Knicks’ comeback – A record-setting first half for the Spurs unraveled in the second after New York’s defense locked in and its offense found a rhythm. With the game on the line, Victor Wembanyama missed two late free throws, De’Aaron Fox misfired on the clock, and OG Anunoby de
When Mitch Johnson stepped into his postgame press conference at Madison Square Garden. the room was still shaking from the noise of Knicks fans. His mic was fighting the celebrations—because the Spurs had led by so much. and yet the Knicks still ended Game 4 with an outcome that felt impossible just a half earlier.
San Antonio’s collapse wasn’t a single mistake. It was a cascade: a first half fueled by elite 3-point making, followed by a second half where the Knicks tightened every angle—defensively, offensively, and in the few moments where the game could have been iced.
San Antonio’s 3-point surge set the tone, then quietly betrayed it
Early, the Spurs couldn’t miss from deep. They made six of their first eight 3-pointers, then built the kind of lead teams usually don’t give back in an NBA Finals game. They set a Finals record for most 3-point conversions in a half with 14.
At halftime, the math was brutal for New York: San Antonio was shooting 53.8% from beyond the arc and held a 27-point lead at the end of the second quarter. With a margin like that—and the offensive firepower the Spurs have—the series could have tilted toward a comfortable rhythm.
Johnson later pointed to what San Antonio stopped doing. “We got away from what got us the 76 points in the first half,” he said. “Just in terms of putting pressure on the rim. rolling after screens. running. continuing to find the paint. whether it’s for ourselves or for our teammate. We got on our heels, missed some shots. You don’t get as many free throws, high-percentage looks when you play on your heels like that.”.
The third quarter brought the shift. San Antonio showed less aggression than it had earlier. became complacent and lazy with ball movement. and settled for 3s—shots the Knicks started contesting with more vigor. Even when those 3s weren’t falling, there wasn’t a steady, possession-by-possession effort to grind for better looks.
The second half exposed how far that slide went. The Spurs missed 10 of their first 11 attempts from 3-point range, and it spread into the rest of their offense. They scored 24 points in the paint on 12-of-19 shooting (63.2%) in the first half. but in the second half they eked out just 4 points in the paint on 2-of-14 attempts (14.3%).
After halftime, San Antonio converted only 3-of-17 (17.6%) from 3. They also made just 8 field goals overall.
Victor Wembanyama summed up the change simply when asked what went wrong. “Stopped moving the ball,” he said. “Stopped executing.”
The Knicks’ turnaround wasn’t just shot-making—it was restraint and purpose
New York’s response started on defense. The Knicks limited the Spurs to 30 points in the second half. After an undisciplined first half. they avoided careless fouls and used their lateral speed to stay in front of San Antonio’s attackers. Perimeter pressure rose too—contesting shots with more urgency and force.
That defensive tightening appeared to lift everything else. In the second half, the Knicks hit 21-of-41 shots (51.2%). From 3, they went 11-of-20 (55.0%). OG Anunoby was especially sharp, going 5-of-5 from beyond the arc in the second half.
On offense, the feeling changed. The Knicks played looser and more fluidly, swinging the ball with ease and finding their way into the paint to disrupt San Antonio’s defense.
The fourth quarter carried the momentum even further. The Spurs still held a 20-point lead with a little more than nine minutes to play, but New York ripped off 10 consecutive made attempts to close the gap.
Jalen Brunson described it as process rather than magic. “It was really just we need to chip away,” he said. “We needed to hit singles, get on base and make plays from there. I feel like we did that tonight and we found a way to really just continue to do the things that helped us get to this point.”.
Late-game decisions flipped the ending: free throws, clock management, and a tip-in
With 1:47 left, the Spurs had a one-point lead when Wembanyama broke through the Knicks defense. He appeared set for a wide-open layup opportunity—but Anunoby met him with a foul that sent him to the free-throw line instead.
It became the moment that defined the finish. Wembanyama, under pressure, missed both free throws. New York rebounded, and then Brunson scored on a floater to give the Knicks a one-point lead.
From there, the Spurs had their own opening to end it. With a one-point lead and just a few ticks left. they got a stop when Wembanyama altered Brunson’s floater with around 17 seconds left. The ball deflected into the San Antonio backcourt. and point guard De’Aaron Fox—one of the team’s veteran leaders—sprinted out to scoop it up with 12.9 seconds left.
There was no shot clock. The correct play would have been to dribble out to any open space and burn as much time as possible. The plan would have forced New York into fouls and sent Fox to the line. This season, Fox was a 76.0% free throw shooter, so the Spurs’ path to extending the lead was clear.
Instead, Fox went for a layup that Anunoby blocked.
Fox explained his thinking after the game: “Haven’t scored. Try to get a layup, get up three,” he said. “Force them to need a 3. OG made a good block.” Fox added that he believed he’d be “able to outrun” Anunoby.
Then came the final play that New York couldn’t stop replaying.
With 5.7 seconds left, New York inbounded to Brunson. The Spurs put Wembanyama—the only unanimous Defensive Player of the Year in NBA history—on Brunson after New York set a screen. But Fox left Anunoby, who had inbounded the ball, to double-team Brunson.
The opening this created was everything. Anunoby streaked unabated to the basket and delivered the iconic tip-in with 1.2 seconds left to play.
Afterward, Mike Brown put the shot into New York’s basketball memory. “You know, the tip, how he had to control it and tip it in, that has to be the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball,” the coach said after the game.
San Antonio’s attempted game-winning sequence didn’t land
The Spurs still had one last scripted shot after that—and it began with a play reminiscent of one the Miami Heat used in early November to beat the Cavaliers when there was 0.4 seconds on the clock.
This time, Dylan Harper looked to trigger an inbounds pass to a streaking Stephon Castle, who was sprung open on a backdoor screen. The moment looked like it might finally swing San Antonio’s way—until it didn’t.
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns appeared to get a finger on the pass, because it fell well short of the intended target. Making the miss sting, Castle was wide open.
A final margin that looked inevitable at halftime never arrived
The swing from San Antonio’s 27-point halftime lead to New York’s win wasn’t just a run of luck. One half was built on 3-point accuracy that reached a Finals half record, and the other was a sharp break in execution—followed by New York turning defense into momentum and momentum into shots.
When the game reached the last seconds, the details mattered most: missed free throws by Wembanyama after Anunoby’s foul at 1:47, Fox choosing a layup instead of burning time at 12.9 seconds, and Anunoby’s tip-in at 1.2 seconds.
In Game 4, the Spurs didn’t simply lose ground—they lost the thread they’d used to create it.
Knicks Spurs Game 4 NBA Finals Mitch Johnson Victor Wembanyama Jalen Brunson OG Anunoby De'Aaron Fox Karl-Anthony Towns Stephon Castle NBA playoff comeback
Spurs had that lead and then just disappeared. Knicks defense is always annoying.