NEW YORK — The New York Knicks staged the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) as they erased a 29-point deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs, 107-106, and now need one more win to seal the title.
OG Anunoby’s tip-in basket with 1.2 seconds left sealed the thrilling victory to give the Knicks a 3-1 stranglehold on the best-of-seven championship series, which shifts back to San Antonio for game five on Saturday.
Jalen Brunson scored 36 points and Anunoby added 33 for New York, putting in the game-winner off Brunson’s three-point attempt that struck the rim.
“Just do whatever it takes to win,” Anunoby said of the basket that sent a star-studded crowd at Madison Square Garden into a frenzy.
Spurs star Victor Wembanyama scored 24 points and pulled down 13 rebounds.
Dylan Harper added 21 points and De’Aaron Fox and Devin Vassell had 18 apiece for San Antonio, who set a Finals record with 14 three-pointers in the first half but couldn’t make their massive lead stand up.
Brunson put New York in front for the first time with a floater that made it 105-104 with 1:22 remaining.
San Antonio’s Stephon Castle made a pair of free throws but the Knicks came through, Anunoby rising from a scrum of Spurs defenders to clinch the win.
The previous biggest comeback in the Finals was 24 points, by the Boston Celtics against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008.
Meanwhile, pop diva Taylor Swift was courtside at Madison Square Garden to cheer on the New York Knicks.
The 14-time Grammy award-winner, sporting a blue and orange Knicks T-shirt with the slogan “Stevie Knicks,” upped the already considerable star power as she joined longtime Knicks fans like film director Spike Lee and actor Ben Stiller in the crowd.
The appearance came a day after her surprise performance in Los Angeles at the world premiere of the movie “Toy Story 5,” for which she wrote a song.
And it came at the same iconic arena where it’s rumored her wedding to L player Travis Kelce will take place next month.
The Knicks’ bid for a first NBA title since 1973 — against a young Spurs team featuring French phenomenon Victor Wembanyama — has galvanized New York and captured the attention of sports fans across the United States.
The Knicks’ victories in the first two games in San Antonio fueled feverish excitement among their fans.
Police arrested several unruly fans near Madison Square Garden in New York Wednesday night, where basketball fans gathered for Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the Spurs and the Knicks, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer observed.
Law enforcement also used stun grenades in an attempt to disperse crowds gathered for the game, in which the Knicks mounted an epic comeback to beat the Spurs, giving the New York team a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven championship series.
At least four people were taken into custody. AFP
