June 29: 29 Thoughts on the Craziest Comeback in Finals History

The stunned celebrities in the stands. Brunson’s heroic game. The decision that will haunt Fox. Anunoby’s absurd stat line. Moments after New York erased a 29-point second-half deficit against the Spurs to win Game 4, Soroka with a few random thoughts, Sports 5 published: 11.06.26, 09:40

1 Jerry Seinfeld didn’t think it was a show about nothing. Taylor Swift didn’t want to shake it off. Adam Sandler appreciated the hustle. John McEnroe knew what a tiebreak was. Larry Johnson felt the need to tell grandma. Timothée Chalamet felt supreme. Larry David didn’t want to calm down. Nas knew he no longer controlled the world. Until further notice, this is the world of Ogugua Anunoby Jr., born in London. If you have complaints about anything, from global warming to a borderline parking ticket, talk to his agent.

2 A lot of Knicks fans have complained in recent days that the real fans were priced out of the Garden. That they didn’t have the money to mortgage their house to buy a ticket. That is true. And yet seeing all the celebrities, each worth roughly more than the GDP of a significant number of countries around the world, all trying to find the right facial expressions, all in the same shock as Karin and Jorge and Maria and Mohammed watching the game in Ra’anana or Ghana or Santa Ana or Tijuana, was no less entertaining than the game itself. It was a sports moment no one will forget, maybe the craziest sports moment of June-July 2026, no matter what happens at the World Cup from tonight on. There is something to see at the Garden (Getty) | Photo: Sports 5

3 4 5 6 It is doubtful that Alvarado himself, who spent the past few years far from the playoffs and relevance in New Orleans, knew he was built for these levels. The Puerto Rican kid from Brooklyn told Andscape in March: “I still hang out with the people I grew up with. I’m sure I’m the most New York guy on that team.” Tonight he committed five fouls in his first nine minutes, including a leg grab on Victor Wembanyama that looked more like a WWE move than an NBA one, then he settled down too, and helped Brunson overcome San Antonio’s superb defense, and was there for his city and his team in the closing minutes.

7 By the way, I’m not sure Wembanyama’s unsportsmanlike foul on Towns was more unsportsmanlike than the one that was outrageously not called, and not retroactively awarded in an even more outrageous way, in Game 3. But now he is one unsportsmanlike foul away from being ejected from the next game in the Finals. He will have to be careful.

8 Wemby was again very active defensively. He finished 9 for 25 from the field, including about 9 misses on 10 straight shots, although it felt like around 7 of them were self-tipped rebounds until he managed to score. Someone suggested calling that move a Wembound. Maybe he should get a new statistical category. The two free throws he missed, if the Spurs lose the series, will haunt him.

9 Does it not feel like the two coaches are negotiating over Wemby’s minutes? They sit him down for a moment, then the Knicks try to take advantage and put in a lineup that can run well for about three minutes, only for Wemby to come back after about 80 seconds? Wemby rested for 4:05 total in the game tonight. And in the second half the Knicks made him work on defense. Quick ball movement, drives, screens beyond the three-point arc. Maybe it is less surprising that he reached the closing minutes without air.

10 After Wembanyama missed the game-winning shot in Game 2, some said the ball should have been in the hands of De’Aaron Fox, formerly the league’s clutch player of the year when he played for Mike Brown. After Fox hit a big clutch basket in Game 3, it felt like they were right. In the final seconds of Game 4 the ball was in Fox’s hands, the shot clock was off, the Spurs were up one, and he could have held it and waited to be fouled. But he saw a lane for an easy layup. Anunoby blocked him.

11 That is the number for Jalen Brunson, who delivered simply a heroic game, and that after not making his first field goal until the start of the second quarter when the Knicks were down 20. He kept his team from falling behind by 40 when the rest of his teammates were spent, Mikal Bridges looked like, “Why did they give up five first-round picks for him,” Towns was getting close-up shots on the bench while in foul trouble, Hart was searching for himself, Landry Shamet was calculating how many millions of dollars the next contract lost him over the last two games. Without Brunson’s and Anunoby’s fighting spirit, the Knicks would have suffered a historic blowout tonight and home-court advantage would have returned to San Antonio with all the momentum. Jalen Brunson rested 10 seconds in the second half. Advertisement Wemby. Reached the finish tired (Getty) | Photo: Sports 5

12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 points were scored by Dylan Harper, which is nine more than the entire New York Knicks bench combined. No one will talk about him either, but the rookie plays with bull-sized guts. I had to check the box score to see that he played nine minutes in the fourth quarter. He had two turnovers, one of them not really his fault, when the ball hit Wemby’s hand on an inbounds play after good defense by Robinson, and only two shots from the field. He probably should have demanded the ball more, but the Knicks did an excellent job on him and he was barely noticeable.

22 The rest of San Antonio’s bench combined for 7 points. Does anyone remember that Keldon Johnson was named Sixth Man of the Year? In the Spurs’ lone win in the series he had 7 points and 3 field goals. In the three losses he has a combined 8 points on 3 for 13 shooting. The Spurs still need more from their bench players who are not sons of Ron Harper.

23 That is the number for Mitchell Robinson, the most puzzling player in this series. His broken pinky, by the way, what did he break it on? still probably bothers him. Every time he goes to the free throw line, the graphic notes that he has the worst free throw percentage in playoff history. He went 0 for 4 tonight.

24 Can we say this series is not over yet? Or after what we saw, is there no more room to expect anything more? I have a feeling we are still going back to Game 6 at the Garden. Every game in this series has ended in absolute cinema. Even this one, which was not supposed to get there at all, will be recorded as the greatest comeback in Finals history.

25 Jalen Brunson’s three-pointer over two defenders was, on its face, pretty crazy, but it felt right in the moment, and mostly it created an offensive rebounding opportunity.

26 Ogugua is a name from the Igbo tribe in Nigeria. Its literal translation according to Google is “comfort,” “peace of mind,” or “relief.”

27 What relief he brought tonight to New York fans, who have been flooding the streets in recent weeks. How much peace of mind it takes to go up for an offensive rebound with such perfect timing.

28 If the Knicks win the championship, we will see variations of Anunoby’s outstretched hand in the style of the Statue of Liberty. An image that will greet visitors to the Met Gala museum for years to come.

29 Spike Lee realized it was the 25th hour. Ben Stiller had a wild night. Jimmy Fallon was a guest on The Tonight Show. Jeremy Lin knows what insanity is. Mariska Hargitay understood that in New York there is a special department of Law & Order. It is called Ogugua Anunoby Jr.