NBA Finals: Spurs suffer historic comeback by the Knicks, one win away from the title

Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, frozen at the end of the game, let slip a 29-point lead to suffer the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history, ending up losing 107-106 on Wednesday at the New York Knicks, who are eyeing the title.

The historic New York franchise, escorted by its passionate fans, leads 3-1 in this best-of-seven series and will have the opportunity to win its third trophy, its first since 1973, on Saturday in San Antonio. Only one team down 3-1 in the NBA Finals has ever gone on to win: LeBron James' Cavaliers in 2016 against Stephen Curry's Warriors.

This pivotal Game 4, which ultimately propelled the Knicks close to the title, almost revived the Spurs in this final, thanks to a fantastic first half (76-49 Spurs), notably with Dylan Harper (21 points).

But it was New York forward OG Anunoby (33 points), excellent since the start of the series, who had the last word with a little over a second left on the clock, soaring up for the offensive rebound to push the ball into the basket, sending the mythical Madison Square Garden into raptures.

The Knicks, more aggressive in the final minutes, thus won their second game by one point in this final, after game 2 (105-104) in Texas.

- "It hurts" -

Victor Wembanyama, who had a perfect start to the game, ended up collapsing like his entire team, finishing with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks.

"Things can go in two directions, one good and one bad. Either we give up, or we use it to become stronger, to strengthen the collective, and I know that's what we're going to do," commented "Wemby".

"It just hurts," he added.

Booed by the crowd since the warm-up, the 22-year-old Frenchman nevertheless seemed to have donned his supervillain cape in Gotham City, a nickname for New York in homage to the famous fictional city from comics.

Very skillful at the start of the game, clever in making his way to the rim with layups, Wembanyama also showed himself to be cunning and cheeky, getting into the heads of his opponents, as he signaled, index finger to temple, to Mitchell Robinson, who had been penalized for an elbow strike after a nice move by the Frenchman.

But "Wemby" himself received a flagrant foul for an overly friendly elbow to Karl-Anthony Towns' face, 9 minutes and 40 seconds from the end of the 3rd quarter, the pivotal moment that saw the 29-point lead (81-52) begin to melt away.

The Texans took 5 minutes to get back on the court, and got stuck in long-range shots which became ineffective (3 of 17 at 17.6%) after being deadly before the break (14 of 26 at 53.8%).

San Antonio breathed a sigh of relief early in the fourth quarter when they found Wembanyama on an alley-oop. The Frenchman also gave his team some breathing room with a mid-range jumper at 3:30, but missed two crucial free throws with 1:47 left on the clock.

- Brunson scores 36 points -

Jalen Brunson, fantastic with 36 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, gave the Knicks the lead for the first time with 1 minute 22 left, a few seconds after sinking an unreal long-range shot over Wembanyama.

"All year we've talked about collective effort in adversity. You have to experience it to know how united we are in these moments. Our players have shown their resilience," said coach Mike Brown.

Although Stephon Castle (13 points) was able to put the Spurs back in the lead at the free-throw line, the MSG celebration was all the sweeter thanks to Anunoby's final play, which confirmed the biggest comeback in the finals, surpassing the 24-point comeback by the Celtics against the Lakers in 2008.

The vast majority of the public remained for long minutes without wanting to leave their cauldron, the joy spreading from the first row dedicated to VIPs, with rappers ASAP Rocky and RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan shouting with happiness to launch a night of jubilation in Manhattan.

The Spurs have 72 hours to bounce back and extend their home season.

AFP