Chris Mannix: The Greatest NBA Finals Comeback Ever Puts the Knicks on the Brink of a Title

NEW YORK — They stayed for Billy Joel. For Sinatra. For Jay-Z. Ten minutes after the final buzzer sounded in an improbable, impossible 107–106 Knicks win over the Spurs, after the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, Madison Square Garden was full and no one was leaving. Not now. Not after this. Throughout the upper bowl, laughter mixed with tears. There have been some memorable sports moments in this city. For many, nothing will top this one.

What? How? At halftime, the story of this game was written. San Antonio was sharp. The Spurs were confident. They built a 19-point lead in the first quarter. It was 27 at the half. The Knicks were complaining to the officials. They were hunting Victor Wembanyama. It was 2–0 when New York left San Antonio. It was about to be 2–2 when they got back.

The knives were out. For everyone. For James Dolan, the Knicks owner who guaranteed a win on WFAN in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day in a war of press releases with the mayor’s office. For Karl-Anthony Towns, who had nearly as many fouls (three) as points in eight first-half minutes. For Mitchell Robinson, who looked lifeless in seven first-half minutes. The end of a 53-year championship drought that once seemed inevitable was slipping away.

Film review is common at halftime. Inside the Knicks’ locker room, the televisions were off. “We let them sit for a bit,” coach Mike Brown said, “talk amongst themselves.” Towns spoke up. He brought up last year’s second-round series against Boston. New York was down big in the first two games. It came back to win both. OG Anunoby offered a few words. Brown’s final message: “Cut it to around 15, 17 going into the fourth,” he said. “If we do, we’ll give ourselves a chance.”

Said Brunson, “Really wasn’t that much to be said at that point. It was really just, We need to chip away.”

In the third, the Knicks did. The lead was 20 with four minutes left. It was 15 at the end. Anunoby had 11 points in the quarter. Brunson had eight. “It was just, Continue to do what got us here,” said Josh Hart. “I think in that first half, we didn’t do that and we got back to being refocused and having better discipline.”

THE GREATEST COMEBACK IN NBA FINALS HISTORY!

.@SIChrisMannix breaks it all down 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XID55go6bh
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 11, 2026

They had help. It’s impossible to overstate how bad San Antonio was in the third quarter. It shot 20% from the floor. The Spurs were 2 of 12 from three-point range and just kept shooting them. On ESPN, Charles Barkley called the Spurs “the dumbest basketball team in the history of civilization.” If you only watched that quarter, you might agree with him.

Still, the Spurs were up 15. With 9 ½ minutes left, the lead was 20. But the Knicks kept coming. More Brunson. More Anunoby. More … Jose Alvarado. Alvarado played six uneventful minutes through the first three quarters. His highlight was a football-like takedown of Wembanyama. But Brown stuck with him. He needed a pick-and-roll threat. He needed someone to take Brunson off the ball. He needed to speed the game up. Alvarado racked up eight points in the fourth quarter, finishing the period +17.

Said Towns, “Jose Alvarado clearly told everyone in the world tonight he’s a big-time player.”

Knicks guard Jose Alvarado controls the ball against Spurs guards Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox in the fourth quarter. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

With 82 seconds left, a Brunson six-footer gave the Knicks a one-point lead. Two possessions later, a pair of Stephon Castle free throws took it back. On the next possession, Brunson missed, setting up a sequence that will haunt the Spurs for a generation. De’Aaron Fox tipped the ball into the frontcourt. He collected the ball with 13 seconds left. He pulls it out, the Knicks would have been forced to foul. Instead, he took it to the basket, where Anunoby met him for the block.

“I just thought I’d be able to outrun him,” said Fox. “That’s it.”

With 5.7 seconds left, the Knicks had one more shot. Anunoby inbounded the ball to Brunson. Anunoby has had a brilliant series. Big shots, big free throws, big defensive stops. Before the game, Brown told him he needed more. “I told OG, as big, as strong, as athletic as he is, he’s got to be a monster on the offensive glass tonight,” said Brown. When Brunson got the ball, Anunoby headed to the rim. Brunson’s 31-footer was on line. But short. Anunoby leaped, got a right hand on the ball and redirected it in.

“Right hand from God,” said Towns.

Said Brown, “That has to be the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball.”

OG ANUNOBY WITH THE PUTBACK.

KNICKS COMPLETE THE 29-PT COMEBACK FOR THE WIN.

LARGEST COMEBACK IN NBA FINALS HISTORY 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ZtWVWY6JsR
— NBA (@NBA) June 11, 2026

There was no reaction from Anunoby. There rarely is. He was in his second year in Toronto when the Raptors rode Kawhi Leonard to a championship. Now he’s the Knicks version of him. He’s lethal from three, sticky on defense and bruising in the paint. And he’s a sponge. Anunoby constantly craves information. He’s been known to call ex-teammates in season for advice on his release points. When Brown asked him to do more, Anunoby listened.

“Told me I need to get on the glass, offensive glass, especially, and just use my ability, size, strength, athleticism, to make an impact,” said Anunoby, “and it happened at the end.”

It’s 3–1 now, and even for a resilient team like the Spurs, this will be hard to recover. They scored 76 points in the first half. They could muster just 30 in the second. One by one, ashen-faced players struggled to offer explanations. “Stopped moving the ball,” said Wembanyama. “Stopped executing.” Said Castle, “Too many bad mistakes.” San Antonio has faced adversity. It has never faced something like this.

“I think it’s going to go one of two ways,” said Wembanyama. “A bad one and a good one. The bad one would be giving up. The good one would be getting stronger through this, getting more together. I know this is what we’re going to do.”

We’ll see. For now, they live in infamy. Pick your New York moment. The 1986 World Series, when the Mets stayed alive when the ball trickled through Bill Buckner’s legs. The 2008 Super Bowl, when David Tyree made a game-saving catch with his helmet. This equals those. Probably better. It was over. And then it wasn’t. It was the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history. And in the Garden, no one wanted it to end.

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