2026 NBA Finals: Knicks complete NBA Finals record 29-point comeback to seal Game 4 win over Spurs
The Knicks make a record comeback from 29 points down in Game 4, moving to the brink of their 1st title since 1973.
Brian Mahoney | The Associated Press
Updated on June 11, 2026 4:51 AM
The Knicks fell behind early but managed a historic comeback to take a 3-1 lead over the Spurs.
NEW YORK (AP) â The New York Knicks made a record comeback from 29 points down and moved to the brink of their first championship since 1973 by beating the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 on Wednesday night.
OG Anunoby tipped in the miss of Jalen Brunsonâs long 3-point attempt with 1.2 seconds remaining to complete the rally, giving the Knicks a 3-1 lead in the 2026 NBA Finals and three chances to win the title.
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, swooping in as Brunsonâs shot bounced softly off the front of the rim and stretching high with his right hand to tap it in.
âI told OG as big, as strong, as athletic as he is, heâs got to be a monster on the offensive glass tonight,â Knicks coach Mike Brown said. âI donât know if there was a play bigger than any other play in the history of Knicks basketball.â
Game 5 is Saturday night in San Antonio. 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. The only bigger comeback on record in any playoff game was 31 points by the LA Clippers against Golden State in Game 2 of a first-round series in 2019.
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.
âWe got on our heels â we missed some shots,â Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. âItâs disappointing, to say the least.â
Delirious fans inside Madison Square Garden sang along to Journeyâs âDonât Stop Believinââ 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. 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.
President Donald Trump wasnât at this game â Taylor Swift was â 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 wasnât 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 donât 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 DeâAaron 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 on Tuesday.
âI think it began before (the fourth quarter),â Wembanyama said of the Spursâ collapse. âI canât really explain it right now. I donât know. ⌠We clearly werenât the most hungry in the second half.â
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 â who was also called for a flagrant â 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 Champagnieâs 3-pointer made them 11-for-16 behind the arc.
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