The Spurs will never forget Game 4 of the 2026 NBA Finals, even if they are somehow able to come back from a 3–1 series deficit and win the title. What happened Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden was historic for all the wrong reasons.
The Spurs led by 29 points early in the third quarter and seemed ready to roll to a victory that would have evened the series up as it shifted back to Texas.
MANNIX: The Greatest NBA Finals Comeback Ever Puts the Knicks on the Brink of a Title
Instead, they suffered the worst collapse in NBA Finals history which ended with an unreal game-winning tip-in by New York’s OG Anunoby with just over a second left in the game that gave the Knicks a wild 107–106 win and a commanding lead in the series.
Moments after the game ended, and while all the celebrities in attendance celebrated on the court, Charles Barkley didn’t hold back on the Spurs, calling them the “dumbest” team and ripping them for doing “stupid” stuff in the second half.
“We saw the dumbest basketball team in the history of civilization,” Barkley said on the Inside the NBA postgame show. “They had a 25-point lead, took eight straight threes. That was some of the most mismanaged, stupid basketball. Hey, when you blow a 29-point lead the other team has to help you. The San Antonio Spurs helped the New York Knicks win this game by doing some of the [most] stupid ass stuff I’ve ever seen on a basketball court.”
Shaquille O’Neal was quick to back up Barkley’s take on the Spurs’ historic collapse.
“Congratulations to the Knicks for coming back, but Chuck I agree with you—they played terrible basketball,” Shaq said. “They got comfortable, they got comfortable with the lead. They were already talking about going back to San Antonio, they just didn’t play smart.”
Here’s that moment:
“We saw the dumbest basketball team in the history of civilization. … The San Antonio Spurs helped the New York Knicks win this game.”
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 11, 2026
Charles Barkley after the Spurs allowed the largest comeback in NBA Finals history 👀 pic.twitter.com/Y7t4UZsVhU
De’Aaron Fox’s brutal decision in the closing seconds backs up Charles Barkley’s take
Barkley and Shaq are right, the Spurs played some truly awful basketball down the stretch. One of the most mind-boggling plays by the Spurs came in the final seconds when De’Aaron Fox, with the Spurs up by one, tried to go up for a layup instead of pulling the ball back and drawing a foul and killing some clock. Instead, Anunoby was able to block Fox’s shot, the Knicks got the ball back and then Anunoby played the roll of hero again with his tip-in.
Here’s how that played out for Fox:
DE'AARON FOX COST SAN ANTONIO THE GAME 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/kv9eciYzJS
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) June 11, 2026
Fox explained his thought process on that play after the game.
“I just thought I'd be able to outrun [Anunoby],” Fox said. “Try to make a layup and go up three and force them to make a three and OG made a good block.”
"I just thought I'd be able to outrun [OG Anunoby]."
— ESPN (@espn) June 11, 2026
De'Aaron Fox explains his late game shot that was blocked by OG Anunoby.
(via @BenGolliver) pic.twitter.com/HbWQvzPZ5M
Barkley, like most people who watched the game, couldn’t believe that Fox tried to make a contested layup instead of pulling the ball back and eating some clock.
“That was a dumbass play. He did not have to shoot that ball,” Barkley said. “They could have just got fouled. There was no reason for him to shoot that ball.”
Charles Barkley on De'Aaron Fox:
— Hater Report (@HaterReport) June 11, 2026
“That was a dumbass play. He did not have to shoot that ball.”
(h/t @ohnohedidnt24)
pic.twitter.com/Re58TsPfPU
What’s next in the 2026 NBA Finals
The Knicks now lead the series 3–1 and will look to win their first championship since 1973 in Game 5, which is Saturday night in San Antonio.
