Knicks Stage Historic 29-Point Comeback, Take 3-1 Finals Lead

After two overtimes: Panathinaikos forced a fifth game in the finals series / Sport1

The New York Knicks pulled off the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history and moved within one win of their first championship since 1973, after defeating the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 overnight Wednesday into Thursday. OG Anunoby scored the decisive basket with 1.2 seconds remaining, tipping in a miss by Jalen Brunson from beyond the arc, and completed a stunning turnaround that gave the Knicks a 3-1 lead in the finals series and three chances to clinch the title.

At the start of the game, that scenario seemed impossible. The Spurs went into halftime with a 27-point lead, and later extended it to 81-52 during the third quarter. But the Knicks did not give up. Brunson led the comeback with 36 points, while Anunoby added 33 points, including the game-winner. The victory left New York just one win away from its first championship in 53 years. Game 5 of the series will be played overnight Saturday into Sunday in San Antonio.

According to NBA data, no team had ever come back from a deficit larger than 24 points in a Finals game since the league began tracking full play-by-play data for all four quarters in 1997. The previous record belonged to the Boston Celtics, who erased such a deficit against the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2008 Finals. The Knicks not only broke the record, they did it after trailing by 29 points. Wow. Anunoby / GettyImages An unforgettable game. Brunson against Castle / Reuters A great series. Wemby / GettyImages

Game flow

The big run began in a first quarter completely controlled by San Antonio, which shot without mercy and opened 6-of-8 from three-point range to build a lead that peaked at 41-20. The Spurs started with a quick 12-2 run, and even after a crucial officiating decision, just a minute into the game: after a Spurs challenge, the referees overturned a foul on Wembanyama into an offensive foul on Karl-Anthony Towns, his second of the game, which sent him to the bench early.

The Spurs finished the quarter shooting 65 percent from the field compared with 29 percent for the Knicks, with Wemby scoring 13 points while Brunson managed just 4 on 0-for-3 shooting. At the start of the second quarter, the frustrated Knicks continued to focus on the officials and complained about every whistle. After Mitchell Robinson threw an elbow to Wemby’s face and was given a technical foul, a flagrant foul was also called on Alvarado against the Frenchman after he pushed him to the floor.

Meanwhile, Bryant, Fox and Champagnie kept doing the damage and knocking down shots from beyond the arc, 11 of their first 16 attempts from three-point range, and the lead grew to 59-34 after six minutes in the second quarter, with San Antonio recording its first turnover only in the 19th minute of the game. Dylan Harper scored seven straight points, the lead went to 71-42, and boos and groans could already be heard at the Garden.

At halftime, the Spurs led 76-49, a 27-point margin. The Knicks were fixated on the referees, but the whistles kept them in the game, New York went to the line 23 times in the first half, compared with just 6 for the Spurs. Mike Brown searched for answers and used 12 players in the first half, but got only 2 points from his bench. Wow. Alvarado / GettyImages

The third quarter looked completely different. The hot Spurs cooled off, shots began to rim out, and New York put together a 13-0 run that cut the gap to just 15 as the Knicks' defense regained some of its footing. Jalen Brunson, who scored 15 points in the second quarter, added 8 more in the third and managed to wake up the Garden crowd, which once again began to roar.

In the fourth quarter, the Knicks' energy continued. With 7:28 remaining, Karl-Anthony Towns hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 12, Anunoby added his sixth three of the night, and Towns scored two more tough points over Wemby to cap a 13-2 run, trimming the gap to single digits, 97-88, with 6:35 left.

Brunson kept driving aggressively and added two more points, Anunoby buried another three, and with 4:35 remaining the deficit was down to 99-95 after a 20-4 run. De'Aaron Fox ended the Spurs' drought with a big three-pointer, and Wemby added another jumper, but Alvarado answered with a three of his own to make it 104-100 with 3:07 left.

With 2:20 remaining, Brunson hit a three-pointer, the Garden shook with excitement as the gap was cut to one point, and after a Spurs turnover Josh Hart went to the basket but missed an easy layup that could have given New York its first lead of the game, with 1:59 left. Wemby went to the line and missed both free throws. Brunson drove in and, with a huge basket, completed the comeback to make it 105-104 for the Knicks with 1:22 remaining.

Castle turned it over on one end, Brunson could not get a shot off on the other, and with 38 seconds left San Antonio got the ball. Fox missed, but Castle grabbed the rebound and drew a foul. Calmly, he made both free throws and restored the lead to the Spurs, 106-105, with 30 seconds left.

In the height of the drama, Brunson missed, the ball got to Fox, who went to the basket to try to put the game away, but Anunoby blocked him with 11 seconds left. Alvarado nearly turned it over, but Brown called timeout. With 5.7 seconds left, the ball was with the Knicks, Brunson missed a three-pointer, but Anunoby tipped in the rebound. With 1.2 seconds left, Anunoby gave New York a stunning 107-106 lead.