The New York Knicks are one win away from ending a championship drought that stretches back more than half a century. And if they finish off the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5, they’ll have OG Anunoby to thank for putting them there.
Anunoby’s tip-in with seconds left in Game 4 wasn’t just a clutch basket — it was a piece of history. According to NBA research, Anunoby and Michael Jordan are now the only two players ever to record a block or steal and then hit a game-winning shot in the final 30 seconds of an NBA Finals game. Jordan did it in 1998, famously stripping Karl Malone before drilling the title-clincher over Bryon Russell. Anunoby did it in 2026, tipping in a missed Jalen Brunson layup with 4.2 seconds on the clock and earlier deflecting a Spurs pass to create a turnover.
“I tried to explain it to him, but you know OG barely gives you any reaction,” teammate Karl-Anthony Towns said after the game, via the New York Post. “So I don’t know if he’s understanding it or not. Like you said, it’s a great moment. It’s one of the best sports moments in New York history. But we’ve got to solidify it with one more win.”
Anunoby finished with 33 points in Game 4, going a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. For a player known primarily for his defensive versatility — he’s guarded everyone from Jayson Tatum to Victor Wembanyama this postseason — the scoring outburst was a reminder that he can take over on both ends when it matters most.
The Knicks last appeared in the Finals in 1999, when they lost to — fittingly — the Spurs. That series ended in a five-game defeat. Now New York leads San Antonio 3-1 and can close out the series on Saturday night at the Frost Bank Center.
“It’s really cool,” Anunoby said of the team’s Finals run. “Just everyone has been telling me how much it means, and obviously I can see how much it means. It’s just really cool to be a part of it, and I’m very grateful.”
What This Moment Means for the Knicks
A championship would be the franchise’s first since 1973, and the first in the city since the 1990s dynasties of the Bulls and the Yankees. It would also validate a front-office philosophy that prioritized two-way wings over pure scorers. Anunoby, acquired from Toronto in a 2023 trade that sent RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley north, has been the prototype of that approach.
Game 5 tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET Saturday. The Knicks have not confirmed whether starting center Mitchell Robinson (ankle) will be available. Fans online noted that the Spurs have not lost three straight games all postseason, but then again, no team in this Finals has faced a 3-1 deficit.
One more win, and Anunoby’s tip-in will live alongside Patrick Ewing’s finger roll and Willis Reed’s limp as the defining images of Knicks basketball.
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