It was a historic night in New York, and because of it, the city that never sleeps is likely still wide awake. The New York Knicks are one win away from an NBA title after pulling off the largest comeback in Finals history on Wednesday night.
The Knicks looked dead in the water early. They trailed the San Antonio Spurs 76-49 at halftime and then fell behind by 29 points in the third quarter of a critical Game 4.
But New York kept coming.
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The Knicks erased the deficit over the final quarter and a half, and with the game on the line, Jalen Brunson drove to the basket for the win. His shot rattled off the rim, but OG Anunoby was right there for the tip-in with two seconds left.
The Knicks completed the rally, beating the Spurs 107-106.
Victory and defeat
“We know it’s a game of runs,” said Anunoby after the game. “We’re a resilient group. We’ve been through a lot. 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. Just staying with it, cut down to 18, cut it down to six, push it through. It’s a 48-minute game, just play ’til the end.”
Knicks forward Josh Hart said something similar postgame, saying halftime doesn’t signal the end.
“You don’t look at when you’re down 29, we’ve got to whip this game,” Hart said. “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.”
Things looked a little different in the Spurs locker room.
“To put as much good work into that first half as we did, get the lead that we had and not finish the job is disappointing to say the least,” said Spurs coach Mitch Johnson.
Rookie Dylan Harper said the team “went away from everything we were doing.”
“In the first half, a lot of tough shots went in. Really, that was because we were playing the right way,” Harper said. “We got away from that in the second half because of the lead. We just can’t take our foot off the gas. It’s one thing for me to sit up here and say it. It’s another for us to go out there and do it.”
One more win
The scene at Madison Square Garden was exactly what you’d expect. Fans erupted inside the arena, and thousands flooded the streets outside to celebrate a night that will go down in Knicks history.
Now, New York heads to San Antonio with a chance to clinch its first NBA championship since 1973.
Game 5 tips off Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
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