The New York Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs 107-106 in Wednesday’s Game 4 after OG Anunoby blocked De’Aaron Fox’s late layup and followed with the game-winning putback, leaving the Spurs trailing 3-1 in the NBA Finals.
Fox’s decision to drive for a layup with 11 seconds left was decisive: the final score margin was one point, and Anunoby’s block directly created the final possession that gave New York the victory. Victor Wembanyama had missed two free throws with 1:47 remaining while the Spurs led by one, a late trip-up that magnified the cost of every subsequent choice.
After the game said he expected a different result. “I just thought I’d be able to outrun him,” he said, and added why he attacked the rim: “Try to get a layup, get up three and force them to need a 3.” He paid immediate tribute to the defender who erased his shot: “OG made a good block.”
Those three quotes are the center of the verdict on Game 4. The numbers — 107-106, Game 4, a 3-1 series lead — make clear how big a swing a single play produced. Anunoby’s block did more than prevent two points; it converted an offensive gamble into a game-ending turnover and a putback, and it handed the Knicks a commanding position in the series.
Context deepens the sting for San Antonio. The Spurs’ loss on Wednesday follows a series of late-game miscues: in Game 2 Victor Wembanyama made a late blunder when he passed to the back of Stephon Castle’s head, and in Game 4 he missed two late free throws. Those errors bookend Fox’s final drive and underline why Wednesday’s outcome is being framed as the worst collapse in NBA Finals history for the Spurs.
The friction in the moment is straightforward and uncomfortable for Fox. He believed he could beat Anunoby to the rim; instead Anunoby caught up from the wrong direction and blocked the attempt, then converted the putback that won the game. The sequence — intention, unexpected defensive recovery, instant reversal — is the specific decision that will be replayed, analyzed and debated in the hours before Game 5.
Fox’s physical history adds weight to that scrutiny. He had been slowed by a string of ailments last month, including a high ankle sprain he reinjured in the Western Conference finals, which makes the athletic gamble on that final play a point of interest beyond tactics. Still, Fox stood by the choice after the loss, saying the Spurs can still come back from a 3-1 deficit.
That brings the immediate question forward: can the Spurs reverse a 3-1 hole in the Finals? Historically only the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers have recovered from 3-1 down to win the championship, and the Spurs would have to match that improbable arc to stay alive. For now, the series math favors New York, and Game 5 will feel like a test of whether San Antonio’s late-game mistakes were an anomaly or the turning point of this Finals.
The practical next step is unambiguous: the Spurs head into Game 5 facing elimination and deeper scrutiny of late decisions — from Wembanyama’s free throws to Fox’s final drive. If San Antonio cannot stop the momentum shift now, Wednesday night’s single play will be remembered as the moment the Finals tipped irreversibly toward the Knicks.
