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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.”

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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.