spurs, the task is just as clear: respond or risk the season ending on enemy court.
The crowd’s reaction felt like communal relief and vindication, a city reveling in a performance that doubled as theater. Whether you were at the Garden or watching from afar, the night delivered a rare sports spectacle—equal parts panic, grit, and ultimate payoff. That mix is what makes Finals basketball feel cinematic.
History now sits on a knife edge: the Knicks lead 3-1 and will carry this comeback’s momentum to San Antonio. If they close it out, the Game 4 turnaround will be cited as the turning point that rewrote a series. If they don’t, we’ll remember this game as one jaw-dropping chapter in a longer, unfinished fight.
One more win. Let’s go!
