Trailing by 29 points early in the second half, New York clawed its way back to win Game 4 over the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 on Anunoby’s putback of a Jalen Brunson miss with 1.2 seconds left.
Brunson, who scored 36 and otherwise was the co-author of the comeback, had a 3-pointer clang off the front of the rim, but Anunoby soared over everyone to guide the miss and tip it in. The Spurs had one more chance, but Stephon Castle fumbled the inbounds pass and pandemonium at Madison Square Garden followed. The Knicks now lead the series 3-1, becoming the first home team to win in the 2026 finals. The Knicks can close out the finals and claim the franchise’s third title with a win Saturday in San Antonio. Game 5 is at 8:30 p.m. ET at Frost Bank Center. Anunoby contributed 33 points on the strength of seven 3s. Karl-Anthony Towns fought through foul trouble all night to contribute 13 points and 10 boards. Brunson added seven assists for the game and scored nine points in the fourth quarter, which began with the Knicks trailing by 15. Reserve guard Jose Alvarado played a huge role in the comeback, scoring eight points off the bench in the fourth quarter.
Given the stakes, this is the most stunning defeat of the young career of rising French superstar Victor Wembanyama. He led the Spurs with 24 points and 13 rebounds, and rookie Dylan Harper was excellent with 21 points off the San Antonio bench. However, this loss will sting for a long time.
San Antonio led by as many as 21 in the first quarter and was ahead 41-22 after one, the largest lead by a road team at the end of the first quarter of an NBA Finals game in league history. By halftime, the Spurs had connected on an NBA Finals-record 14 3-pointers for a half in 26 tries and led by 27 — the fourth-largest halftime lead in finals history. The Knicks edged their way back into the game with a dominant third quarter, trimming a 29-point deficit to 90-75 entering the fourth quarter. San Antonio cooled off considerably (2 of 12 on 3s) and committed five turnovers in scoring just 14 points. This was the Knicks’ second amazing comeback of the playoffs; they also rallied from 22 down with 8 minutes remaining in Game 1 of the conference finals to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in overtime.
With 30 seconds left, Castle’s two free throws put the Spurs up by a point. Brunson missed a short jumper, and De’Aaron Fox grabbed a long rebound with a chance to put his team up by 3 or more, but his layup was blocked by Anunoby. The Spurs fouled and set up the Knicks’ final possession as Anunoby was the passer on the play to Brunson. No one boxed Anunoby out as he slipped past Wembanyama and finished the play.