After a dramatic comeback, the New York Knicks head to San Antonio hoping to defeat the Spurs to clinch the 2026 championship.
Published June 13, 2026
The San Antonio Spurs are currently suffering the worst loss in NBA Finals history, but they still refuse to be counted out.
The New York Knicks will be looking to win their first NBA title since 1973, while the Spurs will host Game 5 on Saturday night and look to stay alive in a best-of-seven series.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
New York overcame a 29-point deficit in Game 4 to defeat the struggling Spurs 107-106 and maintain a 3-1 lead.
“Every game we’ve lost has been close,” San Antonio point guard De’Aaron Fox said Friday. “We still have faith that we have a chance to win, but we are taking this one game at a time.
“We’re not thinking about that because we need to win three games. We need to win tomorrow so we can give ourselves a chance to play in the next game.”
How the Knicks went 3-1 in the NBA Finals
The Knicks opened the series with a 105-95, 105-104 win in San Antonio. The Spurs posted a 115-111 victory in Game 3 in New York before Wednesday’s stunning meltdown.
The previous record for the largest comeback in an NBA Finals game was 24 in 2008 between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers.
San Antonio led by 20 points with 9:33 remaining. After five minutes, the lead was just four points. The Knicks completed the comeback with a spectacular tip-in by OG Anunoby with 1.2 seconds left.
Brown says Game 5 between Knicks and Spurs will be ‘difficult’
Knicks coach Mike Brown is sacrificing every good moment to try to end the club’s 53-year title drought. He credits Game 5 in San Antonio with a shutout as a tough task.
“It’s going to be difficult,” Brown said. “San Antonio is a great team. They’re desperate. I think they still believe. It’s going to be difficult for us.”
Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson hasn’t forgotten his team’s 29-point deficit in Game 4. Otherwise, he is only thinking ahead.
“I’ve always told myself that when I wake up the next day, it’s time to turn the page,” Branson said. “Yes, we won, but there’s still a lot of work to do. There’s a lot to learn. We didn’t play our best basketball. There’s still a lot of things we have to look at to make sure we don’t end up in that situation again.”
Brunson had 36 points and seven assists in Game 4, making him the third time he has scored 30 or more points in the series.
Anunoby made seven 3-pointers and set a postseason career best with 33 points before the tip-in, which is already etched into Knicks lore.
“Everyone has told me how much it means, and obviously I understand how much it means,” Anunoby said. “It’s really great to be a part of it and I’m so grateful.”
“There’s no time for regrets,” says Wenbanyama.
Victor Wembaneyama had 24 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocked shots, but was only successful on 9 of 25 shots in Game 4. He has scored at least 24 points in each game, but shot just 43.5 percent from the field in the series.
Only one team has ever overcome a 3-1 series deficit to win the NBA title. It rebounded to defeat LeBron James’ 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers, a Golden State Warriors team that won 73 regular-season games.
Wembaneyama insists San Antonio can match that feat. After all, the Spurs had a chance to win each of their first four games.
“It was definitely more difficult than any of the previous games,” Wenbanyama said of shaking off the Game 4 loss. “I mean, it’s over. It’s the playoffs. We don’t have time to regret too long.”
Spurs coach Mitch Johnson knows he missed a big opportunity by scoring 76 points in the first half but only 30 in the second half. But he refused to get lost in what-if thoughts.
“What happened cannot be avoided,” Johnson said. “It’s inevitable that all four games were winnable games. It’s inevitable that we’re down 3-1. There’s no way we can get better.”
“I don’t think anyone is harder on us and more accountable to ourselves than the guys in the locker room and each other. That’s helped us get to this point and how the group is built.”
