Knicks erase 29-point deficit to reach brink of first NBA title since 1973
New York's record comeback against San Antonio in Game 4 leaves the Knicks one win away from ending a 53-year championship drought.
The New York Knicks completed the largest comeback in NBA Finals history on Wednesday, overturning a 29-point deficit to defeat the San Antonio Spurs and move within one victory of their first championship since 1973. The stunning turnaround unfolded before a packed Madison Square Garden crowd that witnessed what multiple outlets described as one of the most remarkable games in the series' history.
New York trailed by 29 points before staging the rally, a margin that surpassed every previous comeback recorded in Finals play. The victory gave the Knicks a commanding advantage in the series, positioning them to close out the title on home floor in Game 5.
The atmosphere inside Madison Square Garden added a layer of spectacle to the sporting drama. Among the celebrity attendees was Taylor Swift, whose presence was noted by Australian outlets covering the game, underscoring the cultural weight the moment carried beyond the basketball world.
ABC News Australia framed the result as a "Madison Square Garden miracle," emphasising the historic magnitude of the comeback and the emotional significance for a franchise whose fans have waited more than half a century for a title. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age similarly stressed the record-breaking nature of the deficit erased, while also highlighting the star-studded crowd as evidence of the game's broader cultural moment.
All three sources converged on the central fact: no team had ever overcome a larger deficit in the NBA Finals, making this result a landmark regardless of how the series concludes. The shared framing across outlets of differing editorial traditions reflects how unambiguous the achievement was.
The Knicks' last championship came in the 1972–73 season, a drought spanning more than five decades and one of the longest title waits among major professional sports franchises in the United States. San Antonio, meanwhile, has built one of the league's most storied modern dynasties, making the Knicks' revival against them a pointed narrative.
The Spurs now face elimination and must win Game 5 to extend the series. Whether San Antonio can regroup from a collapse of this magnitude — both statistically and psychologically — remains the central question heading into the next contest.
If the Knicks close out the title, it would end one of North American sport's most discussed championship droughts and transform the narrative around a franchise that has long traded on its city's outsized identity without the hardware to match. Game 5 tips off with New York holding every advantage.