The New York Knicks, trailing by 29 points and seeming defeated, made the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history.
OG Anunoby tipped in a missed 3-pointer by Jalen Brunson with 1.2 seconds left, helping the Knicks beat the Spurs 107-106 at Madison Square Garden. The win gives New York a 3-1 Finals lead and puts the franchise one win from its first title since 1973.
San Antonio led 81-52 in the third quarter, and no team had ever erased such a deficit in a Finals game. Since 1997, the NBA's detailed play-by-play record shows that Boston's comeback from 24 down against the Lakers in 2008 was the previous record. The only larger rally in any playoff game was the Los Angeles Clippers' 31-point comeback against Golden State in 2019.
Brunson scored 36 points with 7 assists and 3 steals, while Anunoby added 33 on 10-of-15 shooting, including 7-of-9 from 3-point range. The two led New York back from a 27-point halftime deficit.
Game 5 is Saturday in San Antonio.
So what exactly happened?
A Historic Second-Half Turnaround
The Spurs started strong, making 11 of 16 3-pointers in the first half and setting a Finals record halftime margin of 76-49. Their shooting slowed, going 3-of-17 after halftime, as New York outscored them 58-30 in the second half.
The Knicks' defense changed the game, holding San Antonio to 14 points on 4-of-20 shooting in the third quarter. New York went on a 13-0 run to narrow the lead to 90-75 at the start of the fourth. In the second half, the Spurs scored only 30 points on 8-of-39 shooting with 9 turnovers.
Knicks coach Mike Brown said the staff's halftime message was straightforward and they decided not to show film.
"The biggest thing was, I told the guys, we can play better," Brown said. "Right now we are letting the ball get to the paint and we've got to do a better job of keeping the ball out of the paint. We have to play faster."
He also set a goal for them.
"The last thing that we said to them was, let's cut it to around 15 to 17 going into the fourth, and if we do, we'll give ourselves a chance," Brown said.
Brunson mentioned there wasn't much to discuss in the locker room, just a strategy to gradually make progress.
"Really wasn't that much to be said at that point. It was really just we need to chip away," Brunson said. "We need to hit singles, get on base and make plays from there."
Anunoby felt the group stayed composed and it paid off.
"We know it's a game of runs. We're a resilient group. We've been through a lot," Anunoby said. "Just staying with it, weathering the storm, not being too down or angry or frustrated."
SPECIAL NIGHT FOR OG ANUNOBY.
— NBA (@NBA) June 11, 2026
🔥 33 points
🔥 10-15 shooting
🔥 7-9 from deep
🔥 6-6 on free throws
🔥 GAME-WINNING TIP-IN with 1.2 left
His Knicks are up 3-1 after the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history! pic.twitter.com/Fw5UjrH5VS
The Final Play
The ending was chaotic, to say the least. New York took the lead late, but Stephon Castle made two free throws to give the Spurs the advantage with about 30 seconds left. Brunson then missed a long three, and Anunoby tipped it in with 1.2 seconds remaining.
"I was top of the key. Got a decent look. Obviously, it was a little far," Brunson said. "Got a good bounce off the rim and OG being OG just made a play."
Anunoby, who was challenged by Brown prior to the game to focus on offensive rebounding, handled it effortlessly.
"I inbounded the ball to Jalen. He got a pretty good look and I just went and crashed," Anunoby said. "The ball went over my head, so I couldn't really dunk it. So I tried to tip it in softly and it went in."
Brown had set the moment up at shootaround.
"I told OG, as big, as strong, as athletic as he is, he's got to be a monster on the offensive glass tonight," Brown said. "I don't know if there was any other play bigger in the history of Knicks basketball."
Anunoby stayed calm even after the ball dropped, because there was still time on the clock.
"Just the game wasn't over. I looked up to see the time," Anunoby said. "If it would have been 0:00, I would have been more excited, but it was just 1.2 left."
Brunson Leads, and the Bench Delivers
Brunson played all but a few seconds, and Brown didn't hesitate to make his case.
"Jalen, he's an MVP candidate. I say the same thing about Jalen every game," Brown said. "He does what an MVP is supposed to, and he did it again tonight."
Brunson turned the praise back toward Anunoby.
"Regardless of what the outside world thinks of him, we know what we have in our locker room," Brunson said. "And we have a superstar in that locker room."
Karl-Anthony Towns spent much of the night in foul trouble but came alive late, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds, most of it after halftime. He summed up Anunoby's winner in four words.
"Right hand from God," Towns said.
The bench made the comeback possible, too. Jose Alvarado changed the game with his speed in the fourth quarter, and reserves like Jeremy Sochan and Ariel Hukporti held up in unexpected minutes. Josh Hart struggled offensively but came away grateful, since he had missed the block-out on Castle's go-ahead free throws.
"I've got a special shout-out for OG, man, because he saved me, at least for this game, a lifetime of regret," Hart said.
Hart described the comeback as chipping away rather than panicking.
"You don't look at when you're down 29, we've got to whip this game. You look at it when you're down 29 of okay, let's get it to 20," Hart said. "In the fourth quarter, you're like, this is winning time. Anything can happen."
The Spurs Let One Slip
Wembanyama scored 24 points and 13 rebounds but shot 9-of-25 and missed two free throws with 1:47 left as the Spurs led 104-103. Harper scored 21, Vassell and Fox added 18 each. Usually, this would be enough to get a victory.
Wembanyama blamed the team's downfall on the beginning of the second half.
"I think it began before that. I can't really explain it right now," Wembanyama said. "We clearly weren't the most hungry in the second half."
He was straightforward about the offensive changes.
"Stopped moving the ball. Stopped executing," Wembanyama said.
San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said the Spurs lost the tempo and rim pressure that had initially established their lead.
"We got on our heels, missed some shots," Johnson said. "It's disappointing, to say the least."
Castle, who has now seen San Antonio lose two games in the series by a single point, didn't look for excuses.
"They're a good team. We expected to be in close games with them," Castle said. "But when we take leads like that, there's really no excuse."
Even down 3-1, the Spurs were defiant. Johnson noted that all four games have been close.
"We feel like we've decided the outcome of all four games," Johnson said. "We need to be better in the next game."
What's Next
San Antonio now has to win three in a row, starting at home. Game 5 is Saturday night in San Antonio, with a potential Game 6 back in New York on Tuesday. The Knicks, who erased a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit against Cleveland in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, have made the improbable feel familiar. Now they will try to close it out away from the Garden, and Brunson made clear the job isn't done.
"There's nothing to celebrate. It's not over yet, not even close," Brunson said.
