Knicks storm back from 29 down, take 3-1 Finals lead

The 2026 NBA Finals have become a statistical outlier. Through four games, the Spurs and Knicks had been separated by an average of just 4 points, far tighter than the 11.8-point average margin across NBA Finals series, and Game 4 turned that squeeze into history.

New York’s 107-106 win on June 10 at Madison Square Garden put the Knicks up 3-1 and pushed the series to the brink of a franchise’s first championship in 53 years. Game 5 was set for June 13 in San Antonio, with a possible Game 7 scheduled for June 19. But the biggest number from Game 4 was not the final score. The Knicks erased a 29-point deficit, a rally multiple reports described as the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, topping the 24-point turnaround Boston completed against the Lakers in 2008.

That comeback changed how the series will be remembered because it followed a pattern already rare by Finals standards. The road team won the first three games, and the Knicks became the first club to win two straight road games to open an NBA Finals since 1995. In a series this tight, home-court advantage has mattered less than late-game execution, and New York’s resilience has repeatedly pushed the Spurs into one-possession territory.

Game 4 delivered the clearest example. OG Anunoby finished the comeback with a tip-in with 1.2 seconds left, and Jalen Brunson carried New York with 36 points. The Knicks’ bench, including Jose Alvarado, supplied a key late boost as New York kept chipping away after falling behind by 29. San Antonio, powered by Victor Wembanyama’s presence in the matchup, could not close the door once the lead began to shrink.

Inside Madison Square Garden, the stakes felt larger than a single playoff game. The building was packed with celebrity attention, and the celebration outside turned rowdy enough to prompt NYPD detentions. For New York, the noise reflected a city sensing something bigger than a comeback: a chance to end a 53-year title drought in a series that has already rewritten the Finals record book.