‘I Was About to Cry’: Jose Alvarado and Karl-Anthony Towns Get Emotional About NBA Finals

The New York Knicks moved within one win of their first NBA championship since 1973 after a dramatic 107-106 comeback victory over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night.

The Knicks erased a 29-point deficit, the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, to take a 3-1 series lead. OG Anunoby delivered the game-winning tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining, while Jalen Brunson scored 36 points and Anunoby added 33 in one of the most memorable games in franchise history.

After the victory, two New York natives, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jose Alvarado, reflected on what the moment meant to them personally. Both players spoke about the emotions of competing in the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden and sharing a historic night with Knicks fans.

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Jose Alvarado and New York Knicks Reflect on Historic Madison Square Garden Moment

Alvarado admitted the magnitude of the moment nearly overwhelmed him after the final buzzer.

“And you said it, two kids from here, right? You know, I’m not going to show cold this. I was about to cry,” Alvarado said. “Not because, obviously, we just want more. But I’m in Madison Square Garden in the fourth quarter playing with these guys, and we’re playing for something special.”

The New York native played a key role off the bench during the comeback. Alvarado logged a series-high 16 minutes and finished with eight points, three assists, and two rebounds while helping shift the game’s momentum in the second half.

Following the win, Jose Alvarado said the experience was difficult to describe.

“I was just, it’s just as exciting. It’s really something I couldn’t put in words,” he said. “And like I said, we could get excited and enjoy this, but we got one more to do. So that’s the main goal, the next game.”

Knicks coach Mike Brown also praised Alvarado’s impact during the fourth-quarter comeback.

“Jose was unbelievable tonight,” Brown said. “He changed the game.”

Jose Alvarado joined the Knicks at the trade deadline and has become a valuable contributor because of his energy and defensive pressure. His performance in Game 4 came on a night when New York rallied from a 29-point deficit, surpassing the previous Finals comeback record set by the Boston Celtics against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008.

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Karl-Anthony Towns Praises New York Knicks Fans After Game 4 Win

Towns also focused on the atmosphere inside Madison Square Garden after the Knicks completed the historic comeback.

“And to add to what he got to say, too, I mean, I feel for all of y’all who was here at the game,” Towns said. “Obviously, you could just feel the abundance of joy at one time from everyone at one time, the collective joy that came out of everybody for that one moment.”

The Knicks center said the crowd’s reaction after the final possession captured the significance of the victory for the franchise and its fan base.

“To hear the buzzer going off and not to see the ball go in the basket,” Towns continued. “I think we all felt something like that emotion that was special.”

Towns finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds despite picking up two fouls in the opening minute of the game. He later described Anunoby’s game-winning tip-in as the “Right hand from God.”

The victory gave New York a commanding 3-1 series lead and put the franchise one win away from ending a 53-year championship drought.

Towns acknowledged that the moment was especially meaningful because of how long Knicks fans have waited for a Finals memory like this.

“It’s something that MSG hasn’t had that kind of moment in a long time,” Towns said. “So shout out to our fans for real.”

The series now shifts back to San Antonio for Game 5, where the Knicks will have their first opportunity to clinch the 2026 NBA championship.

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