The New York Knicks produced a Game 4 finish that will be replayed for years.
New York beat the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 at Madison Square Garden, taking a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals and moving within one victory of their first championship since 1973.
The scale of the result was extraordinary. The Knicks had trailed by 29 points before completing the largest comeback in NBA Finals history.
A SportsCenter clip featuring ESPN’s Brian Windhorst framed the night in simple terms, saying two Knicks moments from the win should be “turned into statues”.
There were several candidates from a chaotic final quarter, but two stood above everything else: OG Anunoby’s winning play and Jalen Brunson’s role in dragging New York back into the game.
OG Anunoby’s final tip-in gave the Knicks their defining Game 4 image
Anunoby delivered the play that decided the game. With the Knicks trailing by one in the final seconds, Brunson missed a three-pointer. Anunoby followed the shot, rose through traffic and tipped the ball in with 1.2 seconds left.
That basket completed the comeback and gave New York a 107-106 victory. It also gave the Knicks the lasting image from one of the most dramatic nights in franchise history.
Anunoby’s winner did not come in isolation. He had already been central to the comeback before the final touch.
The forward finished with 33 points, while also making seven of his nine three-point attempts. His scoring gave the Knicks a second major offensive force beside Brunson at a time when New York needed almost everything to go right.
The Spurs had led 76-49 at half-time and had looked in full control. New York then held San Antonio to just 30 second-half points, turning a one-sided game into a Finals result with historic weight.
Anunoby’s final play was the cleanest snapshot of that reversal. He stayed active after Brunson’s miss, attacked the glass and finished the possession that changed the series.
Jalen Brunson’s 36-point night made the comeback possible before Anunoby finished it
Brunson did not make the final shot, but the comeback still ran through him.
The Knicks guard finished with 36 points and seven assists. He remained New York’s main source of control as the Spurs’ lead began to disappear.
Brunson’s missed three-pointer became the chance Anunoby needed for the winning tip-in. That final sequence should not obscure what came before it.
The Knicks were chasing the game for almost the entire night. Brunson kept them close enough for the final possession to matter.
Brunson and Anunoby were the two clear scoring pillars of the win. Brunson led all Knicks scorers with 36, while Anunoby added 33. Without Brunson’s shot-making, pressure and late-game organisation, there is no final possession for Anunoby to finish.
The result leaves New York 3-1 up in the series, with Game 5 moving to San Antonio.
Windhorst’s statue line worked because Game 4 already has the numbers to support the reaction. It was a one-point Finals win, a 29-point comeback and a night that pushed the Knicks to the edge of a first NBA title since 1973.
Anunoby supplied the final image. Brunson supplied the platform. Those were the two Knicks moments that turned a historic game into something even bigger.
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