Knicks complete record rally from
29 points down and beat Spurs 107-106 for 3-1 NBA Finals lead
[June 11, 2026]
By BRIAN MAHONEY
NEW YORK (AP) — A record-breaking comeback, capped off by what could
go down as a legendary play.
The long road back to the top of the NBA is almost complete for the
New York Knicks, and the step they took Wednesday night was
unforgettable.
The Knicks came from 29 points down and moved to the brink of their
first championship since 1973 by beating the San Antonio Spurs
107-106 in Game 4 of the finals on OG Anunoby's tip-in with 1.2
seconds remaining.
“That has to be the most iconic shot in the history of New York
basketball,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said.
It's certainly high on the list — as high as Anunoby leaped when
Jalen Brunson's long 3-point shot bounced off the front of the rim,
with his right hand stretching high to softly flick it in.
“Right hand from God,” Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns said.
The Knicks, who have just two titles in their 80-year history and
hadn't even been to the NBA Finals since 1999, have a 3-1 lead and
three chances to win the best-of-seven series — starting with Game 5
on Saturday night in San Antonio.
It looked impossible early, when the Spurs rolled to a 27-point
halftime lead. But Brunson helped bring the Knicks back with 36
points and Anunoby finished with 33.
The Knicks weathered a playoff storm
No team had come from more than 24 points down in a finals game,
when Boston did it against the Lakers in 2008, since the NBA began
keeping detailed play-by-play for all four quarters in 1997. The
Spurs led 81-52 in the third quarter.
“We’re a resilient group. We’ve been through a lot,” Anunoby said.
“We’ve come back plenty of times when we’re behind. Just staying
with it, weathering the storm, not being too down or angry or
frustrated.”
The only bigger comeback on record in any playoff game was 31 points
by the Los Angeles Clippers against Golden State in Game 2 of a
first-round series in 2019.
“You look at it when you’re down 29 of, ‘OK, let’s get it to 20.’
There’s three minutes left in the third quarter, we’re down 18,
you’re thinking, 'Let’s get it to 10,” forward Josh Hart said.
“In the fourth quarter, you’re like, this is winning time. Anything
can happen.”
And it did.
The Spurs started out awesome but then were awful
The Knicks had their 13-game winning streak snapped in Game 3 and
seemed headed for a second straight defeat throughout the first
half, when Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs opened the biggest
halftime lead by a visiting team in the finals.
But the young Spurs, who made 11 of their first 16 3-pointers, went
cold in the second half, going 3 for 17 behind the arc as the Knicks
outscored them 58-30.
“We got on our heels — we missed some shots,” Spurs coach Mitch
Johnson said. “It’s disappointing, to say the least.”
Delirious fans inside Madison Square Garden sang along to Journey's
“Don’t Stop Believin’” a few minutes after watching something that
seemed almost impossible.
Wembanyama had 24 points and 13 rebounds but shot just 9 for 25 from
the field.
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New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, right, and San Antonio
Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) battle for the ball during the second
half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June
10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Road teams had won the first three games, only the
second time that had happened in the finals. San Antonio was well on
its way to making it 4 for 4.
Knicks scrap watch party and fans have nothing to cheer early
President Donald Trump wasn’t at this game — Taylor Swift was — but
the same restrictions remained around Madison Square Garden as when
he attended Game 3. That angered the Knicks, who decided not to go
forward with plans to hold an outdoor watch party outside the arena.
Inside the building in the first half, there wasn’t much for the
hosts to be happy about, either.
But the Knicks gave themselves a chance by limiting the Spurs to 14
points on 4-for-20 shooting in the third quarter, using a 13-0 run
to get back in it and cutting it to 90-75 heading to the fourth.
These Knicks, who erased a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter
against Cleveland in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, just
don’t quit. Even when the comeback seemed for naught when Stephon
Castle was fouled after the Knicks had taken the lead and made two
free throws to put San Antonio back ahead with 30 seconds left, the
Knicks had one more rally in them.
Dylan Harper scored 21 points and De'Aaron Fox and Devin Vassell
each had 18 for the Spurs, who will try to regroup and send the
series back to New York for Game 6 next Tuesday. Only one team —
Cleveland in 2016 — has recovered from a 3-1 deficit in the finals.
“I think it began before (the fourth quarter),” Wembanyama said of
the Spurs' collapse. “I can’t really explain it right now. I don’t
know. ... We clearly weren’t the most hungry in the second half.”
Fans booed Wembanyama when he came on to the floor to warm up about
an hour before the game and the Knicks tried to get rough with him,
with Mitchell Robinson called for a flagrant foul for hitting him
above the shoulders and Jose Alvarado reviewed for one after going
below the belt.
Wembanyama — who was also called for a flagrant — stood up OK
against the Knicks but will regret the two free throws he missed
with 1:47 left and San Antonio leading 104-103.
The Spurs broke to a 12-2 lead, giving them a double-digit advantage
in the first quarter of all four games. They kept pouring it on and
led 41-22 after one, then extended it to 57-32 when Julian
Champagnie’s 3-pointer made them 11 for 16 behind the arc.
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