Finals Game Four: Yogi Berra Said it Best

Madison Square Garden's first NBA Finals game in 27 years did not go the way that the New York Knicks wanted. The San Antonio Spurs won that game, 115-111, to get on the series scoreboard and keep the home team winless in this series. Game Four was Take 2 for the MSG crowd, and they were ready to see something on that evening.

What they were not ready to see was the Knicks being absolutely decimated.

The Spurs delivered a dominant 1st quarter, putting up 41 points and leading by 19 after the frame. The lead became 27 at half and at one point they were up by 29. By that point, I thought it was over, and I guarantee you, I wasn't alone. I did think of Game Four in the Cup Final; Vegas leading 4-0 entering the 3rd period. Carolina came back with four goals in the 3rd, but that's hockey. This is basketball. Chances are, if a team's up by 29 points late enough, it's pretty much a done deal.

But to quite another New York legend, "It ain't over 'til it's over."

The 3rd quarter saw the Spurs start to chuck three-pointers despite the fact that they were up by a mint. Meanwhile, a funny thing happened: the Knicks' huge deficit was shrinking. Little by little, but as the environmentalists say, "Every little bit helps." The Knicks outscored San Antonio, 26-14, in the 3rd quarter, but even so, they were down by 15 points entering the final dozen minutes of regulation. They needed a lot to happen.

And a lot did.

San Antonio's shooting woes got worse and worse, and that big lead was suddenly down to single digits! It was actually down to four points with that many minutes to go, and despite the Spurs looking to hold on to something, the Knicks took the lead late thanks to Jalen Brunson. Can you believe that?! The Knicks, who were down by almost thirty, were leading very late in regulation and had a chance to win this one. However, San Antonio regained their lead, but it was only one point with just under 20 seconds left. Brunson takes his shot as the clock ticks down. He misses.

Someone else didn't.

That right hand belongs to OG Anunoby, who is no stranger to the Finals; he was part of the Toronto Raptors club that won the championship in 2019. After Brunson's miss, Anunoby reached his hand out, tipped the ball forward... and in! 107-106; Knicks led with 1.2 seconds left in regulation, and that was the score when the final one and one-fifth of a second ran out. The Knicks trailed by 29 points. Twenty-nine points! Yet they managed to win this game. This is a franchise that is never allowed to have too many nice things, but they managed to climb their way out of a huge deficit to win it. This was the biggest comeback in Finals history. Instead of the Finals being 2-2, with the home team losing all of the games, the Knicks are up 3-1 and are one win away from their first championship since 1973.

This is the 37th Finals to see a team up 3-1, and the Knicks have history on their side. Out of the previous 36 times that a team led 3-1 in the NBA Finals, only one team lost in that situation: the 73-9 Golden State Warriors ten years ago.

Game Five is Saturday back in San Antonio, and it could be a big night for the Knicks.

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