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New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) embraces forward Og Anunoby after Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series against the San Antonio Spurs, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in New York.<\/p>\n
Ross D. Franklin\/AP Photo\/Ross D. Franklin<\/p>\n
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) hugs forward Og Anunoby (8) after the team’s victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in New York.<\/p>\n
Frank Franklin II\/AP Photo\/Frank Franklin II<\/p>\n
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama blocks the shot of New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby (8) during the first half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in New York.<\/p>\n
Ross D. Franklin\/AP Photo\/Ross D. Franklin<\/p>\n
NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 For the New York Knicks, a 53-year wait for another championship might have been decided by what happened in 4 1\/2 seconds.<\/p>\n
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And make no mistake: Those 4 1\/2 seconds will never be forgotten by the Knicks. Or by the San Antonio Spurs.<\/p>\n
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The situation: Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Knicks down by one in a game where they trailed by as many as 29 points. They call timeout with 5.7 seconds left, just as Jose Alvarado nearly committed a backcourt violation that would have cost the Knicks the basketball.<\/p>\n
5.7 seconds left … the play begins<\/p>\n
The timeout comes and New York’s Josh Hart is distraught. He blamed himself for missing an assignment at the other end, which allowed San Antonio\u2019s Stephon Castle to hit two free throws that put his team up 106-105.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m sitting there just hoping my guys make a play,\u201d Hart said.<\/p>\n
OG Anunoby inbounds the ball for the Knicks. The Spurs elect to not have a defender impede his vision, using all five of their players to guard the four who were moving about for New York. Jalen Brunson shakes free of a couple of defenders, including the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama, the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, and catches the inbounds pass near midcourt.<\/p>\n
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4.3 seconds left … Brunson shoots<\/p>\n
Brunson takes one dribble and lets a shot fly from about 31 feet, over Wembanyama’s outstretched left arm. The shot, in the air for about 1.2 seconds, misses and hits the rim. It’s short, and the ball bounces off the iron into the air.<\/p>\n
Anunoby \u2014 with nobody in his path \u2014 sprints from the out-of-bounds spot into the lane, just in case.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just went and crashed,\u201d Anunoby said. \u201cTried to get a tip-dunk or something. The ball went over my head, so I couldn\u2019t really dunk it. So, I tried to tip it in softly.\u201d<\/p>\n
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With 2.5 seconds left, Anunoby leaps. The Spurs have a few Knicks boxed out, including Karl-Anthony Towns. But Anunoby is unnoticed and gets in front of the Spurs’ Dylan Harper and Devin Vassell.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was contesting the first shot,\u201d Wembanyama said. \u201cTurned around and saw him up there. That\u2019s all I saw.\u201d<\/p>\n
2.0 seconds left … Anunoby tips the ball<\/p>\n
Anunoby throws his right arm into the air as he leaps, just out of the reach of the airborne Vassell. He gets his thumb and a couple of fingers on the ball, hoping to knock it back toward the rim \u2014 which he does.<\/p>\n
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\u201cRight hand from God,\u201d Towns called it.<\/p>\n
Anunoby falls to the floor. The ball gets over the front of the rim. Brunson’s fist goes into the air. The Garden waits.<\/p>\n
1.2 seconds left … \u2018Bedlam here at The Garden!\u2019<\/p>\n
Announcer Mike Breen thought Brunson’s 3-point shot would be good. In the end, Breen yelled \u201cBedlam here at the Garden! They can’t believe it!\u201d as Anunoby’s shot went through the net.<\/p>\n
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Hart \u2014 who also missed a go-ahead layup in the final moments \u2014 will never be able to thank him enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got a special shoutout for OG, man,\u201d Hart said. \u201cHe saved me, at least for this game, a lifetime of regret.\u201d<\/p>\n
Had the rebound of Brunson’s miss bounced in a different direction, Anunoby wouldn’t have gotten there.<\/p>\n
\u201cBounced off the rim the right way,\u201d Harper said. \u201cHe tipped it in the right way. It went in. I could play, \u2018Wish I could have did this, wish I could have did that.\u2019 But at the end of the day, he tipped the ball, and it went in.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The one-point lead matched the Knicks’ biggest all night.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat has to be the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball,\u201d Knicks coach Mike Brown said. \u201cI\u2019m not you guys. You guys know better than me. But it was just unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Reynolds reported from Miami.<\/p>\n