The New York Knicks’ historic Game 4 comeback: You never want to miss a miracle

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From San Antonio to New York City, follow Andscape’s coverage of the 2026 NBA Finals with columnist William C. Rhoden, senior NBA writer Marc J. Spears and more.

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NEW YORK — I’ve seen collapses, and I’ve seen comebacks.

I’ve never seen a team collapse like the San Antonio Spurs collapsed in a championship moment. And until Wednesday, I’d never seen a team come back the way the Knicks have.

The Knicks overcame a 29-point San Antonio lead and handed the Spurs a 107-106 defeat in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. New York’s comeback was the largest in NBA Finals history.

The combination of a young team’s collapse and a veteran team’s surge created a historic moment inside Madison Square Garden, a building known for creating them.

Down and seemingly out, the Garden crowd was eerily silent and despondent through three quarters. I packed up my laptop and walked down to an area just outside the court. I didn’t leave — I wanted to be present in case a miracle unfolded.

You never want to miss a miracle.

In the first two games of these NBA Finals, the young, talented Spurs built double-digit leads. Each time, they blew the lead and lost.

But the Knicks’ 29-point second-half deficit seemed to stretch the limits of possibility. I suspect Knicks fans had a sinking feeling that the Spurs had finally figured the old men out.

In Game 3 on Monday, the Spurs played to a star-studded, celebrity-shellacked Garden crowd that included the president of the United States, the mayor of New York City and anyone who could afford a $10,000 to $20,000 ticket. The Spurs won 115-111.

Victor Wembanyama, the Spurs’ 22-year-old, 7-foot-4 center, had his way in Game 3, scoring 32 points. He seemed to be in control in Game 4 as well, hitting 3-point shots, driving to the basket and tormenting Knicks players.

At one point in the first half, Wembanyama irritated Knicks center Mitchell Robinson to the point that Robinson, playing while Karl-Anthony Towns took a breather on the bench, threw an elbow that connected with Wemby’s neck and sent him sprawling. Robinson was called for a flagrant foul as Wemby smiled and pointed to his temple, indicating he knew the Knicks’ veteran backup had made a foolish play.

But when 81-59 became 90-75 at the end of the third quarter, Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson remind his son, Jalen, that the Knicks were in striking distance. During a postgame interview on ESPN’s “Inside the NBA,” the younger Brunson said, “We got it down to 15 and I looked at Pops and he said, ‘We’re winning this game.’ And I said, ‘All right.’”

Then 95-80 became 99-90, then 99-92, and that familiar Garden electricity began to crackle.

When OG Anunoby hit a 3-pointer to pull the Knicks within four points, 99-95, with less than five minutes left, I thought to myself that this was over. Every section of the Garden was roaring; Taylor Swift was roaring, Ben Stiller was roaring, Spike Lee was levitating.

The young Spurs were shell-shocked even as they led 106-105. They had not heard the Garden sound like this.

The Garden crowd the Spurs heard in Game 3 was not the real crowd. Those were the high rollers, the spectators who want to bask in the celebrity of being there.

The raucous crowd that energized the Knicks’ comeback on Wednesday represented the soul of the city, the fury of all five boroughs. Then came the final dagger. With 3.7 seconds left in regulation, Brunson, with Wembanyama closing in, took a long 3-point shot that hit the back of the rim. Anunoby, with no Spurs blocking his path to the basket, tipped in the Brunson miss to give New York the lead with 1.2 seconds left.

In his postgame comments, Knicks head coach Mike Brown framed Anunoby’s tip-in shot in historic terms.

“I don’t know if there was a play bigger … in the history of Knicks basketball,” Brown said. “That has to be the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball. That was a huge offensive rebound.”

This was not a time to split hairs. For this head coach, for this team and this franchise, that game-winning tip-in was in fact the most important two points ever. What was most gratifying for Brown was that before the game, he spoke with Anunoby about being more aggressive on the boards.

“I challenged a lot of our guys today, and OG was one of the guys I challenged,” Brown said. “I told OG, as big, as strong, as athletic as he is, he’s got to be a monster on the offensive glass tonight.”

Later, Towns and Jose Alvarado attempted to describe the emotions, as best they could, of being part of a massive historic moment, one that may have very well taken the heart of a young Spurs team.

“I feel for all y’all who was here at the game,” Towns said. “Obviously, you could just feel the abundance of joy at one time, from everyone … the collective joy that came out of everybody, for that one moment, to hear the buzzer going off, to see the ball going to basket. I think we all felt something like that emotion. MSG hasn’t had that kind of moment in a long time.”

A very long time, indeed.

The Knicks’ entire postseason run has been framed and filtered through the prism of history. They have not won an NBA championship since 1973, and that’s why the team’s mantra, as it has stormed through the postseason, has remained the same: We’re not finished yet.

“It feels cool,” a subdued Anunoby said when asked how he felt about scoring the game-winner. “I mean, everyone’s pretty excited too. We’re all excited. We’re all enjoying it right now, but we’re just focusing on the next game.”

As a matter of course and adherence to professional protocol, I don’t cheer in press boxes. I do, however, pull for and recognize historic moments.

What unfolded at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday in Game 4 was a historic moment that puts the Knicks one victory away from accomplishing an even larger historic moment when the series shifts back to San Antonio for Game 5 on Saturday.

The Spurs, led by Wembanyama, are a young, talented team, and youth will eventually be served. But the collection of young talent is learning some harsh lessons along the way to a title.

Walking through open doors of opportunity is one thing, but if you don’t want to be overtaken by an older, hungrier team like the Knicks, you’d better learn how to close those doors, too.

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