Knicks rally from 29 down to beat Spurs and take 3-1 NBA Finals lead
NEW YORK — The New York Knicks delivered a clutch performance at home, beating the San Antonio Spurs, 107-106, in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday (Philippine time) to take a 3-1 lead in the championship series.
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The Spurs seized control early, silencing the home crowd at Madison Square Garden that included celebrity Taylor Swift, but the Knicks made a run late in third quarter, erasing a 29-point lead, and delivered a huge clutch performance in the fourth – with a tip in by OG Anunoby that iced the game.
Anunoby tipped in the miss of Jalen Brunson’s long 3-point attempt with 1.2 seconds remaining to complete the rally, giving the Knicks a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals and three chances to win the title.
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It looked impossible early, when the Spurs rolled to a 27-point halftime lead. But Brunson helped bring the Knicks back with 36 points and Anunoby finished with 33, swooping in as Brunson’s shot bounced softly off the front of the rim and stretching high with his right hand to tap it in.
“I told OG as big, as strong, as athletic as he is, he’s got to be a monster on the offensive glass tonight,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “I don’t know if there was a play bigger than any other play in the history of Knicks basketball.”
Game 5 is Saturday night in San Antonio.
No team had come from more than 24 points down in a finals game, when Boston did it against the Lakers in 2008, since the NBA began keeping detailed play-by-play for all four quarters in 1997. The Spurs led 81-52 in the third quarter.
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With this victory, the Knicks is one more game away from getting their franchise’s second NBA title, after 53 years.
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