Watch the NBA Finals between the Knicks and Spurs on ABC 7
NEW YORK (WABC) -- It ain't over till it's over. The New York Knicks are staging a fourth quarter come back after a nearly 30-point deficit to the San Antonio Spurs.
Spurs put the hurt on the New York Knicks early in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
San Antonio shot 60% from the floor in the first half, in route to an historic 27-point first half lead over New York. The Spurs' 14 first-half three-pointers also set an NBA Finals record.
However, the Knicks have shown a penchant for coming back late, and if they can do it again Wednesday night, they will be on the doorstep of a championship.
The Knicks can take a 3-1 lead over the Spurs with a win tonight.
The Spurs won Game 3 on Monday powered by Wembanyama's 32 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots. That was the third straight victory by the road team in the series, only the second time that has happened in the NBA Finals.
The other was the series between Chicago and Phoenix in 1993. Michael Jordan eventually put a stop to that by scoring 55 points in Game 4 to lead the eventual champion Bulls to the victory on their home floor.
Win or lose, Game 5 is Saturday in San Antonio, and if the road success continues Wednesday, the series would return to New York for Game 6 on Tuesday.
The Knicks, seeking their first championship since 1973, will be trying to bounce back after the Spurs snapped their 13-game winning streak on Monday.
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The New York Knicks are back in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, and they'll face the same opponent they did then, the San Antonio Spurs. You can watch the entire NBA Finals on ABC 7 and the ESPN app.
Game 1: June 3 at Spurs
Game 2: June 5 at Spurs
Game 3: June 8 at Knicks
Game 4: June 10 at Knicks
Game 5*: June 13 at Spurs
Game 6*: June 16 at Knicks
Game 7*: June 19 at Spurs
* if necessary
All games tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET
Dec. 16: Knicks 124, Spurs 113
Dec. 31: Spurs 134, Knicks 132
March 1: Knicks 114, Spurs 89
After Feb. 1, the Spurs lost just two games in which Wembanyama played in the regular season. One was an overtime classic in Denver at the end of it. The other was a Sunday afternoon beatdown at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks defense was suffocating, forcing 21 turnovers and allowing the Spurs to shoot just 41%. Mikal Bridges led the Knicks with 25 points, five steals and five rebounds. It was a glimpse of what the Knicks could do defensively when locked in and continued a level of mastery over Wembanyama, who they slowed in December's NBA Cup title game in Las Vegas. -- Vincent Goodwill
New York must bottle up what helped it steamroll through the East bracket. It hasn't been just the Brunson show, although he gets a lion's share of credit. Every starter has had his moment in these playoffs.
Bridges, whose game has awakened after calls for his benching in the first three games of the first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks, is shooting nearly 60% from the field. The unsung Anunoby is scoring nearly 20 points per game on elite efficiency. And when Towns stays out of foul trouble, his ability to stretch the floor and be a secondary facilitator could help keep Wembanyama out of the paint.
Have the Knicks, who will enter next week's Finals with nine days rest, been tested enough throughout this run? Closer games will be the expectation, but that's where Brunson comes in. There's no easy individual matchup for him to hunt late in games -- he will have to be fresh and excellent in the clutch to help the Knicks capture their first ring since 1973. -- Vincent Goodwill
It all starts and ends with Wembanyama. Although the series begins in San Antonio, it's worth pointing out just how much he loves to perform under the bright lights in the celebrity-laden atmosphere at Madison Square Garden.
Counting the NBA Cup final, San Antonio faced New York on three occasions during the regular season, with the Knicks taking two of those games. Wembanyama averaged 24.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in those matchups.
San Antonio's lack of success against New York in the regular season stems from the Knicks presenting major matchup issues for the Spurs. The Knicks' wing defenders swallow up San Antonio's shooters, and the Spurs will have to deal with physicality even more jaw rattling than what they navigated against Oklahoma City.
New York's depth in the frontcourt will also prove problematic for the Spurs with three big-time performers in Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson, who is expected to play despite a broken right pinkie, patrolling the paint. The Spurs will need Wembanyama to be the best player on the floor for four games in this series for the inexperienced Spurs to have a shot. -- Michael C. Wright
