Why the Knicks Have Had the Edge Over San Antonio in the Finals

Victor Wembanyama celebrated after a strong two-way play on Mitchell Robinson late in the first quarter of Game 4 in New York, shouting, "I'm in your head!" with 41.7 seconds left in the period. He had just scored on Robinson and then drew a clear unsportsmanlike foul, converting both free throws to push San Antonio ahead 39-20, apparently on the way to a 2-2 series tie.

But the Knicks, led by Jalen Brunson, have shown all series that they are extremely hard to rattle. The article says Brunson and his teammates sound like a "broken record" with their modesty, and that attitude has become their biggest advantage against Wembanyama and the Spurs, who are described as acting like children. When Wembanyama tried to test New York mentally, he found the poise of champions and, as the piece puts it, ran into the ghosts of Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks have already built a reputation as comeback specialists. The article notes that last season they were dubbed Indiana's "comeback kings" after that conference final run, but New York has now inherited that identity. Mike Brown's team owns the biggest comeback in Finals history, erasing a 29-point deficit, and the largest fourth-quarter comeback in a conference final, from 22 down against Cleveland.

New York trailed by double digits in each of the first four quarters against San Antonio, and even in Game 1 it was down 14 in the second half. In Game 3, despite losing, the Knicks pushed the Spurs to the final seconds, cutting a seven-point deficit in the last minute on big threes by Brunson and OG Anunoby to make it 113-111 with 9.4 seconds left before Stephon Castle sealed the win. The piece also teases the "invasion" in Game 5 and asks who the Finals MVP is.