The New York Knicks trailed by 29 points in the second half of Game 4. Madison Square Garden had gone quiet. The San Antonio Spurs were being installed as favorites to win the game, and the series momentum was shifting in real time.
Then the Knicks did what the Knicks do. They came back. They always come back.
OG Anunoby tipped in a missed Jalen Brunson three with 1.2 seconds remaining to complete the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, sending New York to a 107-106 win and a 3-1 series lead. One win from a championship. After the game, Anunoby had plenty to say.
OG on the Game-Winner
The final possession was set up by an De’Aaron Fox transition layup attempt that Anunoby blocked in the closing seconds, giving the Knicks one last chance. Brunson’s three rimmed out, and Anunoby was there.
“The ball went over my head, so I couldn’t really dunk it,” Anunoby said. “I just tried to tip it in softly and it went in.”
Simple. Clean. Historic. Anunoby finished with 33 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including seven of nine from three, and then delivered the moment that will define this entire playoff run. He was the steadying force for New York from the opening quarter through the final second.
OG on the Knicks’ Mindset at Halftime
Trailing 76-49 at the break, the Knicks could have folded. Most teams would have. Instead, the message in the locker room was measured and deliberate.
“Stay with it, we’re fine,” Anunoby said of the halftime mindset. “We know it’s a game of runs. We’re a resilient group, we’ve been through a lot. We’ve came back plenty of times when we were down.”
That composure translated immediately. The Spurs managed just 14 points in the third quarter and 16 in the fourth, while the Knicks caught fire from three and slowly chipped away at what had seemed like an insurmountable deficit. A 13-0 run in the third quarter sparked the belief. The fourth quarter finished it.
OG on Leaning on Experience
GettyJalen Brunson, OG Anunoby Lead Historic Knicks Comeback.
This was not the first time the Knicks had been here. Big deficits, hostile environments, moments where the season felt like it was slipping. They have navigated all of it on this playoff run, and Anunoby pointed to that history as the reason the locker room never panicked.
“When you do it once, you know you can do it again,” Anunoby said.
That is what 13 consecutive playoff wins does to a group. It builds a reference point. When the Spurs were up 29 and MSG was silent, the Knicks had a library of evidence telling them the game was not over. They have been in this position before. They know how it ends.
OG on the Fans
Anunoby saved some of his most heartfelt words for the crowd inside Madison Square Garden and the city watching from outside it.
“We have the best fans in the world,” Anunoby said. “Every night, they’re showing out — even the fans that aren’t at the game, they’re crazy. I know you guys have seen the videos of the fans in the streets and stuff. It’s amazing. We all feel it.”
The streets outside MSG have been filled with Knicks fans celebrating every win of this run. The city has rallied around this team in a way that has not been seen in New York since the last time the Knicks were in the Finals in 1999. Anunoby feels it. The whole team does.
Final Word for the Knicks
OG Anunoby tipped in perhaps the biggest shot in New York Knicks history. He did it calmly, like someone who had been in that moment before and knew exactly what to do.
The Knicks are one win away from ending a 53-year championship drought. Game 5 is Saturday night in San Antonio.
The fans in the streets already know what they are hoping for. Anunoby and his teammates know it too.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Knicks’ OG Anunoby Drops Major Quote After Historic Game-Winner appeared first on HEAVY.