Knicks rally from 29 down, edge Spurs for 3-1 NBA Finals lead

The New York Knicks produced a historic comeback on Wednesday night, erasing a 29-point deficit to defeat the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 and move within one win of their first NBA championship since 1973, News.Az reports, citing AP.

The record-setting rally was capped by a dramatic play from OG Anunoby, whose tip-in with just 1.2 seconds remaining secured the victory and gave New York a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

“A record-breaking comeback, capped off by what could go down as a legendary play,” the game delivered one of the most memorable moments in franchise history.

The Knicks’ long journey back to the top of the NBA is now close to completion, and the step they took Wednesday was unforgettable. Trailing by as many as 29 points, New York battled back before Anunoby provided the decisive basket in the closing seconds.

“That has to be the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said after the game.

The winning play came when Jalen Brunson launched a deep three-pointer that struck the front of the rim. Anunoby soared above the crowd, extending his right hand to softly guide the ball into the basket.

“Right hand from God,” Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said of Anunoby’s game-winning effort.

The Knicks, who have won only two championships during their 80-year history and had not reached the NBA Finals since 1999, are now on the verge of ending a decades-long title drought.

New York will have three opportunities to secure the championship, beginning with Game 5 on Saturday night in San Antonio.

It looked impossible early, when the Spurs rolled to a 27-point halftime lead. But Brunson helped bring the Knicks back with 36 points and Anunoby finished with 33.

No team had come from more than 24 points down in a finals game, when Boston did it against the Lakers in 2008, since the NBA began keeping detailed play-by-play for all four quarters in 1997. The Spurs led 81-52 in the third quarter.

“We’re a resilient group. We’ve been through a lot,” Anunoby said. “We’ve come back plenty of times when we’re behind. Just staying with it, weathering the storm, not being too down or angry or frustrated.”

The only bigger comeback on record in any playoff game was 31 points by the Los Angeles Clippers against Golden State in Game 2 of a first-round series in 2019.

“You look at it when you’re down 29 of, ‘OK, let’s get it to 20.’ There’s three minutes left in the third quarter, we’re down 18, you’re thinking, ‘Let’s get it to 10,” forward Josh Hart said.

“In the fourth quarter, you’re like, this is winning time. Anything can happen.”

And it did.

The Knicks had their 13-game winning streak snapped in Game 3 and seemed headed for a second straight defeat throughout the first half, when Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs opened the biggest halftime lead by a visiting team in the finals.

But the young Spurs, who made 11 of their first 16 3-pointers, went cold in the second half, going 3 for 17 behind the arc as the Knicks outscored them 58-30.

“We got on our heels — we missed some shots,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “It’s disappointing, to say the least.”

Delirious fans inside Madison Square Garden sang along to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” a few minutes after watching something that seemed almost impossible.

Wembanyama had 24 points and 13 rebounds but shot just 9 for 25 from the field.

Road teams had won the first three games, only the second time that had happened in the finals. San Antonio was well on its way to making it 4 for 4.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev