At NBA Finals, San Antonio Spurs find hope after pain of Game 4 collapse

NEW YORK — Taylor Swift and two of her friends were surrounded by Knicks City Dancers and the Knicks’ Knockouts street team Wednesday night, screaming and dancing after the most stunning victory in the 80-year history of the New York Knicks’ basketball team.

Meanwhile, about 20 feet away, as San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson spoke to the media, he could see and hear the thrill of victory after his franchise’s defeat.

The Spurs had a 29-point lead in the third quarter of Game 4 of the NBA Finals and appeared destined to split the series and regain home-court advantage. But in one of the most head-scratching collapses in the history of the NBA, New York took the lead late in the fourth quarter en route to a 107-106 triumph.

The Knicks lead 3-1 in the beat-of-seven the series, putting them one win away from their first NBA title since 1973 and third in franchise history.

As for the Spurs…

“Painful, again, yeah, because we played so well,” Johnson said. “That’s a game where you sit there and you say you had the type of personnel that you had, you shot the ball decent, played a pretty clean game. Then kind of didn’t finish the job, stopped putting energy in the right spots that got you that lead, what we’re playing for.”

In the first half of Game 4, the Spurs shot 59.6% and made a Finals record 14 3-pointers to take a 76-49 halftime lead. Despite the Knicks’ deficit, after Wu-Tang Clan performed at halftime, Method Man yelled out to the crowd, “Knicks in 5.”

Making the comeback more unique was that New York trailed by 20 points (95-75) with 9:33 remaining in the game. But the Knicks then orchestrated a stunning 28-9 fourth-quarter run, capped off by Jalen Brunson’s layup with 1:22 remaining to go ahead 105-104. It was New York’s first lead of the game.

After Spurs center Victor Wembanyama missed two free throws about a minute earlier, teammate Stephon Castle went 2-for-2 from the foul line with 30.3 seconds left to regain the lead, 106-105.

Brunson then missed a tough shot, and Spurs veteran guard De’Aaron Fox chased down a rebound in the backcourt with 12.8 seconds left, racing up the court with the win seemingly saved.

Fox, arguably the fastest guard in the NBA, could have dribbled out the clock or been fouled to go to the free-throw line. Instead, the 28-year-old surprisingly attempted a layup that was blocked by OG Anunoby.

“Tried to get a layup, get up three [points]. Force them to need a three. OG made a good block,” Fox said.

Brunson missed a 3-pointer as time ticked down on the ensuing possession, but Anunoby wasn’t blocked out, allowing him to tip in the game-winning putback with 1.2 seconds left on the clock, electrifying a Knicks crowd that somehow never lost faith.

There have been legendary sporting events, concerts, comedy shows and more at Madison Square Garden, and one more was added Wednesday at the “World’s Most Famous Arena.” Perhaps the only loss in Spurs franchise history as painful as Wednesday’s was when Miami Heat guard Ray Allen nailed a game-tying 3-pointer late in regulation of Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals that kept the Spurs from winning the championship.

Despite being only 22, Wembanyama has suffered some painful losses in his basketball career, including a defeat with France to the United States in the 2024 Paris Olympics gold-medal game. But even that defeat didn’t match the pain that came from this NBA Finals debacle.

“I don’t know about the emotions, but it was painful, of course. It feels like we worked too hard and give up our leads. It’s as simple as that. It just hurts,” said Wembanyama, who had team-highs of 24 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks but also missed six of his eight 3-point attempts.

Said Castle: “We got away from what got us the lead — moving the ball, playing fast. I really have to go back and watch it again, but that pretty much sums it up.”

The Spurs must win three straight games to win the NBA Finals. The odds are long against San Antonio; 37 of 38 teams that have taken a 3-1 lead in NBA Finals history have become champions.

LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers are the only team to defy the odds, overcoming a 3-1 deficit to beat the Golden State Warriors in 2016.

On what he told Spurs players after Game 4, Johnson said: “I told them to feel the emotion tonight, because they’re competitive. That’s inhumanly possible to not. Tomorrow, take all the emotion out. They better be ready to play in two days and win. …

“We have two days to put everything we have into that game. That’s the only game that matters. By no means am I not acknowledging the Knicks and what they’ve done. Give them credit for playing good basketball. But we feel like we’ve decided the outcome of all four games. We need to be better in the next game.”

Spurs forward Harrison Barnes, a 14-year-veteran who won a title with Golden State in 2015 and lost to the Cavs in 2016, spoke with ex-Warriors teammate Andre Iguodala outside the locker room Wednesday night. Despite his experience, Barnes did not play a second in Game 4 for a team that could have used some veteran experience.

Eventually, Barnes returned to the locker room and had lighthearted words for a locker room attendant wearing a Knicks T-shirt. “Ye have little faith,” Barnes said.

The Spurs’ locker room was understandably quiet after the game, with confused players trying to make sense of the loss. Rookie guard Dylan Harper sat quietly with his hoodie nearly over his eyes, while Castle and Fox were just as meek sitting at their lockers.

Veteran center Kelly Olynyk did make some noise as he yelled an obscenity when he went into the bathroom. Spurs center Luke Kornet also sat quietly with a necklace bearing a cross visible over his shirt.

Somehow, several of the Spurs expressed hope in the darkest of times.

“It’s a tough one, a tough pill to swallow,” forward Keldon Johnson said. “I feel like we got comfortable, and things happen. But I think the main thing is that belief is there. We believe. Our belief is as high as ever. You don’t get here without belief, without faith in each other, and that’s not going to change now. If it was easy, everybody would do it.”

Said Harper: “We all definitely hurt. Kind of gave the game up. Was up, what, 30? Hurt. I mean, [I’m] angry. I feel like this is all fuel to the fire for us. I feel like we’re going to go out next game with a sense of fire and we are going to focus on Game 5. Can’t do nothing about it now.”

The most positive Spurs player may have been rookie forward Carter Bryant. Before the game, he read a motivational verse texted by his father, D’Cean, from an old Bible. After the game, the 20-year-old’s Bible just happened to be opened to another verse from Hebrews that offered motivation and hope.

“Before the game, I was reading 10:35 in the Book of Hebrews,” Bryant told Andscape. “My Bible was sitting wide open after the game. I read the whole scripture. In Hebrews 10, it says, ‘Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward, for you have a need of endurance. When you have done the will of God, you may receive what is promised.’

“And after the game, when I read Hebrews 11:9, it said, ‘By faith, he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob.’ It’s the idea of understanding that we’re in it together. We all believe in the same thing. We are all promised the same thing together. So, we live in the light of one another, understanding that we put ourselves in a tall task. But I have no doubt — and our team has no doubt — what is possible.”