The largest comeback in NBA Finals history

What just happened?! The New York Knicks trailed the Spurs by 29 points and came back to stun San Antonio thanks to an OG Anunoby tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining. I still don’t really know what happened but let’s recap a wild Game 4 from Madison Square Garden and try to figure out how the Knicks pulled the largest comeback in NBA Finals history.

There is so much to unpack here. What happened at the end of the game, how the Spurs are going to regret this series, Wemby running out of gas are just a few. However, I think we need to start with OG Anunoby’s tip-in and go backwards. Since the Knicks were down, Jalen Brunson put up a quick, deep three pointer so New York could have an opportunity for an offensive rebound. Victor Wembanyama ended up on Brunson before the shot even happened as Mikal Bridges set a screen to get that switch. That pulled the Spurs big man away from the basket. De’Aaron Fox (dear gosh more on him later) roaming instead of guarding the inbounder, which was Anunoby, and he went to help Wemby with a double on Brunson. Anunoby has a free run to the basket to get an offensive rebound and he tips it in. I just don’t like it when coaches don’t guard the inbounder, he is always the player who gets the ball in that spot because he is open. Anunoby got a free run to the basket. Although, Dylan Harper does need to find him and box him out to try and prevent that rebound.

Let’s go to the De’Aaron Fox missed layup. What on God’s green earth was that man doing? You are up 1 with 11 seconds to go with OG Anunoby trailing you. Pull the ball out, have him foul you and go to the foul line. I am really struggling to know what he was thinking in that spot. When asked about it after the game, Fox said “I tried to get a layup to get up 3, force them to need a 3. OG made a good block… I just thought I’d be able to outrun him.” This is one of the elite chasedown shot blockers in the sport, it seems so simple to not risk it getting blocked in that spot.

Next up is Victor Wembanyama’s rough 2nd half. He played 23 minutes but had 8 points, 7 rebounds and 1 block on 3/14 from the field, 1/3 from three and 1/4 from the foul line where he missed 2 critical free throws late in the game. He looked like he ran out of gas and that is going to happen. He is 7 foot 5, he isn’t built to play that many minutes in a row at that intensity for so long. Sure, his conditioning could be better and I am sure that is something he will work on this summer but Giannis Antetokounmpo is another example of a player who struggles to play that many minutes in a row. Their bodies are too big and they are hit too many times for them to play that many minutes. Mitch Johnson did a great job in Game 3 of getting Wemby rest while using timeouts so he could play the entire 4th quarter. He needs to do a better job of that in Game 5. That said, it is inexcusable to Wemby to step up to the line in that spot to miss both free throws which would have extended the Spurs lead to 3 with 1:47 left in the game.

The play before the missed Wemby free throws is where Josh Hart almost joined the long list of awful Knicks moments in their history. After a Fox turnover (because of course), Hart had a breakout to give the Knicks the lead with 1:57 to go in the game. He missed the wideopen layup. You could tell he couldn’t decide whether to dunk the ball or lay it in and it almost cost his team. After the game Hart said, “I got a special shout-out for OG because he saved me, at least for this game, a lifetime of regret.”

We can’t talk about this game and not talk about the resiliency of the Knicks. To be down 29 points in the 2nd half and win the game is stuff we have never seen in the Finals. The previous biggest comeback was the Celtics in 2008 against the Lakers when they came back from down 24, in what was also a Game 4. We have mentioned OG Anunoby a lot but I think we need to mention him again. What a ballgame he had and what a series he has had. He had 33 points in last night’s game and has been the Knicks best player in this series. Jalen Brunson was also remarkable last night, scoring 36 points with 7 assists and 5 rebounds, playing 44 minutes in the game. He scored so many big buckets for the Knicks when they needed them as New York went up 3-1. Lastly, credit to Karl-Anthony Towns for his deflection of the in-bounds pass on the last play of the game. If that pass gets through clean, Stephon Castle had a pretty clean layup attempt to win it for the Spurs.

I just don’t see how the Spurs bounce back from this. Going home for Game 5 helps and you’d think they won’t go 0-3 at home in the Finals but this is a devastating loss for the Spurs, who very well could be up 3-1 themselves. The brutal Wemby turnover in Game 2 and now this game, the Spurs have had their chances to win it but they haven’t. Give the Knicks credit, they have seen the opportunity to win these games and have taken them.