SAN ANTONIO — The last moments in each of the first four games between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs in these NBA Finals had much in common, including that the outcome was still undecided with a minute left every time.
In the opener, the Knicks led by four points with 58 seconds to go. In Game 2, the Knicks won by one after San Antonio center Victor Wembanyama’s game-winning try just missed. Game 3, the Spurs won by four. Game 4, the Knicks won by one again — this time after OG Anunoby delivered a miracle tip-in at Madison Square Garden to end a streak of three straight victories by the visiting team in the title series.
There hasn’t been an NBA Finals like this, with a margin of four points or less in the final minute of each of the first four games, since 1973. New York won that series, getting the franchise’s second league title three years after its first. The Knicks haven’t been champions since.
That could change this weekend. New York, leading 3-1 in the best-of-seven series and on the road again, can close out the Spurs with a Game 5 victory Saturday night at Frost Bank Center.
“You have to be present,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said Friday. “You can’t think about the outcome. It’s about the process, the next play, the next play, the next play.”
The series could easily be tied right now. San Antonio wasted a 29-point lead Wednesday in Game 4 on the way to what became the biggest collapse in NBA Finals history.
The Spurs led 81-52 in the third quarter but got outscored 55-25 the rest of the way, missing 29 of their final 35 shots and losing on Anunoby’s make (on Jalen Brunson’s 3-point miss) with 1.2 seconds remaining. Knicks fans celebrated long after the final horn, and now the Spurs have to find a way to somehow regroup from absolute agony.
“There’s conviction in strength and confidence,” San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said. “That’s what it is. There’s no trick. There’s no avoiding what’s happened. There’s no avoiding (the fact) all four games have been winnable games. There’s no avoiding we’re down 3-1. There’s no avoiding ways that we could be better.
“There’s nobody that’s going to be harder on ourselves and accountable to ourselves than the people in the locker room and each other.”
Until Wednesday, teams with leads of 29 or more points in an NBA game were: 249-0 this season; 288-2 over the past 30 postseasons; 4,088-13 over the past 30 seasons, counting regular-season and playoff games.
That means the Spurs — who have had double-digit leads in all four games — had close to a 99.7% chance of winning Game 4, tying the series and coming home with all the momentum. Instead, they’re on the brink of elimination.
“We still have that belief that we have a chance to win,” said Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox, who has heard tons of criticism since Wednesday for his decision to try a layup instead of running down the clock when he had the ball with San Antonio leading by one in the final moments.
“But we’re taking this one game at a time,” Fox added. “We’re not looking at it as we need to win three games. We need to win tomorrow, and then we give ourselves a chance to play another game.”
It will not be easy. When the Knicks have had a closeout opportunity this season — the chance to finish off a series — they’ve left no doubt.
New York is 3-0 in closeout games in these playoffs, winning them by the almost comical average of 39.3 points. The Knicks led by 61 points before winning 140-89 to close out the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, led by 44 points before winning 144-114 to close out the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round, then led by 45 points before winning 130-93 to close out the Cleveland Cavaliers and win the Eastern Conference championship.
All that happened on the road, too. And thousands of Knicks fans are expected in San Antonio on Saturday night, willing to travel and spend big on the resale ticket market for the chance to see their team end that long title drought.
“One possession at a time, one play at a time, one quarter at a time,” Brunson said. “You’re thinking about the now, how you can be better the next possession, how can you turn the page, positive or negative. Regardless of what’s going on, our mindset and approach has to stay the same. I think we’ve done a very good job of that. It’s something that has grown over the season. It’s really important, especially obviously now.”
Meanwhile, the Spurs will try to be just the second team in NBA Finals history to successfully rally from a 3-1 series deficit; Cleveland did it against the Golden State Warriors in 2016. The other 37 teams that have tried to do so all failed.
One thing helping San Antonio keep some faith is having been in position to win all four games.
“It definitely matters,” Spurs guard Stephon Castle said. “I feel like we’ve made history all year, and we’ve proven that with our backs against the wall that we can step up. So I don’t really expect this to be any different.”
As for Game 4, Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 star and third-year pro who has had his share of highs and lows in his first NBA Finals, said the Spurs are already “over it. It’s the playoffs. There’s no time to regret things for too long.”
And in San Antonio’s case, time is almost up.