Vlad Bunoan

'Resilient' Knicks on brink of NBA title after record rally

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1781159719207720634503_1546589716836531_6529439961674537368_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="New York Knicks/Facebook"/>New York Knicks/Facebook</div>NEW YORK — OG Anunoby&#x27;s game-clinching tip-in to put New York on the brink of an NBA title will go down as one of the greatest plays in Knicks history, coach Mike Brown said.The <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2026/6/11/knicks-stage-epic-comeback-to-beat-spurs-one-win-from-nba-title-1147">Knicks staged the biggest comeback in Finals history </a>as they erased a 29-point deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 on Wednesday and take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven championship series.They&#x27;ll now have three chances to clinch their first title since 1973, starting with Game 5 on Saturday in San Antonio.&quot;It&#x27;s unbelievable,&quot; Brown said of Anunoby&#x27;s basket, which saw him rise to pat home Jalen Brunson&#x27;s three-point miss. &quot;The tip, how he had to control it and tip it in — that has to be the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball.&quot;Brown had challenged Anunoby to step up his offensive rebounding.&quot;Told me I need to get on the glass, offensive glass especially, and just use my ability, size, strength, athleticism, to make an impact on the offensive glass,&quot; Anunoby said. &quot;And it happened at the end.&quot;It was a stunning outcome at Madison Square Garden, despite the Knicks making a habit of comeback wins.They rallied from 22 points down with less than eight minutes left in regulation to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in overtime in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference finals sweep.They erased a 14-point second-half deficit to stun the Spurs in San Antonio in Game 1 of the Finals.Anunoby said it&#x27;s just a matter of staying with it.&quot;We&#x27;re a resilient group. We&#x27;ve been through a lot. We&#x27;ve come back plenty of times when we&#x27;re behind. Just staying with it, weathering the storm, not being too down or angry or frustrated.&quot;Just staying with it, cut (the deficit) down to 18, cut it down to six, push it through. It&#x27;s a 48-minute game, just play till the end.&quot;The end on Wednesday proved to be Anunoby leaping to control the rebound of Brunson&#x27;s shot and slot it home.He said he didn&#x27;t have the angle for a dunk &quot;so I tried to tip it in softly and it went in.&quot;&quot;Right hand from God,&quot; teammate Karl-Anthony Towns said, although he wasn&#x27;t surprised, adding &quot;That&#x27;s OG.&quot;Knicks fans long starved of championship chances erupted.&quot;It feels cool,&quot; Anunoby said. &quot;Everyone&#x27;s pretty excited.&quot;&quot;I&#x27;m excited, too,&quot; he said, sparking laughter. &quot;But we&#x27;re focused on the next game now.&quot;

OG Anunoby's game-clinching tip-in to put New York on the brink of an NBA title will go down as one of the greatest plays in Knicks history, coach Mike Brown said.

OG Anunoby's game-clinching tip-in to put New York on the brink of an NBA title will go down as one of the greatest plays in Knicks history, coach Mike Brown said.