The New York Knicks made a record comeback from 29 points down and moved to the brink of their first championship since 1973 by beating the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 on Wednesday night (US time).
OG Anunoby tipped in the miss of Jalen Brunson’s long three-point attempt with 1.2 seconds remaining to complete the rally, giving the Knicks a 3-1 lead and three chances to win the championship.
It looked impossible early, when the Spurs rolled to a 27-point half-time lead. But Brunson helped bring the Knicks back with 36 points and Anunoby finished with 33.
Game five is on Sunday morning (AEST) in San Antonio.
No team had come from more than 24 points down in a finals game, when Boston did it against the Lakers in 2008, since the NBA began keeping detailed play-by-play for all four quarters in 1997. The Spurs led 81-52 in the third quarter.
The Knicks had their 13-game winning streak snapped in game three and seemed headed for a second straight defeat throughout the first half, when Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs opened the biggest NBA finals half-time lead by a visiting team.
But the young Spurs, who made 11 of their first 16 three-pointers, went cold in the second half, going three for 17 behind the arc as the Knicks outscored them 58-30.
Delirious fans inside Madison Square Garden sang along to Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ a few minutes after watching something that seemed almost impossible.
Wembanyama had 24 points and 13 rebounds but shot just nine for 25 from the field.
Taylor Swift attended the match at Madison Square Garden, the arena that has gotten a lot of attention recently as the possible location for her upcoming wedding to Travis Kelce.
Swift wore a blue T-shirt with “Stevie Knicks” printed in orange lettering and was seated courtside on Wednesday night. She attended along with singers Este and Alana Haim, and actor Mariska Hargitay, who also had Knicks-related references on their shirts: “Knickole Kidman” and “Knickleback”.
Less than a year after their August engagement announcement, reports of Swift and Kelce’s impending nuptials have reached a crescendo. TMZ and the New York Post’s Page Six recently started insisting Swift and Kelce will marry at the Garden in early July, despite their close connections to everywhere from Kansas City, Missouri, and Nashville, Tennessee, to Cleveland and Rhode Island.
Swift and the Haim sisters were among several celebrities in the house, including regulars like Ben Stiller and Spike Lee. Swift and Kelce attended game three of the eastern conference finals between the Knicks and Cavaliers, not far from where the Kansas City Chiefs tight end is from in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
This is the latest sporting event for Swift, who along with Kelce also attended a game during the NHL’s Stanley Cup Final a year ago in Sunrise, Florida.
The Madison Square Garden wedding reports remain unconfirmed, and a spokesperson for Swift has not responded to requests for comment about the wedding plans.
The arena’s calendar of upcoming events lists nothing from June 29-July 6.
Swift first performed at Madison Square Garden in 2009, during her “Fearless” tour, and she celebrated her 30th birthday at the arena 10 years later as part of iHeartRadio’s “Jingle Ball.”
She has since graduated to larger venues when she swings through the New York area; her Eras tour shows were just across the river at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
AP
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