It looked over. With less than 10 minutes left in the third quarter, the San Antonio Spurs had a 29-point lead on the road in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The Knicks looked cooked. The crowd had gone quiet. Then, something shifted.
New York clawed back, inch by inch, until the game came down to one possession — and one shot. OG Anunoby caught the ball with 1.2 seconds on the clock, rose up, and drilled the game-winner. The Garden erupted. Celebrities flooded the court. And the Knicks walked away with a 3-1 series lead that no one saw coming an hour earlier.
The Star-Powered Scene at Madison Square Garden
If you were a famous face in New York on Wednesday night, you were likely at the Garden. The celebrity turnout for Game 4 read like a who’s-who of sports, entertainment, and New York royalty. Taylor Swift, Kylie Jenner, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, and Whoopi Goldberg were all spotted. So were Knicks legends Patrick Ewing, Walt Frazier, and Bernard King, plus Yankees slugger Aaron Judge and former Met David Wright.
Rappers Fat Joe, Nas, Jadakiss, and Action Bronson were in the building. Actors Timothée Chalamet, Jeremy Strong, and Kit Harington sat courtside. Even Ben Stiller, Chelsea Handler, and Spike Lee — a permanent fixture at Knicks games — were there to witness history. Wu-Tang Clan, unsurprisingly, made an appearance. The list stretched into the dozens, from Alec Baldwin to Hailey Bieber.
How the Knicks Pulled Off the Impossible
The Spurs came out firing. San Antonio’s offense looked unstoppable through two quarters. They moved the ball, hit threes from every angle, and shut down Jalen Brunson in the first half. By the time the third quarter started, the Spurs were up 29 and cruising.
Then Brunson caught fire. He finished with 34 points and 9 assists, scoring or assisting on nearly every key bucket down the stretch. His backcourt partner, Anunoby, added 22 points — none bigger than the final two. The Knicks defense tightened, forcing turnovers and turning them into transition baskets. San Antonio, suddenly cold, couldn’t find a bucket to stop the bleeding.
According to multiple reports, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich called the collapse “unacceptable” in the postgame locker room. The team has not commented publicly beyond that.
The series now shifts back to San Antonio for Game 5 on Saturday. The Knicks have a chance to close it out on the road. The Spurs, meanwhile, have to figure out how to hold a lead — and fast.
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