NBA Finals 2026: New York Knicks beat San Antonio Spurs in record comeback
NBA legend Charles Barkley called the San Antonio Spurs “the stupidest basketball team in the history of civilization” after the New York Knicks staged the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history.
The Spurs led by 29 points, aiming to tie the best-of-seven series in New York before hosting game five, but the Knicks fought back and won 107-106.
London-born OG Anunoby scored a basket with 1.2 seconds left to seal the victory; This delighted the star-studded crowd at Madison Square Garden, including Taylor Swift and Timothee Chalamet.
This gave the Knicks a 3-1 lead in the series and enabled them to capture their first championship since 1973.
The previous biggest comeback in the NBA Finals was 24 points by the Boston Celtics against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008.
San Antonio took a 29-point lead in the second quarter, and their 27-point lead at halftime (76-49) was the largest for an away team in Finals history, but they could only score 30 points in the second half.
“This was the most mishandled, stupid basketball,” said Barkley, an ESPN analyst and former NBA most valuable player.
“When you’re up by 29 points, the other team has to help, and the San Antonio Spurs helped the New York Knicks win that game.”
Victor Wembanyama scored a team-high 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for San Antonio.
“I can’t really explain it right now,” the NBA defensive player of the year said.
“I don’t know. I think it’s just an execution, a kind of greed. We weren’t the hungriest side in the second half, obviously.”
While the Knicks were trailing 90-75 entering the fourth quarter, Jalen Brunson took the lead for the first time with 105-104 with 82 seconds left.
Then, Anunoby made a block with 11.1 seconds left, preventing the Spurs from taking the lead 108-105, and achieved the decisive score of the game with Brunson’s three-pointer hitting the basket.
“The one word that sums it all up is ‘faith,'” Brunson told ESPN. “It was one turnover at a time. It wasn’t going to be one play that was going to bring us back.”
The fifth match will be played in San Antonio on Saturday (01:30 BST, Sunday).
