After a De’Aaron Fox jump shot, the San Antonio Spurs led the New York Knicks 81-52 with just under ten minutes left in the third quarter of Game 4 on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
At that point, it appeared that the Spurs would tie the series at 2-2 and be in control of the series when it returned to San Antonio for Game 5.
Against the Cavs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks came back from a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit.
If they did it before, they can do it again.
The Knicks fought back, and after a Jalen Brunson floater with 1: 22 left in the game, New York had their first lead of the game at 105-104. However, Stephon Castle would make two free throws to give the Spurs a lead, but OG Anunoby would tip in a Jalen Brunson miss with 02.1 seconds left in the contest, giving the Knicks the lead for good, and they would defeat the Spurs 107-106.
With the win, the Knicks lead the series 3-1 and can win the series in Game 5 in San Antonio on Saturday night.
The Knicks’ 29-point comeback is the greatest in the history of the NBA Finals.
Knicks head coach Mike Brown said he challenged Anunoby, who had 33 points, to be big on the offensive glass.
“I challenged a lot of our guys today, and OG was one of the guys I challenged,” Brown said. “I told OG, as big, as strong, as athletic as he is, he’s got to be a monster on the offensive glass tonight. I don’t know if there’s a play bigger than any other play in the history of Knicks basketball. That was a huge offensive rebound. Huge offensive rebound. He took on the challenge, and he went and won the game for us, doing exactly what I called him out for during shootaround today.”
Anunoby, who had a key block on a Fox layup attempt before his tip-in, confirmed what Brown told him at shootaround.
“Told me I need to get on the glass, offensive glass, especially, and just use my ability, size, strength, athleticism, to make an impact on the offensive glass, and it happened at the end,” he said.
Anunoby, who is not very excitable, says he was excited to get the game-winning tip-in.
“It feels cool,” he said. “I mean, everyone’s pretty excited. I’m excited, too. [Laughter]. I’m excited, too. We’re all excited. We’re enjoying it right now. But we’re just focused on the next game now.”
Brunson, who had a game-high 36 points, described what he saw on Anunoby’s game-winner.
“I was top of the key,” Brunson said. “Got a decent look. Obviously, it was a little far. Had two guys contesting, so I was able to get some pressure off the rim. Got a good bounce off the rim, and OG being OG just made a play.”
Bottom Line:
You can’t lose a 29-point lead. You just can’t, and the Spurs, who had double-digit leads in all four games of this series, might be done. They should be going back to San Antonio with the series tied 2-2, but they are not, and now, the series is probably over.
San Antonio could easily be leading this series 3-1, but they trail 3-1.
The Spurs have been resilient in these playoffs; they will play hard in Game 5, and they will probably win it. However, can they win again at MSG? Maybe, but you can’t blow games the way they did on Wednesday night.
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