Take a seat at the end of the bench, The Pitt.
If you turned your TV off at halftime of Game 4 last night, you missed the “Ozymandias” (Breaking Bad) episode of the 2026 NBA Finals. The New York Knicks orchestrating the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, at home and in front of every celebrity you and your daughter have ever heard of, was a true episodic masterpiece for ABC. And it was all an OG Anunoby pointer finger away from not happening.
Bandwagon-hoppers could be forgiven for abandoning the game after just the first quarter, when Victor Wembanyama and the visiting San Antonio Spurs posted a 21 point lead. After another quarter, the chasm had widened to 27. It would get one bucket worse for Knicks fans before it got much, much better.
Former NBA player and current ESPN analyst Tim Legler, who called Game 4 “one of the most iconic and unforgettable games in NBA history — without a doubt,” tells The Hollywood Reporter that he “thought the game was over at halftime if I’m being honest,” adding an “LOL.” Hey, this was over text.
Even the intermission’s performance by the Wu-Tang Clan could not get New Yorkers out of their funk. With 9:40 left in the third quarter, the Spurs led by 29 points. History told us that this thing was over. Nobody told the Knicks.
The largest comeback ever in the NBA Finals to that point happened in another Game 4, by the Boston Celtics against the Los Angeles Lakers. But that deficit was only 24 points — and Boston still had two and a half quarters to play. Eighteen years later (to the game), the Knicks had a win probability of less than one-half of one percent; considering the past, the number should have been zero flat.
In other words, it was game over. My oldest, 9, had crept downstairs from her bed to catch some of the game. Looking at the scoreboard, she did not protest much when turned right back around. Given what happened next, it is unclear if I am a good dad or a bad one. Hey, at least she got to see Taylor Swift.
It wasn’t until the night’s final boss Antunoby nailed a triple to cut the Spurs lead to 97-86 with 6:31 left in the game that Legler thought we might have a game on our hands.
“That’s the first time I saw real belief in the eyes of both teams,” Legler said. “Knicks were like, ‘We can actually do this,” and the Spurs looked like, ‘This can’t be happening.’”
That belief was prominently on display in Madison Square Garden’s “Celebrity Row,” which on Wednesday nearly extended to the mezzanine. What the pretty, famous people witnessed firsthand was a better Hollywood ending than most of their own movies. Seated with Swift were the Haim sisters and Mariska Hargitay (when she finally got there). There was also Jimmy Fallon, Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Jonas, Ben Stiller, Rainn Wilson, Tracy Morgan, Larry David, Timothée Chalamet, Kylie Jenner, Spike Lee, Fat Joe, Nas, Edie Falco, Alex Rodriguez, Amy Schumer, Scooter Braun, Sydney Sweeney, Liam Neeson, Keke Palmer, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeremy Strong, Jadakiss, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock — the list goes on.
After a truly pathetic opening half, the Knicks needed to give each and every row in MSG something to cheer about. They did — one step at a time, the only way to overcome such a deficit. Though the Knicks begin to chip away, the lead was still 20 points early in the fourth quarter. The New York bench, the same one ignored for years by former coach Tom Thibodeau, once again provided a spark. Sure, Jalen Brunson was good, but his backup José Alvarado was better. Though he would lead all scorers with 36 points, Brunson’s biggest contribution of the night may have been his final shot, a miss. With a handful of seconds remaining, down by one, Anunoby inbounded the ball to Brunson, who probably pulled the trigger a bit too early (and more than a bit too deep). It was a good thing he did, however, because it gave Anunoby enough time to storm the paint unabated and provide the miraculous tip-in that would win the game and set New York City on fire — literally, in some parts.
“I personally have never experienced an environment as good as what we saw last night,” Legler said. “The energy. The drama. The ending. Blessed to be on the call for that.”
The Knicks, now up three games to one, only led Game 4 for the final 1.2 seconds — but they were the most important 1.2 seconds in the game series playoffs franchise’s history. Go New York, Go New York, Go! No, seriously, now go to San Antonio and bring back the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Game 6 tips off Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
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