Derek Fisher compared the Knicks’ Game 4 turnaround over the Spurs—finished on an OG Anunoby tip-in with 1.2 seconds left—to the gut-wrenching feeling he knows from his own famous 0.4-second shot in 2004 with the Lakers. He pointed to how the Spurs have been o
Game 4 didn’t just flip on a random bounce—it flipped on a single, terrifying moment. The Knicks staged their way back from a 29-point deficit to stun the San Antonio Spurs on an OG Anunoby tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining. a victory that sent the basketball world into a frenzy and has New York on the brink of an NBA Championship.
For the Spurs. it’s the kind of loss that lives in the memory long after the arena lights go down. The shock isn’t only that they led so comfortably—it’s how quickly it vanished. Fisher. reflecting on the feeling of watching something improbable happen in front of you. drew a direct line back to one of the most replayed clutch moments in NBA history.
He compared Anunoby’s finish to Derek Fisher’s own shot with 0.4 seconds remaining in Game 5 of the second round in the 2004 playoffs. In that earlier moment, Fisher’s team—then the Los Angeles Lakers—won on what has become a defining highlight of his career.
“It’s one of those moments that you just kinda of, so many things had to go right for those moments to happen,” Fisher said in an appearance on Wake Up Barstool.
He then spoke to the strange emotional math that comes with being on a team that’s been in enough big games to get hit by them. “The good and bad part for Spurs fans is like they’re in all these moments because of how freaking good they’ve been. 30 years basically, since 1999. They’ve just been in so many big games and playoff series. They gotta take their lumps just like everybody else.”.
Fisher’s point wasn’t just that game-winners are rare. It was that the rarity is what makes them sting—especially when you’re the one watching from the losing side. “Making a game-winner in the NBA is like, so rare. So to be able to always look back and feel like you did something to help the team win. I mean. the play last night from Anunoby is like. I just can’t even describe how crazy that play is. For him to run out as far out as where he ran from. To tip the ball and for it to go in that way. That’s tough man. I feel for Spurs fans in that regard, but that’s only because I’m not playing or coaching. Otherwise they can take it all day.”.
The Spurs’ postseason heartbreak, Fisher added, isn’t a one-off. Many have already pointed to Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. when Ray Allen hit a 3-pointer with just five seconds remaining to force overtime. The Heat went on to win that game and then Game 7 as well, denying San Antonio a championship that season.
The thread across those moments is the same: when time runs down, history doesn’t feel like something you can control. It feels like something that chooses you—either on the final bounce, or after you’ve already believed the game is safe.
The Knicks now have their own chance at a title after stealing Game 4, while the Spurs try to recover from one of the most heartbreaking losses ever witnessed.
On the broader NBA landscape, the Lakers are still searching for their next leap. The idea making the rounds is a potential summer trade for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the Lakers are not believed to be in the mix to acquire him at this time.
Derek Fisher Knicks Spurs OG Anunoby 0.4 shot Lakers 2004 playoffs Ray Allen Miami Heat 2013 NBA Finals Giannis Antetokounmpo
0.4 seconds is basically nothing lol, coaching can’t fix that.
I swear the Knicks just lucked into that 29-point comeback and then everyone’s acting like it was all destiny. Like tip-ins happen every game, cmon.
Wait so Derek Fisher is saying the Spurs “have been o Game 4”?? I don’t even know what that means. But if it’s about feelings, then yeah I get it, because 0.4 seconds sounds like a glitch more than basketball.
New York on the brink of a championship already? That seems way too fast. Also OG Anunoby tip-in with 1.2 seconds like okay so why didn’t the Spurs just not let him catch it?? I feel like Fisher is comparing it like it was the exact same shot but timing isn’t the same, right?