The New York Knicks pulled off what ESPN called the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, rallying to a 107-106 victory over the San Antonio Spurs to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. The win leaves the franchise one victory away from its first championship since 1973, according to ESPN.
New York trailed by 29 points with 9:40 left in the third quarter, was down 15 at the end of that period and faced a 20-point deficit with 9:33 remaining in the fourth, ESPN reported. “I can’t even put it into words,” Latrell Sprewell told ESPN. “We were just thinking, ‘Get it close. Get it to 25, get it to 20, get it to 15, get it to 10. Put the pressure on them.'”
After the final buzzer, past Knicks players from the last five decades filled the court while friends, family and celebrities who had come down from the stands celebrated, and security recognized that no one was leaving, ESPN said. Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” played in the arena before the in-house music switched to Frank Sinatra’s “Theme From New York, New York,” and Sprewell recorded the scene on his cellphone. “We still got one more though,” he added.
The finish featured a missed two-handed layup by Josh Hart with 1:57 remaining and OG Anunoby’s game-winning tip with 1.2 seconds left, described in the report as the “Tip of God.” Anunoby inbounded the ball to Jalen Brunson and then cut to the rim as Brunson’s shot flew over Spurs 7-foot-4 center Victor Wembanyama. Anunoby leapt past three Spurs defenders — Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell — who neglected to box out, according to ESPN.
The night’s emotional resonance drew frequent references to the Knicks’ last Finals appearance in 1999. Sprewell and his 1999 teammates had been asked about the matchup, and the report noted that Sprewell never returned to the Finals after 1999 while captain Patrick Ewing missed that series with a torn Achilles. Former Knick Carmelo Anthony, who spent seven seasons in New York and is seventh on the franchise scoring list with 10,186 points, was on the court afterward and told current players during the game that “the offensive rebound is there! Somebody go!” ESPN reported.
