The New York Knicks stared into the abyss and somehow found a way out.
Facing a 29-point deficit in front of a shell-shocked Madison Square Garden crowd, New York completed the largest comeback in NBA finals history on Wednesday night when OG Anunoby’s tip-in off a Jalen Brunson missed three made the difference in a 107-106 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4. The Knicks are within one win of their first NBA championship in 53 years.
The stunning result gave New York a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series and sent thousands of fans pouring into the Manhattan streets chanting and celebrating after the final buzzer. The Knicks can secure their first title since 1973 when the series returns to San Antonio for Game 5 on Saturday night, completing a journey that has transformed a season of lofty expectations into the brink of immortality.
Here’s a look at Bryan Armen Graham’s report and sidebar from tonight’s game.
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Apologies to all who emailed – I plowed through some notifications.
Rowan Sweeney: “Kornet, in 4 minutes, racked up 3x as many personal fouls as Wemby did in 44. Make of that what you will.”
In the 1990s, we had the Jordan Rules era. Michael Jordan simply didn’t foul in the eyes of the officials. I think we’re starting to live in the Wemby Rules era.
And I missed four gems from Peter Oh.
Early on: “Are we sure the place is called Madison Square Garden? It’s looking very pear-shaped right now.”
Halftime-ish: “Have this many New Yorkers gathered in one place ever been so quiet?!”
Third quarter or thereabouts: “Credit to the Spurs for making Chris Rock, Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller look as glum-faced and unfunny as I’ve ever seen them.”
A bit later: “This game might have even more redemption than an Adam Sandler vehicle!”
The best Adam Sandler song, by the way, is The Lonesome Kicker.
On that note – may we have the pleasure of your company Saturday night for Game 5, when the Knicks could clinch their first championship in 53 years?
Jalen Brunson joins the postgame show. Ernie Johnson asks, “How on earth did that just happen?” Brunson stares. Shakes his head. Smiles faintly. He has no idea. None of us do.
Stats
Did Wemby play too many much and fade down the stretch? He played 44 minutes, tied with Brunson as the highest in the game. The All-World Spurs center had 24 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks and countless altered shots, but he was 9-for-25 from the field, 2-for-8 from behind the arc and an unfortunate 4-for-7 on free throws.
Dylan Harper continues to make a name for himself in the postseason for the Spurs, scoring 21 points in 32 minutes. De’Aaron Fox had 18 points and 7 assists. Devin Vassell had 18 points but went from red-hot to ice-cold between the first and second halves.
Brunson put the Knicks on his back, starting slowly but finishing with 36 points and 7 assists. But he had ample help from Anunoby – 33 points, 7-for-9 on 3-pointers and a highlight putback for the ages that will be ingrained in basketball fans’ brains, replayed ad infinitum if the Knicks go on to win this series.
Towns was in foul trouble early, absurdly so. He still managed 13 points and 10 vital rebounds in 26 minutes.
Taylor Swift was 2-for-2 on kisses blown to the camera. Larry David managed 4 expressions of ennui. John McEnroe was 3-for 4 on faces that scream “I LOVE NEW YORK!”
They were done. Toast. They were flinging any player they could find off the bench. It looked like the frontcourt was going to be Spike Lee and John McEnroe.
(Has anyone seen Spike? Please make sure he hasn’t fainted.)
They just kept cutting into the lead. The Spurs couldn’t miss in the first half and couldn’t buy a shot in the second. Their field goal and 3-point percentages were well over 60% for a long stretch of the game. They ended up at 46% field goal and 47% 3-point.
Whatever the Spurs were trying on that last inbounds play, it didn’t work. The ball got tied up, and time ran out.
Knicks win Game 4 with a 29-point comeback
To quote Jack Buck after Kirk Gibson’s World Series home run, I don’t believe what I just saw.
Spurs 106-107 Knicks, 1.3 seconds left. Just restating. Wait – it’s 1.2.
ANUNOBY SCORES! KNICKS LEAD WITH 1.3 LEFT!
Brunson shot right away and missed, but Anunoby lifted off and glided through the air, getting the ball and gently pushing it back up and in.
Timeout Spurs.
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Spurs 106-105 Knicks, 5.7 seconds left: Knicks will inbound. You have to figure they’re going to Brunson. Does Wemby guard Brunson? But then who gets Towns? Or does someone need to stop Anunoby?
BRUNSON MISSES! SPURS GO TO THE RACES! ANUNOBY BLOCKS FOX’S SHOT! Knicks run up the court but call timeout.
Fox misses, but Castle gets the rebound and is fouled by Hart. He makes the first free throw to tie it. Makes the second. 106-105 Spurs, 30.3 left. Timeout Knicks.
Brunson can’t beat the clock this time. He throws up a prayer that doesn’t reach the rim.
Timeout Spurs. 105-104 Knicks, 38.8 left.
1:02 left: Castle steps out of bounds against tight pressure. Knicks ball.
KNICKS LEAD 105-104! Brunson hits the floater with the shot clock near 0.
WEMBY MISSES BOTH FREE THROWS! Towns gets the rebound. Knicks can take the lead.
Josh Hart steals, off to the races, misses the layup! The roof might have come off. That would’ve given the Knicks the lead.
Wemby is fouled.
Spurs 104-103 Knicks, 2:06, 4th qtr: BRUNSON FOR 3 OVER WEMBY! THE LEAD IS ONE!
Spurs 104-100 Knicks, 2:42, 4th qtr: The Spurs led by 29 points. Twenty-nine.
It’s down to four.
Make that seven. Fox hits a 3. Alvarado spins for a nifty layup. Wemby hits a shot just outside the free throw line.
ALVARADO HITS A 3 WITH WEMBY RUNNING AT HIM! This is insanity. Linsanity, even.
Spurs 99-95 Knicks, 4:32, 4th qtr: What a drive by Brunson to find a seam and attack the rim. He misses but is fouled. He hits both, and the lead is nine again.
Champagnie misses, but the Knicks throw it away. Vassell misses --- we didn’t say that much in the first half.
Brunson makes an impossible layup and crashes to the ground – the lead is seven!
Fox misses. Wemby keeps the ball alive, but it goes out of play.
ANUNOBY FOR 3! LARRY DAVID IS HIGH-FIVING PEOPLE! IT’S A FOUR-POINT GAME!
And the Spurs finally call a long-overdue timeout.
Spurs 99-88 Knicks, 6:09, 4th qtr: Alvarado puts Castle on the free throw line, which is not what they need. Castle makes both shots.
Replay of that Towns layup – he had to fight through Wemby, who was draped all over him.
Spurs 97-88 Knicks, 6:40, 4th qtr: Castle hits two free throws.
Anunoby for 3! The lead is 11!
Anunoby with the steal! Towns gets a layup, and the lead is single digits!
This would be … historic.
Spurs 95-83 Knicks, 7:28, 4th qtr: Wemby’s difficult fallaway jumper barely gets the rim, but the Knicks turn the ball right back over. But the Knicks come back with a strong defensive sequence, forcing Castle to practically jump out of bounds to get a shot away. It fails to hit the rim, and the shot clock sounds.
Towns hits a 3. The lead is 12. Could this really happen?
Spurs 95-80 Knicks, 8:43, 4th qtr: Alvarado launches a corner 3 that rolls around the rim before falling through. Wemby can’t latch on to another errant alley-oop pass, and Bridges scores in transition. Spurs call timeout, again eager to stop any momentum the home team can get.
Spurs 95-75 Knicks, 9:46, 4th qtr: Aside from that one airball, everything seems to fall for Harper.
Anuboby throws up an alley-oop for Robinson, and it doesn’t go. The Spurs try an alley-oop to Wemby, who can’t catch it cleanly but draws a foul. The big man hasn’t been dominant in this game – offensively, anyway. Defensively, he alters more shots than a bad bartender watering things down.
Wemby tips in his own miss, and the lead is 20 once again.
Spurs scoring by quarter: 41, 35, 14. One of these things is not like the other.
Spurs 90-75 Knicks, 11:46, 4th qtr: The Knicks will challenge a possession call, arguing that the ball last touched Wemby. The officials agree.
End 3rd quarter: Spurs 90-75 Knicks
A messy sequence for the Knicks on offense, but then Towns defends well (and cleanly) against Wemby at the buzzer.
The Knicks outscored the Spurs 26-14 in that quarter, and they’re still down 15.
Spurs 90-75 Knicks, 0:35, 3rd qtr: Anunoby puts up a 3. It hits the front rim, taps the backboard and falls through.
Spurs 90-72 Knicks, 1:21, 3rd qtr: After a timeout, the Knicks score on an alley-oop from Brunson to Robinson.
Fox and Wemby both miss 3s. Wemby misses again. The Spurs’ shooting has regressed to the mean in a way that is probably ripping a hole in the time-space continuum.
Never mind – Vassell hits one, and the lead is 18 again.
Spurs 87-70 Knicks, 2:58, 3rd qtr: Brunson gets caught in traffic and is fouled. He alertly flings up an off-balance shot, and it goes. He adds the free throw.
Harper’s just too good. He drives, pulls back, spins, hits the baseline jumper.
Brunson answers again. He has 27.
Harper shoots an airball. That’s a shocker.
Spurs 85-65 Knicks, 4:10, 3rd qtr: Again, the Knicks are forced to a bad shot as the shot clock nears 0. The next time down the court, they rush and take a bad shot.
Wemby is back in. Towns picks up his fourth foul as Harper drives. The rookie hits both free throws, and the lead is once again 20.
Spurs 81-65 Knicks, 5:15, 3rd qtr: But the basic problem for New York is simple – the Spurs are getting better shots than they are. The Knicks settle for bad shots on two straight possessions. It’s a good thing for them that the Spurs have cooled off dramatically.
Wemby takes a seat.
Hart hits a 3. Lead is down to 16.
Spurs 81-62 Knicks, 6:45, 3rd qtr: Wemby makes a kick save to stop a New York fast break.
Towns works inside, but his shot falls away.
Spurs miss. Anunoby hits a 3. That’s 10 straight for the Knicks, and the crowd has returned to life.
Spurs 81-59 Knicks, 8:23, 3rd qtr: Towns hits both free throws.
Good defensive sequence for the Knicks, and Anunoby dunks in transition on a sweet feed from Josh Hart.
Champagnie misses. Brunson doesn’t. Timeout Spurs.
Review says … says … says … there’s a lot of conversation on the referees’ headsets.
Finally, the announcement. Flagrant 1.
Once again, it’s worth asking whether Wemby should sit out for a while. He’s one step away from a suspension.
Spurs 81-52 Knicks, 9:27, 3rd qtr: Castle slams into Brunson. Offensive foul. His fourth. Can the Knicks make any headway while he’s out? Am I asking rhetorical questions in an effort to instill some drama? What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
Well, HERE’S some drama – Wemby just elbowed Towns in the face near midcourt. They’re reviewing, probably to see what level of flagrant foul it is.
Spurs 79-52 Knicks, 10:09, 3rd qtr: Vassell was 5-for-5 in the first half, 4-for-4 from 3-point range. He misses his first shot of the half.
Anunoby hits a 3. But Wemby hits a 3, and the lead is still … breaks out calculator … 27.
We’re back.
The Wu-Tang Clan have just performed a lively half-time show – six of them at least, which qualifies as a quorum. Frankly, the Garden could use the lift. The Spurs have turned a sold-out crowd of feral Knicks fans from a roaring mob into anxious bystanders, with every attempted chant from the upper deck quickly swallowed by the reality on the scoreboard.
Setlist wise, it was a breezy four-minute trip through Bring da Ruckus, Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit, Method Man and CREAM – all off their epochal studio debut. “Knicks in five,” declared Method Man before leaving the floor. That’s going to require some heavy lifting.
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The biggest question the Spurs may face in the second half is when to pull Wemby from the action. We’re talking about a player who has a rather extensive injury history for someone so young. Should the Spurs just apply the bubble wrap sooner rather than later?
Halftime: Spurs 76-49 Knicks
Wemby plays volleyball with himself and scores. Brunson answers – he has 19 points, which would be great under most other circumstances.
Harper hits the Spurs’ 14th 3-pointer. Wemby misses on the next possession.
Another miss at each end, and the first half is brought to a merciful end before a silent crowd. Call it Mausoleum Square Garden.
Spurs 71-43 Knicks, 2:26, 2nd qtr: Bench points so far: San Antonio 19, New York 2.
Wemby misses a 3-pointer. Someone had to miss at some point.
Spurs 69-42 Knicks, 3:19, 2nd qtr: Harper with a drive. Harper with a 3. The Spurs have hit 13 of 21 attempts from behind the arc. That’s what you might see in an All-Star weekend 3-point contest with no defense.
Spurs 64-40 Knicks, 4:19, 2nd qtr: Anunoby hits free throws. Fox hits a turnaround jumper. The Spurs have cooled off, though. Now they’re only shooting 62%. Instead of being supernatural territory, that’s merely in the “rarely seen with mortal players” category.
Spurs 62-38 Knicks, 5:09, 2nd qtr: Wemby is tied up, forcing a jump ball. It’s batted around. The Spurs’ shot clock runs down. They fling it to Vassell in desperation. He hits the Spurs’ 12th 3-pointer.
I’m unable to connect to Bluesky. I’ll just assume everyone is leaving witty comments.
Spurs 59-38 Knicks, 6:10, 2nd qtr: The Spurs commit their first turnover, more than 17 minutes into the game. Brunson gets a quick layup. Castle misses a layup, and Brunson once again races into transition and scores. Timeout Spurs. No need to sit back and let the Knicks gather momentum here if you’re Spurs coach Mitch Johnson.
No basket for Brunson. Mitchell Robinson goes to the line, a sight that should only be broadcast with disclaimers. He misses both.
We have a review. Mitchell Robinson is fouled off the ball around the same time that Brunson launches a 3-pointer that falls in sweetly. Did Brunson get the shot off before Robinson was fouled?
Spurs 59-34 Knicks, 7:00, 2nd qtr: Jordan Clarkson has entered for the Knicks. He gets a wide-open look for 3 and misses, but after a turnover, he drives 1-on-1 and scores.
Towns gets called for his third foul.
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Spurs 57-32 Knicks, 8:26, 2nd qtr: Brunson misses, but Towns fights for an offensive rebound and gets the ball in the hoop while being held. He adds a free throw. Knicks fans have to wonder if things would’ve been different if Towns had been around for most of the game so far.
Brunson finally scores, but Harper hits the Spurs’ ninth 3-pointer. McBride misses for New York. Carter Bryant hits the Spurs’ 10th 3-pointer. Brunson hits a difficult floater. Champagnie hits the Spurs’ 11th 3-pointer.
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Spurs 47-25 Knicks, 10:45, 2nd qtr: An Anunoby 3 gives the Knicks a tiny glimmer of light, but Fox hits a pair of 3s in short order, and Jose Alvarado gets caught in a shoving battle with Wemby. Foul on Alvarado, and they’ll review to see if it’s a flagrant foul. For once, a replay favors the Knicks, and the foul isn’t upgraded.
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End 1st quarter: Spurs 41-20 Knicks
Yes – that’s 41 points.
The dubious call to give Towns his second foul certainly rattled the Knicks, but to give the Spurs credit, they’ve been spectacular on offense. They’re shooting 65% from the field, including 6-of-10 3-point attempts.
And Wemby is fast becoming a national villain. The 2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympics should be interesting.
Spurs 39-20 Knicks, 0:41, 1st qtr: The Knicks scramble to get an open look, and Miles McBride gets it. He misses badly.
Wemby takes the ball at the top of the arc, then drives and pivots past Robinson. As they travel to the other end of the court, Wemby trash-talks in his ear. Robinson puts a forearm up near Wemby’s neck. You can only do that if you’re Wemby, not if you’re fouling Wemby. Officials review it and upgrade it to a flagrant foul. Spike Lee looks extremely unhappy.
Jeremy Sochan now gets the task of guarding Wemby.
Spurs 35-20 Knicks, 1:50, 1st qtr: Towns is back in, and he hits the single free throw after the Spurs are called for a defensive three-seconds infraction.
To even things out, the Knicks commit their own defensive three-seconds infraction.
Spurs 32-19 Knicks, 2:44, 1st qtr: Mitchell Robinson goes to the free throw line, which is always an adventure. He puts up two line drives that clank off the iron.
Kornet blatantly goaltends. No whistle. Wemby gets away with a possible offensive goaltending. The officiating in this first quarter has been diabolical. And as is so often the case, the team getting the better of the calls is also playing out of their minds.
New York fans are making their displeasure known, which may account for some the glitches in the audio.
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Spurs 30-17 Knicks, 4:00, 1st qtr: Wemby decides to clear everyone out and shoot again from long range, but he misses this one. He gets a block at the other end and Keldon Johnson gets a layup, but the Spurs lose track of Mikal Bridges, who puts up a 3.
Wemby will take a break. Luke Kornet is in.
And De’Aaron Fox makes a 3. The Spurs have made six of eight 3-point attempts.
In less than three minutes, Madison Square Garden has gone from a powder keg of noise and anticipation to a building crackling with nervous energy as the Spurs race to an early 12-2 lead. Karl-Anthony Towns picked up two early fouls, including one overturned on a successful Spurs challenge, and is already headed to the bench.
Seated at courtside for tonight’s game, as you might have overheard, is the recording artist Taylor Swift alongside close friends Alana and Este Haim. The Knicks celebrity cam puts Swift on the jumbotron during the break, ignoring the Haims entirely. Justice for the Haims!
Spurs 25-12 Knicks, 5:37, 1st qtr: And the Knicks fall back into terrible offensive movement. Or lack thereof. Bridges gets stuck with the ball in the middle of the lane, can’t find a passing option, and has to launch an off-balance shot.
Meanwhile, the Spurs can’t miss. Castle hits a 3. Vassell hits a 3.
Third-string Knicks center Ariel Hukporti enters for the winded Mitchell Robinson.
And Wemby hits a 3.
Spurs 14-10 Knicks, 7:51, 1st qtr: The Knicks are fighting back. After a good defensive stop, Josh Hart drives against Champagnie and converts both the layup and the free throw.
Spurs 12-5 Knicks, 8:38, 1st qtr: In any case – the Knicks have completely lost composure. They can’t hit any- …
Anunoby hits a 3.
I have great sympathy for referees because I do it myself. If I can’t see fouls clearly when keeping an eye on 11-year-old soccer players, then I can understand how referees can miss something in the chaos of 10 large athletes scrapping for possession of a basketball.
But I’m astounded how often referees look at a replay and make calls that are … idiosyncratic? Every now and then, especially in soccer, there’s a logical explanation that commentators miss because soccer commentators generally don’t keep up with changes to the Laws to the Game, and IFAB literally changes the Laws every year. But the reversal to put the foul on Towns rather than Wemby is not a rule change. It’s just looking at a blue dress and seeing a black dress, or whatever the viral image was.
Spurs 12-2 Knicks, 9:16, 1st qtr: Vassell hits another 3. Champagnie steals a pass from Josh Hart and drives for the breakaway dunk. That’ll teach the PA announcer to pause when reading off the lineup.
Mitchell Robinson replaces Towns, who is now charged with his second foul.
I don’t get it in the least. Wemby is claiming Towns pulled his arm. Towns and about 99% of the USA would see it as Wemby grabbing Towns and not letting go.
The call is overturned. I await an explanation.
Spurs 5-2 Knicks, 10:55, 1st qtr: Definitely not what the Knicks wanted at the outset – a foul on Karl-Anthony Towns, the big man who battled Wemby to a standstill in the first two games of the series. De’Aaron Fox hits both free throws.
Towns hits a nice floater at the other end to equalize. Darius Vassell smoothly hits a 3-pointer to restore the Spurs lead.
And now we have a talking point. Wemby mauls Towns as his nemesis drives to the hoop. Foul Wemby, right? Well, we’re getting a challenge.
Spurs 0-0 Knicks, 11:59, 1st qtr: After Taylor Swift blows a kiss to the camera, we have tipoff. Referee Zach Zarba is in his 23rd season. Spurs win the tip.
I’m a connoisseur of pregame hype videos, and I missed Game 3, so I’m interested in seeing what happens here.
The announcer paused when announcing Julian Champagnie in the Spurs’ starting lineup, as if trying to remember who he was.
Looks like the theme is to mix game highlights with images of Knicks players being as tall as buildings in Manhattan. It’s not bad, but someone should really tell pregame producers that just because you can do something with your video editing software doesn’t mean you should.
Performing at halftime: Wu-Tang Clan.
We have a correct answer on the trivia quiz from Neon Thotsky at Bluesky, who illustrates the point with a dramatic photo.
In mere words: Cleveland Cavaliers over Golden State Warriors, 2016. That was the Cleveland team with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving co-existing while Kevin Love gathered rebounds.
Have we ever seen a year with so many close games in both the NBA and NHL finals?
Last year, four of the seven games were decided by double digits. The year before that, the Celtics won three games in resounding fashion, lost Game 4 by 38 points, then won Game 5 by 18.
This year, the 10-point margin in Game 1 is deceptive. The Knicks barely eked out the lead late and then padded the margin in the last minute. Game 2 came down to a potential buzzer-beater that missed. Game 3 was still in doubt in the final seconds.
Over in the NHL, the first three games were decided by one goal, two of them in overtime. Last night, Jordan Staal’s belly-flop backhand put the Hurricanes up by one with 6:32 left, and Carolina didn’t put the game away until getting an empty-netter with 55 seconds left.
Trivia quiz …
How many teams have faced a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals and gone on to win?
How am I supposed to follow Chuck D? Or, as he was called in his memorable appearance on NewsRadio, “Mr. D.”
Will we see yet another game that goes down to the wire? Will a home team win any of these games? Which new celebrities will be courtside? Let’s find out …
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s Public Enemy frontman Chuck D’s take on what’s becoming one of the more compelling NBA finals in recent memory.
