NBA finals 2026 Game 4: Knicks pull off historic 29-point comeback to beat Spurs 107-106

The New York Knicks stared into the abyss and somehow found a way out.

Facing a 29-point deficit in front of a shell-shocked Madison Square Garden crowd. New York completed the largest comeback in NBA finals history on Wednesday night when OG Anunoby’s tip-in off a Jalen Brunson missed three made the difference in a 107-106 win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4. The Knicks are within one win of their first NBA championship in 53 years.

The stunning result gave New York a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. sent thousands of fans pouring into the Manhattan streets chanting and celebrating after the final buzzer. The Knicks can secure their first title since 1973 when the series returns to San Antonio for Game 5 on Saturday night. completing a journey that has transformed a season of lofty expectations into the brink of immortality.

Here’s a look at Bryan Armen Graham’s report from tonight’s game.

Apologies to all who emailed – I plowed through some notifications.

Rowan Sweeney: “Kornet, in 4 minutes, racked up 3x as many personal fouls as Wemby did in 44. Make of that what you will.”

In the 1990s, we had the Jordan Rules era. Michael Jordan simply didn’t foul in the eyes of the officials. I think we’re starting to live in the Wemby Rules era.

And I missed four gems from Peter Oh.

Early on: “Are we sure the place is called Madison Square Garden? It’s looking very pear-shaped right now.”

Halftime-ish: “Have this many New Yorkers gathered in one place ever been so quiet?!”

Third quarter or thereabouts: “Credit to the Spurs for making Chris Rock, Adam Sandler. Ben Stiller look as glum-faced and unfunny as I’ve ever seen them.”

A bit later: “This game might have even more redemption than an Adam Sandler vehicle!”

The best Adam Sandler song, by the way, is The Lonesome Kicker.

On that note – may we have the pleasure of your company Saturday night for Game 5. when the Knicks could clinch their first championship in 53 years?

Jalen Brunson joins the postgame show. Ernie Johnson asks, “How on earth did that just happen?” Brunson stares. Shakes his head. Smiles faintly. He has no idea. None of us do.

Did Wemby play too many much and fade down the stretch? He played 44 minutes, tied with Brunson as the highest in the game. The All-World Spurs center had 24 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks. countless altered shots, but he was 9-for-25 from the field, 2-for-8 from behind the arc and an unfortunate 4-for-7 on free throws.

Dylan Harper continues to make a name for himself in the postseason for the Spurs. scoring 21 points in 32 minutes. De’Aaron Fox had 18 points and 7 assists. Devin Vassell had 18 points but went from red-hot to ice-cold between the first and second halves.

Brunson put the Knicks on his back, starting slowly but finishing with 36 points and 7 assists. But he had ample help from Anunoby – 33 points, 7-for-9 on 3-pointers. a highlight putback for the ages that will be ingrained in basketball fans’ brains, replayed ad infinitum if the Knicks go on to win this series.

Towns was in foul trouble early, absurdly so. He still managed 13 points and 10 vital rebounds in 26 minutes.

Taylor Swift was 2-for-2 on kisses blown to the camera. Larry David managed 4 expressions of ennui. John McEnroe was 3-for 4 on faces that scream “I LOVE NEW YORK!”

They were done. Toast. They were flinging any player they could find off the bench. It looked like the frontcourt was going to be Spike Lee and John McEnroe.

(Has anyone seen Spike? Please make sure he hasn’t fainted.)

They just kept cutting into the lead. The Spurs couldn’t miss in the first half and couldn’t buy a shot in the second. Their field goal and 3-point percentages were well over 60% for a long stretch of the game. They ended up at 46% field goal and 47% 3-point.

Whatever the Spurs were trying on that last inbounds play, it didn’t work. The ball got tied up, and time ran out.

To quote Jack Buck after Kirk Gibson’s World Series home run, I don’t believe what I just saw.

Spurs 106-107 Knicks, 1.3 seconds left. Just restating. Wait – it’s 1.2.

ANUNOBY SCORES! KNICKS LEAD WITH 1.3 LEFT!

Brunson shot right away. missed, but Anunoby lifted off and glided through the air, getting the ball and gently pushing it back up and in.

Spurs 106-105 Knicks, 5.7 seconds left: Knicks will inbound. You have to figure they’re going to Brunson. Does Wemby guard Brunson? But then who gets Towns? Or does someone need to stop Anunoby?

BRUNSON MISSES! SPURS GO TO THE RACES! ANUNOBY BLOCKS FOX’S SHOT! Knicks run up the court but call timeout.

Fox misses, but Castle gets the rebound and is fouled by Hart. He makes the first free throw to tie it. Makes the second. 106-105 Spurs, 30.3 left. Timeout Knicks.

Brunson can’t beat the clock this time. He throws up a prayer that doesn’t reach the rim.

Timeout Spurs. 105-104 Knicks, 38.8 left.

1:02 left: Castle steps out of bounds against tight pressure. Knicks ball.

KNICKS LEAD 105-104! Brunson hits the floater with the shot clock near 0.

WEMBY MISSES BOTH FREE THROWS! Towns gets the rebound. Knicks can take the lead.

Josh Hart steals, off to the races, misses the layup! The roof might have come off. That would’ve given the Knicks the lead.

Spurs 104-103 Knicks, 2:06, 4th qtr: BRUNSON FOR 3 OVER WEMBY! THE LEAD IS ONE!

Spurs 104-100 Knicks, 2:42, 4th qtr: The Spurs led by 29 points. Twenty-nine.

Make that seven. Fox hits a 3. Alvarado spins for a nifty layup. Wemby hits a shot just outside the free throw line.

ALVARADO HITS A 3 WITH WEMBY RUNNING AT HIM! This is insanity. Linsanity, even.

Spurs 99-95 Knicks, 4:32, 4th qtr: What a drive by Brunson to find a seam and attack the rim. He misses but is fouled. He hits both, and the lead is nine again.

Champagnie misses, but the Knicks throw it away. Vassell misses --- we didn’t say that much in the first half.

Brunson makes an impossible layup and crashes to the ground – the lead is seven!

Fox misses. Wemby keeps the ball alive, but it goes out of play.

ANUNOBY FOR 3! LARRY DAVID IS HIGH-FIVING PEOPLE! IT’S A FOUR-POINT GAME!

And the Spurs finally call a long-overdue timeout.

Spurs 99-88 Knicks, 6:09, 4th qtr: Alvarado puts Castle on the free throw line, which is not what they need. Castle makes both shots.

Replay of that Towns layup – he had to fight through Wemby, who was draped all over him.

Spurs 97-88 Knicks, 6:40, 4th qtr: Castle hits two free throws.

Anunoby for 3! The lead is 11!

Anunoby with the steal! Towns gets a layup, and the lead is single digits!

This would be … historic.

Spurs 95-83 Knicks, 7:28, 4th qtr: Wemby’s difficult fallaway jumper barely gets the rim,. the Knicks turn the ball right back over. But the Knicks come back with a strong defensive sequence. forcing Castle to practically jump out of bounds to get a shot away. It fails to hit the rim, and the shot clock sounds.

Towns hits a 3. The lead is 12. Could this really happen?

Spurs 95-80 Knicks, 8:43, 4th qtr: Alvarado launches a corner 3 that rolls around the rim before falling through. Wemby can’t latch on to another errant alley-oop pass, and Bridges scores in transition. Spurs call timeout, again eager to stop any momentum the home team can get.

Spurs 95-75 Knicks, 9:46, 4th qtr: Aside from that one airball, everything seems to fall for Harper.

Anuboby throws up an alley-oop for Robinson, and it doesn’t go. The Spurs try an alley-oop to Wemby, who can’t catch it cleanly but draws a foul. The big man hasn’t been dominant in this game – offensively, anyway. Defensively, he alters more shots than a bad bartender watering things down.

Wemby tips in his own miss, and the lead is 20 once again.

Spurs scoring by quarter: 41, 35, 14. One of these things is not like the other.

Spurs 90-75 Knicks, 11:46, 4th qtr: The Knicks will challenge a possession call, arguing that the ball last touched Wemby. The officials agree.

A messy sequence for the Knicks on offense, but then Towns defends well (and cleanly) against Wemby at the buzzer.

The Knicks outscored the Spurs 26-14 in that quarter, and they’re still down 15.

Spurs 90-75 Knicks, 0:35, 3rd qtr: Anunoby puts up a 3. It hits the front rim, taps the backboard and falls through.

Spurs 90-72 Knicks, 1:21, 3rd qtr: After a timeout, the Knicks score on an alley-oop from Brunson to Robinson.

Fox and Wemby both miss 3s. Wemby misses again. The Spurs’ shooting has regressed to the mean in a way. is probably ripping a hole in the time-space continuum.

Never mind – Vassell hits one, and the lead is 18 again.

Spurs 87-70 Knicks, 2:58, 3rd qtr: Brunson gets caught in traffic and is fouled. He alertly flings up an off-balance shot, and it goes. He adds the free throw.

Harper’s just too good. He drives, pulls back, spins, hits the baseline jumper.

Brunson answers again. He has 27.

Harper shoots an airball. That’s a shocker.

Spurs 85-65 Knicks. 4:10, 3rd qtr: Again, the Knicks are forced to a bad shot as the shot clock nears 0. The next time down the court, they rush and take a bad shot.

Wemby is back in. Towns picks up his fourth foul as Harper drives. The rookie hits both free throws, and the lead is once again 20.

Spurs 81-65 Knicks. 5:15, 3rd qtr: But the basic problem for New York is simple – the Spurs are getting better shots than they are. The Knicks settle for bad shots on two straight possessions. It’s a good thing for them that the Spurs have cooled off dramatically.

Hart hits a 3. Lead is down to 16.

Spurs 81-62 Knicks, 6:45, 3rd qtr: Wemby makes a kick save to stop a New York fast break.

Towns works inside, but his shot falls away.

Spurs miss. Anunoby hits a 3. That’s 10 straight for the Knicks, and the crowd has returned to life.

Spurs 81-59 Knicks, 8:23, 3rd qtr: Towns hits both free throws.

Good defensive sequence for the Knicks, and Anunoby dunks in transition on a sweet feed from Josh Hart.

Champagnie misses. Brunson doesn’t. Timeout Spurs.

Review says … says … says … there’s a lot of conversation on the referees’ headsets.

Finally, the announcement. Flagrant 1.

Once again, it’s worth asking whether Wemby should sit out for a while. He’s one step away from a suspension.

Spurs 81-52 Knicks, 9:27, 3rd qtr: Castle slams into Brunson. Offensive foul. His fourth. Can the Knicks make any headway while he’s out? Am I asking rhetorical questions in an effort to instill some drama? What is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

Well, HERE’S some drama – Wemby just elbowed Towns in the face near midcourt. They’re reviewing, probably to see what level of flagrant foul it is.

Spurs 79-52 Knicks, 10:09, 3rd qtr: Vassell was 5-for-5 in the first half, 4-for-4 from 3-point range. He misses his first shot of the half.

Anunoby hits a 3. But Wemby hits a 3, and the lead is still … breaks out calculator … 27.

The Wu-Tang Clan have just performed a lively half-time show – six of them at least. which qualifies as a quorum. Frankly, the Garden could use the lift. The Spurs have turned a sold-out crowd of feral Knicks fans from a roaring mob into anxious bystanders. with every attempted chant from the upper deck quickly swallowed by the reality on the scoreboard.

Setlist wise, it was a breezy four-minute trip through Bring da Ruckus, Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F’ Wit, Method Man. CREAM – all off their epochal studio debut. “Knicks in five,” declared Method Man before leaving the floor. That’s going to require some heavy lifting.

The biggest question the Spurs may face in the second half is when to pull Wemby from the action. We’re talking about a player who has a rather extensive injury history for someone so young. Should the Spurs just apply the bubble wrap sooner rather than later?

Wemby plays volleyball with himself and scores. Brunson answers – he has 19 points, which would be great under most other circumstances.

Harper hits the Spurs’ 14th 3-pointer. Wemby misses on the next possession.

Another miss at each end, and the first half is brought to a merciful end before a silent crowd. Call it Mausoleum Square Garden.

Spurs 71-43 Knicks, 2:26, 2nd qtr: Bench points so far: San Antonio 19, New York 2.

Wemby misses a 3-pointer. Someone had to miss at some point.

Spurs 69-42 Knicks, 3:19, 2nd qtr: Harper with a drive. Harper with a 3. The Spurs have hit 13 of 21 attempts from behind the arc. That’s what you might see in an All-Star weekend 3-point contest with no defense.

Spurs 64-40 Knicks, 4:19, 2nd qtr: Anunoby hits free throws. Fox hits a turnaround jumper. The Spurs have cooled off, though. Now they’re only shooting 62%. Instead of being supernatural territory, that’s merely in the “rarely seen with mortal players” category.