For nearly 47 minutes the San Antonio Spurs appeared ready to leave Madison Square Garden with the NBA finals tied at two games each. They had built an 81-52 lead in the third quarter, quieted a hostile home crowd and stood close to regaining home-court advantage after losing the first two games on their own floor. Even when the Knicks launched a strong second-half rally, the Spurs seemed to hold one last chance. Then came a choice that could trouble San Antonio for years if New York ends its 53-year title drought. The Spurs led 106-105 with under 15 seconds left when Jalen Brunson’s bank shot bounced into the backcourt. The ball rolled toward De’Aaron Fox, who chased it and found himself heading to the basket with only OG Anunoby behind him and what looked like a winning score. Rather than holding the ball and making New York foul, Fox drove to the rim. Anunoby caught up and blocked the shot. Moments later the Knicks regained possession. Brunson missed a long three-pointer, but Anunoby tipped in the winning basket with 1.2 seconds left, sealing a 107-106 victory and the largest comeback in NBA finals history. Fox later explained his decision. He said he had not scored and wanted a layup to go up by three and force the Knicks to need a three-pointer. He added that he believed he could outrun the defense. On a post-game broadcast Charles Barkley called the choice a poor play and said Fox did not need to shoot. The comment spread quickly online and on television. With a one-point lead the Spurs had safer choices, such as pulling back to draw a foul or using their final timeout. Instead Fox took the riskiest option and paid for it. The final error capped a larger collapse that started earlier. San Antonio scored 76 points in the first half but only 30 after halftime. Their ball movement and outside shooting faded as the Knicks reduced the gap. Fox noted the team moved away from the actions that built the lead. Coach Mitch Johnson said the group lost the pace and conviction shown early. Victor Wembanyama observed that the team stopped moving the ball and executing in the second half. The late play ended their final chance to overcome the deficit. Fox said going down 3-1 differs from a tied series, yet the team believes it can recover.
