After an amazing comeback, the New York Knicks are heading to San Antonio. They hope to beat the Spurs and win the 2026 championship.
The San Antonio Spurs now have the worst collapse in NBA Finals history. But they are not giving up yet.
The Knicks want to win their first NBA title since 1973. The Spurs want to stay in the best-of-seven series. They will host Game 5 on Saturday night.
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Start Your News DetoxNew York leads the series 3-1. They came back from a 29-point deficit in Game 4. They won that game 107-106 against the Spurs.
San Antonio point guard De’Aaron Fox spoke on Friday. He said the games they are losing have all been close. He added that they still believe they can win. They are taking it one game at a time, focusing on winning Game 5.
How the Knicks Got Their 3-1 Lead
The Knicks won the first two games in San Antonio, 105-95 and 105-104. The Spurs then won Game 3 in New York, 115-111. After that, the Knicks had their stunning comeback in Game 4.
The biggest comeback in an NBA Finals game before this was 24 points. That was by the Boston Celtics against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008.
San Antonio was ahead by 20 points with 9:33 left in Game 4. Five minutes later, their lead was only four. OG Anunoby made a great tip-in with 1.2 seconds left to complete the Knicks' comeback.
Knicks Coach Expects a "Hard" Game 5
Knicks coach Mike Brown is not getting ahead of himself. His team is trying to end a 53-year title drought. He thinks closing out the Finals in Game 5 in San Antonio will be tough.
Brown said San Antonio is a great team and they are desperate. He believes they still have faith. He expects a hard game for the Knicks.
Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson remembers being down 29 points in Game 4. But he is only looking forward now.
Jalen Brunson is taking lessons from Game 4 as they head into Saturday’s highly anticipated Game 5 [Sarah Stier/Getty Images via AFP]
Brunson said he always tells himself to turn the page the next day. He noted that even though they won, they still have work to do and a lot to learn. He wants to make sure they do not put themselves in that position again.
Brunson scored 36 points and had seven assists in Game 4. He has scored 30 or more points three times in the series.
Anunoby set new career playoff highs with seven 3-pointers and 33 points. His game-winning tip-in is now a famous moment in Knicks history.
Anunoby said everyone has told him how much it means. He can see how much it means and feels grateful to be part of it.
Wembanyama: "No Time to Regret"
Victor Wembanyama had 24 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocked shots in Game 4. However, he only made nine of 25 shots. He has scored at least 24 points in every game but is shooting just 43.5% from the field in the series.
Only one team has ever come back from a 3-1 series deficit to win the NBA title. That was the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers, led by LeBron James. They beat the Golden State Warriors, who had won 73 regular-season games.
Wembanyama believes San Antonio can do the same. He noted that the Spurs had a chance to win each of the first four games.
He said shaking off the Game 4 loss was harder than any other game before. But he added that they are over it now. In the playoffs, there is no time to regret things for too long.
New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby (8) tries to shoot over San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first half of Game 4 [Frank Franklin II/AP]
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson knows they missed a big chance. His team scored only 30 points in the second half of Game 4, after scoring 76 in the first half. But he is not dwelling on "what if" thoughts.
Johnson said there is no avoiding what happened. He acknowledged that all four games were winnable and that they are down 3-1. He also noted that there are ways they could be better. He believes the people in the locker room will be the hardest on themselves and accountable to each other. This is what helped them get to where they are.
