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Anunoby’s wild late tip-in caps resilient Knicks’ crazy comeback victory

Anunoby’s wild late tip-in caps resilient Knicks’ crazy comeback victory

11/Jun/26 05:37

og-anunoby-new-york-knicks — Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE / Getty Images / Ideal Image

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Down by one after previously falling into a 29-point hole, British starter OG Anunoby scores the game-winner to give the New York Knicks a 3–1 lead in the 2026 NBA Finals

By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net

In the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, the resilient New York Knicks erased a massive deficit to shock the San Antonio Spurs, 107–106, at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, jumping to a commanding 3–1 series lead in the championship series of the 2026 NBA Playoffs, presented by Google.

The hosts initially fell into a deep hole, powered by Victor Wembanyama. The 22-year-old starting center set an aggressive tone, en route to a 24-point, 13-rebound double-double to go with three blocks and one assist in 44 minutes. The Le Chesnay native ignited the offense early by scoring 13 points in the opening quarter alone, helping the squad coached by Mitch Johnson build a lead that eventually peaked at 29 points.

New York’s incredible rally was carried by British starter OG Anunoby, who served as the ultimate hero. Tallying 33 points on 10-of-15 shooting, which included a lethal 7-of-9 mark from beyond the three-point arc, the London native flew through the paint to tip the game-winner following a Jalen Brunson miss with just 1.2 seconds left. Brunson ended up with a magnificent 36-point masterpiece.

As San Antonio mounted a 27-point lead by halftime, utilizing tremendous athleticism and capitalizing on Karl-Anthony Towns’ early foul trouble, head coach Mike Brown frantically searched for answers to contain Wemby. This prompted a look at his European reserves, checking in Polish international and former Spurs player Jeremy Sochan early in the contest. Both Sochan and German big Ariel Hukporti logged three minutes, though only the latter registered on the stat sheet with a single block. Meanwhile, the Knicks‘ French contingent of Pacome Dadiet and Mohamed Diawara remained entirely out of the rotation.

Though the Spurs controlled the majority of the 48 minutes, Game 4 took a dramatic turn midway through the third quarter. While jostling on the perimeter, Wembanyama raised his elbow and clipped the jaw of Towns. The French star was assessed his third flagrant foul of the postseason, putting him dangerously close to a mandatory one-game suspension if he picks up a fourth.

With the Knicks storming back, the MSG crowd started roaring again. Brunson then brought an absolute frenzy by hitting a triple with just over two minutes left to narrow the deficit to a single point. On the next trip down the floor, Wembanyama cracked under the intense pressure, missing both of his free throws with 1:47 remaining. Capitalizing on the error, Brunson got to a lefty floater in the lane with 1:10 left, lifting New York into a one-point lead, their very first of the evening.

A frantic, back-and-forth final minute delivered pure theater as San Antonio’s Stephon Castle stepped out of bounds with 1:02 remaining, turning the ball over to the Knicks. Following a defensive stop, De’Aaron Fox missed a shot, but Castle grabbed a critical offensive rebound and drew a shooting foul, calmly sinking two clutch free throws to put the Spurs back on top by one with 30.3 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Brunson missed a driving runner, allowing the Spurs to push the ball on a fast transition breakout.

Rather than draining the clock, Fox drove hard for a contested layup with 5.7 seconds left, but 28-year-old Anunoby made a massive defensive stop, blocking the shot out of mid-air to give the Knicks one final heartbeat. After his miraculous tip-in put New York ahead, the Spurs advanced the ball via timeout with just over a second remaining, but bobbled the final inbound pass, failing to launch a shot before the buzzer sounded.

The historic, come-from-behind victory officially puts the Knicks on the brink of the third championship in team history. The best-of-seven series now moves to Frost Bank Center on Saturday for Game 5.