OG Anunoby wasn’t alone.
Videos of the final play of the Knicks’ thrilling Game 4 win over the Spurs show Karl-Anthony Towns deflected the inbounds pass from Dylan Harper, potentially disrupting what would have been a game-winning basket.
A fan’s breakdown of the play on X showed that Stephon Castle had back cut to the basket and was wide open for an alley-oop. It would have taken a pin-point pass from Harper to execute the play, but any chance of that was destroyed once Towns disrupted it.
Castle fumbled the catch before gathering the ball, but that allowed the defenders to catch up and the star guard had his back to the basket and he ultimately did not get up a shot up with just 1.2 seconds left.
It did not appear that Towns’ play was initially caught by the ESPN broadcast in the chaotic celebration that followed at Madison Square Garden after the Knicks had rallied from 29 points down against the Spurs to take a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
“For us, when we got in there at halftime, we understood we were disappointed with the performance we had in the first half. That’s, of course, the result of walking in,” Towns’ said of the Knicks being down 76-49 at the break and looking for sure headed to a second straight loss at MSG.
“But I’ve always talked about the unity and the connectivity of this team. Went in there, people spoke up. Jose (Alvarado), just saying, regardless how the result of the game comes out, we can’t at least not work on our standards and be who we are.”
Warning: Graphic Language
Towns’ moment does not happen without Anunoby’s heroics on the previous play.
Anunoby inbounded the ball to Jalen Brunson, who launched a deep 3-pointer that came up short. However, Anunoby was streaking in and tipped the ball in with just over a second left.
“That’s why every time we’re in the game with OG, third quarter, second quarter, he may not be feeling like he’s playing his best,” Towns said. “Every time I talk to him, I say, I already know what OG Anunoby is going to do in the fourth quarter, and he did exactly what I thought he would do. He gave us a chance to win, and that’s all you could ask for from the best two-way player in the NBA.”
Towns finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds after he received his second foul just a minute into the game on a controversial overrule that forced him to the bench.