Knicks completed the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history after OG Anunoby tipped the ball back in off a Jalen Brunson missed three with under two seconds remaining.
The Spurs would call a timeout afterwards, but failing on the inbound on the other end of the court, sending the Knicks to within one game of greatness as they took a 3-1 series lead.
Spurs' dominant first half
To start, New York was lost defensively. Three-pointers were raining down, the paint was wide open, and inevitably, the gap grew as the visitors kept hitting their shots. A nightmare first quarter, and that's putting it mildly, capped off by a flagrant foul for Mitchell Robinson, who was getting "eaten" both physically and mentally by Victor Wembanyama.
And it wasn't over, with two quick three-pointers at the start of the second quarter from De'Aron Fox. The Garden was in shock: everything was going right for the Spurs—shots, calls, the night was already dragging on.
And the game was disrupted by referee reviews, which didn't help the Knicks' attempts to go on a run, as their play was clearly lacking in fluidity.
It was becoming painful to watch for Knicks fans, especially as the lead approached 30 points (29). With a 76-49 lead at halftime, the Spurs set the NBA Finals record for not only the most points ever by a team in a single half, but also the most three-pointers in a single half (14).
The Knicks turned it all around
All that was left was to hold off a Knicks comeback attempt, which was bound to happen. New York tried to turn up the intensity, but mainly managed to cut the deficit a bit because the Spurs' shooting cooled off after their first-half heights: in no time, Madison Square Garden was roaring again after a 13-0 Knicks run!
With the shots no longer falling, the Spurs went back to attacking the rim, especially through the always impactful Dylan Harper, and managed to stop the bleeding. And they needed to, because Brunson was starting to catch fire. But that strategy didn't last, and forcing threes put San Antonio in danger.
Still, they were very much in control at the end of the third quarter, leading 90-75.
At that point, everyone was waiting for the game to really ignite... and the Spurs went for the simplest solution to avoid that: feeding Wemby the ball in the paint. That strategy helped them keep their lead, but it was still fragile.
And when New York started hitting threes, the gap dropped below ten points: the end of the game was set to be epic.
As always, at the center of it all was Brunson. The All-Star point guard kept driving to the basket, but it was especially Anunoby who delivered an incredibly precise and deadly performance from three (7-9). When Brunson brought the Knicks within one, Josh Hart had an easy layup in transition to put the Knicks ahead and blow the roof off the Garden, but inexplicably missed it.
Still, after two missed free throws from Wembanyama, Brunson finally put his team in front with just over a minute to play. The end of the game was wild. Stephon Castle hit two free throws, then Fox got a steal but couldn't finish in transition.
Knicks' ball for the win, Brunson missed his three, but Anunoby, the hero of the night, came flying in for the game-winning tip-in to seal the 107-106 win, the biggest comeback in history.
The Knicks are now within reach of the Larry O'Brien Trophy!
