The Knicks Were Down 29 in the Third Quarter. OG Anunoby Tipped It In With 1.2 Seconds Left. Fans Flooded Midtown.

NEW YORK, June 12, 2026 —

The New York Knicks completed the largest comeback in NBA Finals history on Wednesday night, erasing a 29-point third-quarter deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 at Madison Square Garden, and taking a 3-1 series lead with Game 5 scheduled for Saturday night in San Antonio.

OG Anunoby tipped in a missed Jalen Brunson three-pointer with 1.2 seconds left on the clock. The building — and shortly after, the streets of Midtown Manhattan — came apart.

How a 29-Point Deficit Became a Final Lead

The Spurs were not just winning in the third quarter. They were dismantling. Victor Wembanyama was efficient. Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox were connecting. The Spurs hit 14 three-pointers in the first half alone, setting a Finals record. By their shooting percentage in the first half — 59.6% on 28-of-47 attempts — San Antonio was playing basketball that should have produced a comfortable win.

Then the second half arrived, and the Spurs made 8 of 39 shots. That is 20.5%. Something happened in that locker room at halftime — or more precisely, something stopped happening — and the Knicks, who had spent the first half being embarrassed in front of their home crowd, began chipping away at a deficit that most basketball teams in most basketball eras would have surrendered.

Jalen Brunson scored 36 points. OG Anunoby scored 33 on 10-of-15 shooting — a playoff career high. Anunoby also blocked De’Aaron Fox’s potential game-tying attempt in the final 15 seconds — a sequence in which he both defended the moment and then created the next one.

With 1.2 seconds left, down by one, Brunson launched a three-pointer from the corner that grazed the rim. Anunoby, who had tracked the shot from the moment it left Brunson’s hand, rose over a Spurs defender and tipped it through the basket. One point. Lead with 1.2 seconds remaining. Spurs ball, no timeouts. The buzzer followed before San Antonio could inbound.

Outside MSG — and Why the Comeback Had a Complicated Ending

The Knicks won. And then the night became something else.

Multiple videos posted to social media showed fans flooding the streets of Midtown Manhattan in the minutes after the final buzzer, with groups overtaking the area around Penn Station and Bryant Park. Footage showed a restaurant window being smashed on West 33rd Street. Other videos showed confrontations between groups of fans and NYPD officers, with at least one officer using pepper spray on a gathering that witnesses described as a crowd that had transitioned from celebration to confrontation. Police reported multiple arrests in the immediate vicinity of Madison Square Garden.

The city of New York had not hosted an NBA Finals game since 1999. It had been waiting for this moment for 27 years. The emotions that came with Anunoby’s tip-in were real and visible and overwhelming for thousands of fans who were inside the building and tens of thousands more who were watching on outdoor screens and in bars across the five boroughs. Those emotions produced both a historic night and incidents that the NYPD and Mayor’s office were managing hours after the game.

Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday morning the city was proud of the Knicks and that the overwhelming majority of fans celebrated peacefully, while acknowledging that there had been incidents that would be addressed through the justice system. The NYPD said the number of arrests was being tabulated.

What Saturday Means — and the Historical Weight of 3-1

The Knicks go to San Antonio on Saturday for Game 5 leading 3-1. No team in NBA Finals history has ever come back from a 3-1 deficit. The record is 32-0 for the team that goes up 3-1. The Spurs — a franchise that has won five championships, that is coached by Gregg Popovich, and that has Wembanyama — understand what Saturday represents.

Wembanyama is 22 years old. He has played in a 29-point comeback loss in the Finals, on his home floor, with 1.2 seconds on the clock, and he has to board a plane and process that. The media day quotes from San Antonio on Thursday morning reflect that processing. Castle said the team has a lot of basketball yet to be played. The coaching staff said nothing publicly that suggested surrender.

The record says 32-0. The Spurs are trying to become the first team in history to break it.