Category: NBA

Long before OG Anunoby was rescuing the Knicks in the NBA Finals, he was the quiet kid wandering the halls of Indiana University and showing up at frat parties in Bloomington, Ind.

Now, as the 27-year-old forward powers New York’s championship chase, Hoosier alumni say they’re watching one of their own become a Knicks legend.

To Indiana University grads living in the city, he’s still the soft-spoken but hilarious, Young Thug-loving student who hung out at tailgates long before he became one of the NBA’s premier two-way players.

Anunoby, who starred under then-coach Tom Crean at Indiana from 2015-17 before launching an NBA career, has become an unlikely crossover hero for New Yorkers with Hoosier roots. For alumni who also happen to be lifelong Knicks fans, watching a Bloomington favorite thrive at Madison Square Garden feels almost too perfect.

“OG was one of the first people I ever met on the Bloomington campus in 2015,” said Jason Morrin, a 28-year-old former student who recalls meeting the basketball star during orientation, saying he was extremely friendly.

Morrin told The Post that at the time, Anunoby was close with current Cavaliers center Thomas Bryant.

“The two of them together made for quite the party. TB really brought OG out of his shell,” Morrin said.

Even as a freshman playing in Assembly Hall, his potential was evident to students who regarded him as one of the most athletically gifted players on the hardwood.

“It is surreal to watch him put everything together now for my beloved Knicks,” the New Yorker said. “He is forever a New York and Bloomington legend.”

Josh Lomita remembers Anunoby from the freshman dorms and says he was always a fan favorite.

The 29-year-old New Yorker, who got to watch him play for a year in Bloomington, said his trade to the Knicks was “the best reunion.”

“It’s a full-circle storybook moment,” Lomita told The Post. “We are Knicks season ticket holders for 14 years, but lifelong fans. We lived through the darkest days of sports fandom.

“To have a player as special on both sides of the floor as OG is indescribable. Watching his tip shot fall produced an out-of-body experience. Whatever he wants in this city is his for life. Quite frankly, we should give him the key to the city and make him mayor.”

Off the court, Anunoby had a reputation for being just as approachable as he was talented, especially when he showed up at Zeta Beta Tau fraternity parties — and never turned down a photo with anyone who asked.

“Watching him party at the frat and seeing the other side of him was amazing,” said Dylan Leist. “He used to put girls on his shoulders in the middle of the mosh pits during tailgates.”

There is something special about being both a Hoosier basketball fan and a Knicks fan, two teams that experienced historic greatness followed by a long period of struggle, only to find greatness again in recent years.

For Leist, 29, Anunoby’s rise has linked two fan bases that know plenty about long waits for championships.

“Watching OG from college to the pros has been nothing short of incredible. From the Tom Crean days to now, his special talent has transformed the Knicks in a way that I have never seen,” said former Hoosier Leist. “OG’s journey as a fan of both the Hoosiers and the Knicks has been an honor to witness.”

Even after reaching the NBA, former classmates say Anunoby never changed.

Morrin said the pair stayed in touch after graduation and even reunited after a 2017 Knicks-Raptors game.

“OG always had the ability to make everyone feel special,” Lomita said.

“He never thought he was better than anyone else. He was just OG.”

New York Knicks (53-29, third in the Eastern Conference) vs. San Antonio Spurs (62-20, second in the Western Conference)

San Antonio; Saturday, 8:30 p.m. EDT

LINE: Spurs -5.5; over/under is 216.5

NBA FINALS: Knicks lead series 3-1

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks look to clinch the series over the San Antonio Spurs in game five of the NBA Finals. The Knicks defeated the Spurs 107-106 in the last matchup on Thursday. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 36 points, and Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 24.

The Spurs have gone 32-8 in home games. San Antonio ranks ninth in the league with 28.1 assists per game. Stephon Castle leads the Spurs averaging 7.4.

The Knicks are 23-19 on the road. New York is eighth in the Eastern Conference with 27.4 assists per game led by Brunson averaging 6.8.

The Spurs make 48.3% of their shots from the field this season, which is 2.3 percentage points higher than the Knicks have allowed to their opponents (46.0%). The Knicks average 5.0 more points per game (116.5) than the Spurs give up (111.5).

TOP PERFORMERS: Wembanyama is shooting 51.2% and averaging 25.0 points for the Spurs. Devin Vassell is averaging 3.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Brunson is scoring 26.0 points per game with 3.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists for the Knicks. OG Anunoby is averaging 16.0 points and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 53.3% over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Spurs: 4-6, averaging 108.7 points, 44.2 rebounds, 23.9 assists, 8.2 steals and 5.6 blocks per game while shooting 43.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.6 points per game.

Knicks: 9-1, averaging 115.5 points, 45.8 rebounds, 26.0 assists, 8.2 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 48.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 102.6 points.

INJURIES: Spurs: David Jones Garcia: out for season (ankle).

Knicks: None listed.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

SAN ANTONIO — OG Anunoby was the star, his flying tip-in of a Jalen Brunson missed 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left capping a comeback for the ages. But there were so many pivotal moments and unsung stars in the Knicks rally from 29 points down in their pulsating Game 4 victory. 

The Post takes a look back at how it all went down: 

KAT’s timely deflection 

The Garden was abuzz, thinking Anunoby had just brought the Knicks to within one win of their first championship in 53 years. But the Spurs still had a chance, inbounding the ball with 1.2 seconds to go. Stephon Castle shook free for a potential alley-oop, but Dylan Harper’s inbounds pass was deflected by Towns, and Castle couldn’t get off a shot. After being limited by foul trouble in the first half, Towns was solid over the final 24 minutes, producing seven points, seven rebounds and two assists. 

MSG Rims 

The Garden rims were kind to the Knicks on two specific occasions. The first instance involved Anunoby. His stepback 3 hit off the front rim, the backboard and dropped, cutting the deficit to 15 with just under a minute left in the third quarter. The second one came with 9:15 to go and the Knicks down 20. Jose Alvarado’s left corner 3 rolled around the rim, off the glass and fell. 

Backup’s star turn 

Knicks coach Mike Brown closed with Alvarado, and the reserve point guard excelled. He scored five consecutive Knicks points in the fourth quarter — a driving layup and a 3-pointer — that made it a four-point game with 3:07 remaining. Both baskets followed field goals by the Spurs, which kept momentum on the Knicks’ side. 

Fox’s blunder 

De’Aaron Fox’s decision to attack the basket rather than eat up precious seconds of the clock and wait to be fouled was a boneheaded mistake. After a Brunson miss with the Spurs up one point, there was a scramble for the rebound. Fox got to it first in the backcourt with roughly 12 seconds left. He went in for the layup, but was rejected by Anunoby. Fox had a terrible second half, shooting 2-for-8 from the field and committing four turnovers. 

Johnson’s costly decisions 

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson made two moves he likely regrets. The first one was playing Victor Wembanyama all but 50 seconds of the second half. The 7-foot-4 Frenchman was clearly fatigued late and not only missed 11 of 14 shots over the final two quarters, but also missed two critical free throws with 1:47 remaining. The second was not guarding the inbounder on the Knicks’ final possession. Anunoby threw the ball in to Brunson, and nobody was there to block him out on the game-winning tip-in. 

A key successful challenge 

Early in the fourth quarter, the Spurs inbounded the ball to Wembanyama. He was stripped, and the initial ruling gave San Antonio possession. Coach Mike Brown, advised by assistant coach Jordan Brink, challenged the call and won.

In a split second, De’Aaron Fox became the basketball world’s object of consternation. The foil. The antihero. 

It happened with less than 15 seconds left and the Spurs up 106-105. Victor Wembanyama got a defensive stop against Jalen Brunson, and Fox tipped the rebound to himself. 

What he did next will surely haunt him. 

After chasing the ball downcourt, Fox had a decision to make. Use the clock. Or go for a layup. 

He’s fast. He believed in himself. He decided to go for what he thought would be a sure-fire way to give the Spurs a three-point lead. A layup is easier to make than two free throws, after all. 

Except he miscalculated things. 

OG Anunoby met him in the paint. As Fox elevated with 11 seconds left, Anunoby made the block of his life. 

That mistake kicked open the door for the Knicks to complete the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, storming back from a 29-point deficit to win Game 4 on Wednesday, 107-106. 

The Knicks found themselves with possession of the ball. They had a relative eternity on the clock. They had a chance to clinch the game. 

Brunson attempted a 3-pointer with 4.4 seconds left that rimmed out. Fox, who had left Anunoby to double-team the Knicks star, then watched his man cut through the lane, elevate and tip in the ball with 1.2 seconds remaining. 

So many things went wrong for the Spurs in a hellish fourth quarter. It takes all five guys on the court to blow a 29-point lead, as well as the guy at the helm. But in a collapse so big, on this stage, the world needs to blame someone. 

If Fox had made the layup, he would’ve been the hero. 

But the gamble didn’t go his way. 

So instead, that play has landed him in the eye of the storm. He’s now the face of a collapse so large that it will be talked about for generations. It might not be fair. But that’s basketball. Just ask JR Smith.

The 28-year-old Fox is a veteran point guard. The Spurs traded for him in February 2025 because they trusted him to shepherd the team in clutch moments. He signed a four-year, $229 million extension with the team in August. 

Fox had a fraction of a second to make a decision. In this case, with the world watching, he happened to make the wrong one. 

“I just thought I’d be able to outrun him,” Fox said of Anunoby. “That’s it.”

For the Spurs, this series has been defined by a series of little mistakes that have had monumental consequences. 

In Game 2, Wembanyama was the fall guy after he committed a turnover with 12.7 seconds left in the Spurs’ 105-104 loss. 

On Wednesday, it was Fox’s turn to have the world point its finger at him, ring bells and chant “shame.”

Sure, Wembanyama missed two free throws with 1:47 left and the Spurs up 104-103. Sure, the Spurs went cold in the second half, shooting just 20.5 percent from the field. Fox was just a piece of the puzzle.

But his mistake was the most memorable. It was the most egregious.

The funny thing is, Fox was a hero of sorts in Game 3 after he made a jumper with 12 seconds left to help lift the Spurs to a 115-111 win. He came through when it mattered most. 

But two days later, the opposite was true. 

Overall, Fox has had a rough series. The two-time All-Star is averaging just 14.3 points over the last four games, less than half as much as his Knicks counterpart Brunson, who’s averaging 29.5 points. 

In Game 4, Fox had 18 points (but it took him 16 shots to get them), seven assists and five rebounds. He also had four turnovers, including a glaring one with two minutes left and the Spurs up 104-103 when he essentially threw the ball to Josh Hart.

You want to root for Fox. It was tough to watch. He’s sacrificing his own stats while playing alongside Wembanyama. He’s a guy who truly cares about winning above all else. 

But Fox is now firmly in the bullseye of a catastrophe that has transfixed the sports world. This game will be talked about forever. It instantly became a classic.

The Knicks are now one win away from their first championship since 1973. Meanwhile, the Spurs have squandered two games by final-second errors, most recently at the hands of their point guard who was supposed to steady them in these moments.

Fox isn’t the reason the Spurs lost Game 4. This collapse was so much bigger than him. San Antonio was outscored in the fourth quarter, 32-16. Everyone is at fault for this disaster. 

But Fox’s blunder was the most stunning. 

It’s universally accepted that with such little time on the clock and such a paper-thin lead, the best thing to do is dribble. Let time pass. Incite panic. Draw the foul. Steal time from the opponent. Close their window to score. 

But Fox took a risk on the league’s biggest stage.

And it really didn’t work out. 

There were roughly 19,812 screaming as one — “O-G! O-G! O-G!” — family, friends and strangers who made no distinction, processing the unimaginable, releasing avalanches, tidal waves and mountains of emotions, inspired by 53 years of close calls and bad calls, of decades as a punchline and a punching bag, of a love that was rarely reciprocated and a hope that was never rewarded.

They stayed in their seats long after the final buzzer screamed victory, unwilling to leave the dream. They continued chanting through the concourses, down the escalators and outside nearby bars — “O-G! O-G! O-G!” — sporting jerseys that span the eras, smoking blue and orange vapes in a semicircle of ecstasy, making out as if V-J Day was just declared.

Inside the Knicks locker room, there was quiet.

Roughly 20 minutes had passed since OG Anunoby followed a game-saving block by sprinting to the rim and soaring through the lane for the game-winning tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, capping a record-setting 29-point comeback and putting the Knicks one win from their first title since 1973.

Anunoby had delivered the most important shot in Knicks history, overcome the constant injuries that capped his potential and rewarded the team that saw a soft-spoken role player in Canada as someone built for Broadway.

New York’s new hero sat at his locker, alone, icing both knees, looking through his phone as if the day had just begun, as if he didn’t just create one of the most iconic moments in the history of the most iconic arena, as if he didn’t yet realize his name will be lifted to the rafters with one more win.

Even in triumph, even on the receiving end of unending adulation, Anunoby stayed on-brand, displaying an expression that won’t reveal if he has a royal flush or a busted straight, speaking as if he’s charged by the word, more focused on the next play than the one that changed his life.

But he doesn’t have a say in what comes next. The spotlight he never sought has found a new home, stitched now and forever to the owner of two letters they’ll be chanting for years to come.

“OG is just, he’s unique,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said during this postseason run. “He’s special.”

Ogugua Anunoby was born in London on July 17, 1997, to parents of Nigerian descent. His mother, Grace, was a track and field star in her homeland, who died of cancer before Anunoby turned 1. His father, Ogugua Sr., raised seven children — including Anunoby’s older brother, Chigbo, who was a defensive lineman in the NFL — teaching at universities in Nigeria and England before moving the family to Missouri when Anunoby was 4 to become a professor of business and finance at Lincoln University.

“I do not intend to be immodest, but we tried to raise a proper family,” Ogugua Sr. told Sportsnet in 2017. “And when I say proper, what I mean is we are people who do things well. We value hard work, order and success. You don’t talk unless you have to talk. And if you have to talk, you should say something that doesn’t take away from the conversation, but enriches it.”

During Anunoby’s rookie season in Toronto in 2018, his father died in his sleep, at 66.

“It was tough not having a mother, but my dad did a really good job raising us,” Anunoby told Sportsnet at the 2017 NBA Draft.

Anunoby excelled in baseball — and was a big fan of the Carlos Delgado-era Mets — football and track, but was drawn to basketball, begging his father to buy a high-priced hoop for their Jefferson City home when he was 8.

Dr. Anunoby — who demanded his children read for at least one hour every night — complied, as long as it was put to good use.

“My dad always taught me discipline and to do everything with my best effort, to always do things on time and be respectful in everything I do,” Anunoby told the London Evening Standard in 2017. “My whole family is big on that so it’s very important to me and I try to do it in everything.”

Anunoby was a relatively unknown star at Jefferson City High School, outside the top 250 players in national recruiting rankings. He was a three-star, 6-foot-8 prospect who played in the shadow of AAU teammate Jayson Tatum and was left off the program of a tournament attended by Tom Crean, leaving Indiana’s coaching staff scrambling to learn the identity of the physical and explosive wing with an invisible ceiling.

“[He is] a quiet killer,” Crean, his former college coach, told The Post after Anunoby joined the Knicks. “He’s an old soul in a lot of ways, a very caring person, but he has got an incredible drive. I’d almost say it’s an insatiable drive to be great and to win.”

Anunoby spent two years with the Hoosiers, but saw his final season cut short after he suffered a torn ACL, resulting in the potential lottery selection falling to the Raptors with the 23rd overall pick.

In his second pro season, Anunoby earned a championship ring in Toronto, but missed the entire postseason run after undergoing an emergency appendectomy.

“I believe that created an incredible hunger for him because he wasn’t on the court for it,” Crean said. “It’s almost like, yeah, he got the ring and was a big part of it all season, but in his own mind, he didn’t feel the level of winning it.

“He was around the team and he’d been instrumental in getting to that point, but he wasn’t out there on the court at the end, and I think that’s what he truly wants more than anything else. That’s where that drive is for him.”

Anunoby’s 240-pound frame seemed chiseled from concrete, but it was constantly crumbling. Injuries limited him to an average of less than 53 games in the three seasons before the Raptors sent him to New York for former No. 3 overall pick RJ Barrett, Knicks fan favorite Immanuel Quickley and a second-round pick.

The Knicks were 17-15 and in eighth place in the Eastern Conference when Anunoby debuted with the Knicks on Jan. 1, 2024. They went 12-2 in his first 14 games in the lineup before an elbow injury sidelined him for nearly two months.

Anunoby returned in time to help the Knicks take a 2-0 second-round series lead against the Pacers, but he suffered a hamstring injury that sparked a Knicks tailspin, keeping him sidelined until he hobbled through five minutes of an excruciating Game 7 loss at the Garden.

The Knicks locked up Anunoby that offseason to a five-year, $212.5 million deal (the largest in team history), tying their title hopes to an injury-prone wing who had never been an All-Star.

Anunoby matched a career high by playing 74 games last season and set a personal best with 18 points per game, helping the Knicks make the conference finals for the first time in a quarter century. This season, Anunoby hit nearly 39 percent of his 3-pointers, while being selected to the NBA’s All-Defensive second team.

“OG is someone who brings it every night, does what’s asked of him, plus more,” Jalen Brunson said after the Game 4 win. “His work ethic, since the moment I’ve been teammates with him and seen him, has grown. His confidence has grown just because of his work ethic, everything that I’ve seen, he’s got exponentially better at.

“So regardless of what the outside world thinks of him, we know what we have in our locker room. And we have a superstar in that locker room.”

Anunoby’s importance has long been understood at the Garden, where fans emphatically assist PA announcer Mike Walczewski’s booming introduction of a player whose numbers will never convey the value of someone whose 7-foot-2 wingspan and basketball IQ impact every possession.

“He does everything,” Landry Shamet said in the locker room. “He’s a virtuoso.”

Anunoby was the Knicks’ best player during their first-round comeback against the Hawks, but he suffered a hamstring injury in Game 2 of the second-round series against the 76ers, threatening to derail another deep run. But the 28-year-old was back for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, contributing nine points, three rebounds and a steal in the overtime of what was then the biggest playoff comeback in team history.

Entering Game 5 of the NBA Finals in San Antonio, Anunoby ranks second on the Knicks in scoring (20.7), third in rebounds (6.2), second in steals (1.4) and second in blocks (1.1) in the postseason, while shooting 57.8 percent from the field and a team-best 50.6 percent on 3-pointers.

“He’s unbelievable,” Mikal Bridges said. “He’s different, man.”

He is forever different, forever elevated, forever linked to Willis Reed and Larry Johnson. He is the one who made Manhattan shake, the author of the improbable, who took a sledgehammer to Charles Smith’s layups and Patrick Ewing’s finger roll, who called for the ball, then backed up Captain Clutch, flying through the air and parting the clouds to grab a rebound that’s been out of reach for 53 years and put it home.

The legend has spoken — two letters to stand the test of time.

“Every time I talk to him, I say, I already know what OG Anunoby is going to do in the fourth quarter, and he did exactly what I thought he would do,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “He gave us a chance to win, and that’s all you could ask for from the best two-way player in the NBA.”

“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” star Mariska Hargitay can do it all.

Right after starring in the one-person show “Every Brilliant Thing,” the actress ran about 10 blocks to make it to Game 4 of the NBA Finals on time.

“I took four minutes off the running time of my show, and I knew the traffic would be crazy, so I sprinted from the Hudson Theater on 44th and 6th to MSG,” Hargitay, the Knicks superfan, wrote in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

“But I knew everything was going to be alright, because I was wearing my Jalen Brunson Kobe 5 Protos that Jalen gave me a few months ago.”

Hargitay’s show had a 2 p.m. matinee and a 7 p.m. evening performance on Wednesday before the Knicks game.

The late show ended at 8:27 p.m., just three minutes before Game 5 was supposed to start.

After arriving at the game just before tip-off, Hargitay changed into a blue-and-orange shirt that read “Stevie Knicks” to match her seatmate, Taylor Swift.

“I love my husband, and our wedding night was great and all, but I think it might have been the greatest night of my life,” Hargitay said.

The SVU actress has been courtside at multiple games throughout the Knicks’ playoff run, largely due to her surprising relationship with star guard Jalen Brunson.

The former Villanova Wildcat grew up watching SVU with his dad, and now watches the show to calm himself down before games.

Through Brunson, Hargitay has gotten to know multiple Knicks and was seen hugging them on the court after they pulled off the largest comeback in NBA Finals history on Wednesday.

“The game was so brutal, down 29 at the half, but I’m telling you, to watch this team fight and claw their way back — to see that look in Jalen’s eyes — there are just endless life lessons in there,” Hargitay said.

“And then OG comes flying in, his orange and blue cape fluttering behind him, and then it’s just pandemonium.

“It‘ll get replayed again and again, not just as an epic moment in basketball, but on the highlight reel of the best moments in sports. And all I could think was ‘THAT JUST HAPPENED!!!’ And ‘OH MY GOD, I LOVE THIS TEAM!!!”’ And ‘OH MY GOD, I LOVE THIS CITY!!!’”

When a writer tells a story from beginning to end, proceeding in order, it is called linear narrative or chronological narrative. More formally, it’s referred to as ab ovo narration (Latin for “from the egg”), a term from Horace’s Ars Poetica, meaning the story begins at the very origin of events and unfolds in sequence.

Conversely, starting from the end and working backward is called reverse chronological narrative or simply reverse chronology. A famous example is the film Memento.

But when a story opens specifically at the ending or a dramatic moment and then explains how events led there, it’s often described as beginning in extremis or using an analepsis (a flashback structure).

Yesterday, I was at work and could not watch the game live. My plan was to head home, retreat into my bubble, and watch it from beginning to end. Unfortunately, a friend texted me the score at half-time. I was annoyed and asked for no further updates, but at the same time, it felt good. Our Spurs were leading by 27 at half-time at the MSG, in the pivotal Game 4. We were on our way back to San Antonio with a chance to restore home-court advantage.

When I got home, I decided to tune in from the start of the 3^rd quarter. I didn’t feel I needed to revisit the first two quarters to understand how we’d built such a momentous lead, one that could have written NBA history, and so I bypassed this beginning in extremis…

I suppose you all know the ending anyway, no spoiler needed here. But the real question is no longer the result; it’s how we got there. How do you end up on the wrong side of history in just two quarters when, just 24 minutes earlier, you were firmly on the right side of it?

My disappointment, let’s be honest, my fury, was overwhelming last night. I could barely sleep. So I decided to rewatch the game in full, this time with a linear narrative.

Before I get to the autopsy, though, I need to share a conversation I had with a friend in the hours before tip-off. I tried to explain how difficult it is to predict outcomes in basketball, but that it is sometimes possible to foresee the conditions that shape them. I pointed out that Karl-Anthony Towns was due for a bounce-back game, if Jalen Brunson could find ways to involve him more. KAT can direct the offense from the top of the key like almost no other player on the Knicks, and his elite three-point shooting makes him a genuine triple threat. However, I also noted that Brunson had been quite stubborn in this series, grinding to draw fouls through heavy dribbling in traffic which had led to turnovers and low shooting efficiency. The player I singled out as the most dangerous Knick was OG Anunoby. And finally, I voiced my concern about Victor: he had logged heavy minutes and would likely run out of gas in the second half. That, I feared, could determine the outcome, though I still expected the Spurs to win, by three.

As it turned out, KAT removed himself from the equation with two very quick fouls. The young Spurs exploited this early and took flight. Mike Brown threw everything at Victor Wembanyama, Mitchell Robinson (literally), Ariel Hukporti, and even Jeremy Sochan but none of it stopped the first-half onslaught.

From the end of the first quarter through to the end of the third, the Spurs’ lead sat between 19 and 15 points, with a peak of 29. During that entire stretch, Victor Wembanyama played 32 of a possible 36 minutes. I’ll come back to that shortly.

The first three quarters unfolded much like the rest of this playoff run. Anyone can push, shove, and grab Victor with relative impunity. The Spurs accepted this reality some time back and decided to apply the same treatment to Karl-Anthony Towns. The reasoning is simple: if refs were to whistle this type of plays in favor of KAT, they would have to do the same for Vic.

As a basketball fan, I am growing genuinely disillusioned with NBA officiating. On one side, you have players like Luka Dončić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and, to some extent, Jalen Brunson, who rely heavily on theatrics to earn calls in their favour. On the other, you have blatant physical intimidation that diminishes KAT and Vic’s impact and, in turn, the quality, flow, and fairness of the game. Mobile bigs who can shoot the three, rebound, dribble, and pass bring something genuinely special to the modern NBA, something that studio personalities like Shaq and Charles Barkley seem incapable of appreciating, apparently out of jealousy.

Victor Wembanyama has been on the receiving end of this treatment throughout the entire playoffs. And we have also come to understand that Vic is troubled by what he perceives as persistent injustice. Under fatigue and pressure, he has repeatedly crossed lines: a Flagrant 2 on Naz Reid, a shove on Brunson, and taunting Mitchell Robinson early in this game. The pattern is clear, a tired and frustrated Victor struggles to keep his emotions in check. The coaching staff and front office have surely taken note.

The other major lesson of this playoff run concerns Victor’s stamina. It is genuinely remarkable that a 7’5 player who was struggling to play more than 28–30 minutes earlier in the season can now sustain 35 and beyond. Full credit to Vic and his training staff. That kind of physical progression ahead of a Finals run is extraordinary. However, it is equally clear that Vic, who deploys enormous energy on both ends of the floor, often arrives at the fourth quarter running on empty. We know he needs to impose himself early: the alley-oops, the drives, the post positioning if the Spurs want to start strong. And the Spurs have indeed managed by leads in the opening of each of their four Finals games in that way. But Vic also needs reserves to close games when it matters, as Game 2 demonstrated all too painfully.

Which brings me to my central grievance with last night’s loss: the management of Victor’s minutes. It is absolutely unimaginable that the coaching staff had Vic on the floor for 32 minutes across the first three quarters while the lead was never below double digits. To claim that Kornet is unplayable is an insult to the man. Is Kornet less playable than Ariel Hukporti? Than Sochan? And what about Harrison Barnes? The Spurs were up 29 at some point and he didn’t see a single minute?

The irony of Mitch Johnson’s minute management against the Knicks is almost too rich. Tom Thibodeau was held responsible for New York’s “disappointing” seasons between 2023 and 2025. The charge? He ran his players into the ground with relentless minutes and short rotations.

Having watched enough of Mitch Johnson in these playoffs, I am convinced he needs to learn how to better manage his rotation, before his star player ends up injured.

This loss falls squarely on the coaching staff, and on Mitch Johnson above all. We now know Vic cannot play 44 minutes and sustain the same intensity on both ends of the floor. We also know that an exhausted Vic is a less composed Vic and that composure is precisely what leads to flagrant fouls. One more, and he faces a one-game suspension.

With a 27-point lead at half-time, and a double-digit advantage held for more than 32 consecutive minutes, the decision to deny Victor Wembanyama meaningful rest before the fourth quarter was a massive mistake.

There’s a reason I titled this piece after Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or-winning film. Anatomy of a Fall opens with a man already dead at the foot of a chalet, and spends two and a half hours asking a single question: how did we get here? The courtroom never delivers a clean verdict. The film trusts you to sit with the ambiguity. Last night’s Game 4 offers no such comfort, the verdict was final, the scoreboard unambiguous. But the question is the same. A 29-point lead. Two quarters. A fall. How did we get here? Mitch Johnson owes us an answer. It is not a trial. I expect a reaction and some changes.

I still believe. 

Spurs in 7.

The Golden State Warriors have seemingly been in conversations to make a splash move this offseason. The question that remains is, what exactly will they do?

They're apparently out of the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes. There was chatter of a home run attempt to bring LeBron James to the Bay to team up with Stephen Curry, but ESPN NBA insider Marc J. Spears also appeared to shoot that notion down during a radio appearance on the "Willard and Dibs" show on the Bay Area's 95.7 The Game.

"Somebody that would know that's close to (James) suggested to me that he thought he was staying in Los Angeles," Spears said.

Spears said that the Warriors would need to get creative to bring another veteran to their organization. He threw out numerous names Golden State should target, players he believed could help improve the Warriors going into next season.

"You got to see if you could move up in the draft, just got to see what you can potentially do," Spears said. "Is Anthony Davis available? Would (the) Warriors want somebody like that, like Kyrie Irving? I've been watching these videos lately. He looks amazing. I'm not sure if Dallas wants to keep him or not, although Masai (Ujiri) sounds like he does. New Orleans is always looking to retool."

One of the main things Spears suggested the Warriors should do is bring back unrestricted free agent center Kristaps Porzingis, who they acquired in a February trade with the Atlanta Hawks for Jonathan Kuminga, and Draymond Green, the heart and soul of their team.

"I think the thing with (GM Mike) Dunleavy, just going to have to sit down with him and Larry Harris, the rest of their crew, and just be really creative," Spears said. "I do think they should try to bring Kristaps, obviously Draymond back, and all that, but I do think it's going to be on the Warriors front office to come up with something creative to help put them back in the mix."

IRVINE, California – The Knicks have stunned the sports world, on the brink of an upset championship.

New Yorker and diehard Knicks fan Tyler Adams says he’s drawing inspiration from his hometown team – and his U.S. National Team could follow in their footsteps as a World Cup underdog.

“That’s what I love about being from New York is the character, the personality,” Adams said when asked by the Post about the Knicks. “So as a kid from New York – obviously not the city, but just in general – I feel like you always have your back up against the wall. That’s just about proving people wrong.”

The Knicks were a longshot, with no NBA champion in the last 40 years holding longer title odds at the start of the playoffs.

Team USA will be World Cup longshots themselves when they kick off Friday against Paraguay at So-Fi Stadium. Asked if they can follow the Knicks’ blueprint, Adams said “I don’t know; hopefully. Hopefully we can do something special.”

What the Knicks did went beyond special, to unprecedented. They pulled off the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history, overturning a 29-point deficit to win Game 4 at the Garden on Wednesday night.

Members of the U.S. National Team watched the game on TV, and in a video of them celebrating after OG Anunoby’s miraculous tipin, Adams – who is from Wappinger and came up through the New York Red Bulls organization – can be seen clambering on top of a couch multiple times in barely-recalled euphoria.

“I don’t even remember I blacked out, I’m not gonna lie,” said Adams.

“I’m not gonna lie; after the first first half I turned it off, because I was like ‘maybe it’s me that’s watching that. They’re just not playing well.’ I feel like every time I turn it off, they start to win. And I told everyone if they get it within ten points, anything can happen. And yeah, I wasn’t expecting that man. It was crazy.”

So would a deep U.S. run, having only won three games total in the last five World Cups combined. But Adams said if the underdog Knicks can mount a historic comeback with a miraculous game-winner – and stand one victory away from a title – then Team USA can take inspiration.

Even if some are Knicks haters.

“It’s pretty captivating. I think them being the underdog coming out of the East and doing something special as they’re doing right now, I take inspiration to it. But I’m a New York Knick fan. Not everyone’s a New York Knicks fan,” said Adams.

“Brenden Aaronson; the worst. He’s a Sixers fan, he can’t say anything. Haji Wright, big hater right now. But I love all that energy. It’s good.”

The Knicks are one game away from winning their first NBA championship in 53 years after their instant classic comeback win against the Spurs on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.

While all of the World’s Most Famous Arena was rocking after OG Abunoby’s heroic tip-in during the final seconds, nobody was probably more relieved than star guard Jalen Brunson’s wife, Ali Marks Brunson.

Ali seems to believe she has a hand in her husband making his shots, which she conveyed during a conversation with Josh Hart’s wife, Shannon, as part of an Instagram video posted on Thursday.

The two Knicks teammates and Villanova alums notably have a podcast together, “Roommates Show.”

At one point in their discussion about their NBA Finals experience, Shannon said: “I feel like every time [Hart] misses, I’m looking at him. So I’m looking at him until the ball is released from his hands, and then I see if it goes in.”

View this post on Instagram

Ali replied: “I try to match my breath up to [Brunson’s] breath… And then, when he shoots, I go—” before mimicking a shooting motion with her hand.

She then added, “Every time I do it, it goes in. And sometimes, I’m like, ‘Alright, I’m not gonna do it this time.’ And he misses!”

New York was down by a staggering 29 points at one point during the second half of Game 4, but managed to claw their way back to the point where they had a lead late in the fourth quarter.

The game looked like it would come down to a missed 3-pointer from Brunson before Anunoby produced a miraculous tip-in off Brunson’s miss that led to a 107-106 win and a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

Whether or not Ali did the shooting motion on that play didn’t matter as Anunoby came to the rescue.

The Knicks will have a chance to close out the series on Saturday night in San Antonio.

Larry David put into words what Jerry Seinfeld’s viral facial expression was saying after OG Anunoby cemented himself in New York sports history and the Knicks pulled off a comeback win in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night. 

The “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star and “Seinfeld” co-creator sounded like every other Knicks fan as he talked to The Post’s Mike Vaccaro on Thursday, still trying to process what he saw in the second half as the Knicks mounted a historic comeback against the Spurs to go up 3-1 in the series. 

“It was hard for me to believe that I — and I would italicize the ‘I’ if I knew how — that I could witness that,” David said. “I’m supposed to miss games and moments like that. That’s what I was thinking.” 

David went viral for his reaction to Josh Hart’s missed layup late in the final quarter, which would have given the Knicks the lead. On Thursday, John McEnroe appeared on ESPN and revealed that David had suggested leaving when the Knicks trailed big. 

The actor and writer was still in shock Thursday, telling The Post that “Jack Buck’s words were exactly what I was saying,” referring to the famous call on CBS radio of Dodgers outfielder Kirk Gibson’s iconic walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. 

Anunoby and the Knicks had close to a walk-off moment on Wednesday night when he inbounded the ball to Jalen Brunson with mere seconds on the clock and then made his way down the lane to reach the ball after a missed 3-point attempt, tipping the ball in for the game-winning bucket. 

The victory puts the Knicks on the verge of their first NBA title since 1973. 

“I’ve never felt the energy in a crowd at Madison Square [Garden],” McEnroy said on “NBA Today” Thursday. “We used to play a big tennis event there [the season-ending Masters], and nothing’s ever come close to that.

“No one left after an hour.” 

SAN ANTONIO — Before Game 4, Mike Brown was asked about the offensive tweak he made in the first round of the playoffs and if he would consider something similar in the NBA Finals. 

“You always keep trying to find ways to make adjustments,” the first-year Knicks coach said. “Sometimes they’re subtle. Sometimes they’re big. That’s what our job is as a staff, is to keep trying to help our players as much as possible.”

This was a radical change, much like the decision to play through Karl-Anthony Towns on offense against the Hawks. 

In 17 playoff games, Jalen Brunson and Jose Alvarado didn’t share the court once. They did play together some during the regular season, and they had success. Across 114 minutes spanning 14 games, the Knicks outscored the opposition by 15.8 points per 100 possessions. 

In Game 4 of the Finals, with the Knicks down big and in danger of blowing a 2-0 lead in the series, Brown paired the two small guards again. 

It worked better than anyone could have anticipated, a major factor in their Finals-record comeback from 29 points down. In the 12 minutes they shared the court, the Knicks outscored the Spurs by a whopping 21 points. 

“I think he did a great job of coming in and changing the game,” Brunson said. 

Alvarado, the gritty 6-foot guard from Brooklyn, scored eight big points in the win, all coming in the second half, and added three assists and two rebounds.

He alleviated ballhandling responsibilities for Brunson against the Spurs pressure and gave the Knicks another player capable of breaking down San Antonio’s defense. 

“Jose has been good in the pick-and-roll. Jose has been good touching the paint, and if Jalen wanted to get off the ball for a few possessions, Jose could handle it, and he could touch the paint and make the game easier for others,” Brown said. “If Jalen was on the ball and the ball got sprayed and it found Jose, Jose can then touch the paint with his speed. So that’s all I was trying to do, is see if we can touch the paint a little bit more with the two guards out there while the floor was spaced the right way.”

Mikal Bridges, Miles McBride and Landry Shamet were all struggling, so Brown took a shot.

One thing Alvarado has established since his arrival from the Pelicans in early April is he has no fear of the moment.

That was evident in Game 1 when he came up big when Brunson left the game with a right knee injury, and it was clear in the dramatic fourth-quarter rally, Alvarado scoring five big points in a row for the Knicks to cut the deficit to four with 3:07 remaining. 

“Him just being himself,” Brunson said, “propelled us to a win.”

Wait… the refs helped the Knicks?

The NBA two-minute report for Game 4 of the NBA Finals revealed that Josh Hart fouled the Spurs’ Stephon Castle on the baseline with 1:03 left in the fourth quarter, meaning it should have stayed Spurs basketball.

The play, which happened after San Antonio had already blown a 29-point lead and was trailing 105-104, saw Castle drive the baseline against Hart and eventually be called out of bounds.

Not only did further replay show he may never have stepped out, but it also showed Hart being physical with the rookie guard all the way to the basket.

“Hart impedes Castle on his drive as Castle is incorrectly called for committing and out-of-bounds violation,” the report read.

On the court, the refs called it Knicks basketball, and the young Spurs coach Mitch Johnson never questioned the ruling.

The Spurs, who were in the bonus at the time, still had a challenge after a successful one just 65 seconds into the game allowed them another.

Johnson brought the challenge back to San Antonio with him in an eventual 107-106 loss.

The report, per The Post’s Stefan Bondy, also mentioned two other potential four calls.

According to the NBA, Victor Wembanyama should have been called for a defensive 3-second violation with 1:26 left in the game.

The two-minute report also determined that on the De’Aaron Fox layup attempt that gave the Knicks the ball back with under 10 seconds, that OG Anunoby “makes a legal attempt to block Fox’s shot and dislodges the ball from his control before making incidental arm contact.”

SAN ANTONIO — It was the moment before the now-famous moment. 

It was delivered by the same right hand — OG Anunoby’s “right hand of God,” as Karl-Anthony Towns labeled it afterward. 

Anunoby’s tip-in at the end of the Knicks’ epic 107-106 Game 4 win over the Spurs on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, which gave them a 3-1 Finals lead with the series returning here to Frost Bank Center, will go down as one of, if not the, biggest plays in Knicks history if they close this out and win the championship.

But right before, he made what might go down as the most important defensive play in franchise history. 

Jalen Brunson, with the Knicks trailing by one, tried a one-handed bank shot over Victor Wembanyama, but missed badly high off the backboard.

The rebound was batted all the way into the frontcourt, and De’Aaron Fox, already with a running start, beat everyone down the court and corralled it with 13.5 seconds left in the game. 

He had what seemed like a clear path to the rim, but the smarter decision would have been to pull it out, burn some clock and force the Knicks to foul him.

He went up for a layup, though, and there was the “right hand of God” proving that to be a bad decision. 

Anunoby sprinted down the floor, caught up to Fox and blocked the shot, giving the Knicks possession to set up his game-winner.

Plenty of Spurs fans on social media posted videos of the play and claimed Anunoby fouled Fox, but the NBA’s Last Two Minute Report released Thursday found that it was a clean block. 

“Haven’t scored,” Fox explained of his decision after the game. “Try to get a layup, get up three. Force them to need a three. OG made a good block.” 

Notably, Anunoby’s block meant the Knicks only trailed by one on their final offensive possession, allowing his tip-in after Brunson’s missed 3-pointer to give them a decisive lead.

If Fox had waited to get fouled by the Knicks and subsequently made both free throws, the Knicks would have trailed by three — Brunson’s 3-pointer would have been all that mattered and Anunoby’s tip-in would have been irrelevant. 

Even if Fox made just one of two free throws, it would have meant Anunoby’s tip-in tied the game and forced overtime as opposed to being the winner. 

Fox thought he was giving his team a three-point lead. Anunoby pounced on his mistake and set up his own moment of glory. 

“I just thought I’d be able to outrun them,” Fox said. “That’s it.” 

The “right hand of God” caught up. Call it a biblical block. 

After a season of discussion about Western Conference supremacy, the Knicks sit on the brink of winning the NBA title after an improbable, inexplicable Game 4 comeback.

Over the course of the series, the Spurs have an argument as the better team and have looked the part for the majority of the time. But, repeatedly, they have collapsed in the second half and fourth quarter and a relentless Knicks team has taken advantage.

That’s in no way to diminish what New York has done. They’re a worthy winner who went on one of the greatest postseason runs in NBA history. Even if the Eastern Conference was weaker this season, the Knicks, after a rocky start, bludgeoned their opponents en route to the Finals.

It’s been a magical run for a team that was built in a very unique way. So much credit has been given to the likes of Oklahoma City and San Antonio, teams that have largely built through the draft and still have a treasure trove of draft picks. But the Knicks have bucked that trend.

Tanking vs. trading

At his exit interview, Lakers President of Basketball Operations Rob Pelinka was asked about the team’s win-now approach in comparison to building through the draft like the Spurs, Thunder and Pistons have done. His response centered around the ability for those teams to tank and the Lakers not having that luxury.

It’s a fair retort, especially when taking into account that during some of the lean years for those franchises, the Lakers were raising the Larry O’Brien trophy in Orlando. The only time they really tanked in the franchise’s history, they used those players to land Anthony Davis, who helped win that title in 2020.

Building through the draft may still be the best way to construct a contending roster, but it isn’t the only way, and the Knicks are a prime example.

Of the team’s top 10 players in points these playoffs, only Mitchell Robinson was drafted by the team. OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and Jose Alvarado were all acquired via trade. Jalen Brunson, Landry Shamet, Miles McBride and Jordan Clarkson were all free agent signings.

When it comes to building a team organically, the Knicks couldn’t be further from that.

Now, there is something to be said about the Villanova connection that so many of their top players have. It is a common thread through the team’s core that does matter.

But it’s serving as proof positive that drafting top talent isn’t the only way to build a contender in the modern NBA.

A blueprint for the Lakers

How is all this relevant to the Lakers? Well, they’re entering an offseason with the ability to completely reshape the roster.

This isn’t to downplay the importance of drafting at all. The Lakers are still going to need to nail the draft picks they hold after this offseason. Fortunately, the last few years notwithstanding, they have a history of doing so. And in the new world of the new CBA with aprons, the importance only increases.

But the Knicks are an example of a team that successfully did all that. New York didn’t do it all at once, though. It took years of trades and calculated risks — and a superstar willing to take a discount — to put all this together.

The Lakers also might want to pick a random college with lots of pro players to build around. Considering the head coach went to Duke and Luke Kennard had success in LA the second half of the season, maybe that’s a starting point.

Jokes aside, though, the Lakers have a pathway to building a title contender. It might take some time and it’s going to require some good fortune and being opportunistic, but if LA can capitalize on those moments, then it could end in the team raising another banner.

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.