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NBA legend Charles Barkley branded the San Antonio Spurs “the dumbest basketball team in the history of civilization” after the New York Knicks pulled off the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history.
The Spurs led by 29 points as they looked to even the best-of-seven series before hosting five games in New York, but the Knicks fought back to win 107-106.
London-born OG Anunoby claimed a tip-in basket with 1.2 seconds left, to the delight of a star-studded crowd at Madison Square Garden. which included Taylor Swift and Timothée Chalamet.
It gave the Knicks a 3-1 series lead and put them within one win of their first championship since 1973.
The previous largest comeback in the NBA Finals was 24 points by the Boston Celtics against the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008.
San Antonio led by 29 points in the second quarter and their 27-point lead at halftime (76-49) was the largest for a road team in Finals history, but then scored just 30 points in the second half.
“It was the most mismanaged, stupidest basketball,” said Barkley, the ESPN analyst and former NBA Most Valuable Player.
“When you blow a 29-point lead, the other team has to help, and the San Antonio Spurs helped the New York Knicks win this game.”
Victor Wembanyama scored a team-high 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for San Antonio.
“I can’t really explain it right now,” the NBA Defensive Player of the Year said.
“I don’t know. I think it was just execution, some kind of greed. We obviously weren’t the most hungry in the second half.”
The Knicks still trailed 90-75 heading into the fourth quarter but Jalen Brunson put them in front for the first time at 105-104 with 82 seconds left.
Anunoby made a block with 11.1 seconds left to put the Spurs ahead at 108-105, before tipping in the game-clinching score after Brunson’s three-point attempt hit the rim.
“A word that means everything is just ‘belief,'” Brunson told ESPN. “It was chipping away, one possession at a time. It’s not going to be a play to get us back.”
There will be five matches in San Antonio on Saturday (01:30 BST, Sunday).
