The New York Knicks pulled off the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, beating the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 in Game 4 after trailing by 29 points.
The night looked set up for a San Antonio Spurs statement before the New York Knicks turned Madison Square Garden into the scene of a record-breaking swing.
New York's rally changed the Finals math, although the deeper meaning came from how far the Knicks had to climb before the final possession.
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
The New York Knicks trailed 76-49 at halftime after the San Antonio Spurs buried 14 first-half 3-pointers and appeared ready to tie the NBA Finals.
New York dragged the game back possession by possession and won 107-106, taking a 3-1 series lead after completing a 29-point turnaround that no team had previously managed in an NBA Finals game.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 36 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals while playing 44 minutes. OG Anunoby matched the moment with 33 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block, giving New York the second star-level scoring line it needed.
Speaking of Anunoby, he has earned a spot in Knicks history books with a stunning block against De'Aaron Fox, and the cherry on top was his game-winning tip in with just 1.2 seconds left on the clock.
The Knicks now lead the series 3-1 ahead of Game 5 in San Antonio, which could very well be the final game in the series.
The scale of the New York Knicks' comeback matters because the previous NBA Finals standard had stood since Game 4 of the 2008 series between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.
Boston came back from 24 points down in Los Angeles to beat the Lakers 97-91, a result that became one of the defining games of the Celtics' title run and the benchmark for every Finals rally that followed.
The Knicks did not edge past that number through a routine late surge. They added five points to the record in a one-point win, which gives this Game 4 a different historical weight than a normal comeback built around one hot stretch.
Victor Wembanyama still finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds for San Antonio, but the Spurs lost control of a game that had been firmly in their hands.
New York now sits one win from the championship because its best players produced while its defense gradually turned a blowout into the most dramatic comeback the NBA Finals has ever seen.
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