Josh Hart isn’t celebrating. Not yet. The New York Knicks guard watched his team erase a 29-point deficit in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, sneaking out a 107-106 win to take a 3-1 series lead. But for Hart, the comeback was a symptom, not a solution.
“We can’t keep getting into a hole and trying to dig ourselves out of a hole,” Hart said ahead of Game 5. “We were fortunate to do that last game — all three of our wins. We’ve got to do a better job of starting games off.”
The Knicks have trailed at the end of every first quarter in the Finals. San Antonio has often led by double digits before halftime, and the Spurs’ Game 4 blitz — a 29-point cushion — looked like it would force a return to New York for a pivotal Game 5. Instead, OG Anunoby’s game-winning put-back kept the Knicks one win from the franchise’s first championship since 1973.
“We have to make sure we come in focused with a great attention to detail, and taking things a possession at a time,” Hart said. “If we do that and we play our style of basketball, we’re going to put ourselves in a good position to be successful.”
The numbers are stark. San Antonio has owned the first quarter in every game of this series, dictating tempo and forcing New York into early-shot-clock heaves. The Knicks have shot under 40% from the floor in the opening period in three of the four games, and the Spurs have converted those fast-break opportunities into a double-digit cushion each time.
But the series isn’t about first quarters. It’s about who finishes. And right now, the Knicks have done that three times. The Spurs, with their season on the line Saturday at home, will try to force a Game 6.
OG Anunoby Stakes His Claim for Finals MVP
Anunoby’s buzzer-beating tip-in in Game 4 was the most clutch shot in Knicks history — the kind of moment that cements a legacy. But according to ESPN analyst Zach Lowe, the case for Anunoby as Finals MVP goes well beyond one play.
“What a playoffs for OG Anunoby,” Lowe said on The Zach Lowe Show. “He is averaging 21 points and six rebounds. Here’s his playoff shooting splits: 58% shooting, 51% on threes, 64% on twos.”
In the Finals, Anunoby is averaging 24 points a game on 58% from the field and 57% from three-point range. Lowe noted that while Jalen Brunson has had signature moments — especially in Games 1 and 2 in San Antonio — Anunoby has been the most consistent force on both ends.
“I think the Finals MVP right now would be OG Anunoby with a bullet,” Lowe said.
Still, the Knicks haven’t won anything yet. The Spurs will host Game 5 on Saturday with the desperation of a team that knows one more loss means summer. And if the Knicks repeat their slow start — even against a desperate opponent — the script could flip.
“They come out with a lot of energy. They’ve been doing it all playoffs,” Hart said of the Spurs. “And we’ve been very up and down with that a lot this year. We have to make sure we come in focused.”
One more win, and New York can finally exhale. But if the Knicks risk another early deficit, even Anunoby’s heroics might not be enough.
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