As Al Michaels once said, "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!"
The New York Knicks just had one of those rare seminal moments in sports that will forever be etched in time, never to be forgotten, and ingrained in the memory and DNA of all fans in and around the Tri-State area.
Think of Mookie Wilson sending a ground ball down the first baseline of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. The ball hugs the first baseline, and somehow, miraculously slides under Bill Buckner's extended glove and rolls into the outfield. Ray Knight scores the winning run! Mets win! Mets win!
Think of Stephan Matteau in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals of the NHL, when he swung around the net and got the puck past Devils Hall of Fame goalie Martin Brodeur for the game winning shot that sent the Rangers to the Finals, a finals they would win over Vancouver.
Think of Eli Manning heaving a pass downfield that somehow by the grace of God, David Tyree pins up against his helmet as he's being tackled in mid-air by New England Patriots bad-boy Rodney Harrison. The Giants would win the Super Bowl a few plays later.
How about Derek Jeter's home run in the 2001 World Series that for one night at least made him Mr. November.
Or Jim Layritz's homer vs. Atlanta in 1996 that proved to be the turning point of that year's World Series.
And if you want to talk about ridiculous comebacks, we all remember where we were late on a Monday Night in October of 2000 when the Jets stormed back from a 23-point deficit to win over Miami.
We all remember where we were on those nights. We all remember what we were thinking before, during and after they happened.
Then came Thursday night, June 10, 2026 at Madison Square Garden. And we ended up having one of those nights again.
The Knicks trailed the San Antonio Spurs by 29 points. Everything that could go wrong, went wrong for New York in the first half.
There was the obvious defensive foul on Spurs' center Victor Wembanyama when he wrapped his arm around the waste of Karl Anthony Towns as Towns tried to glide to the hoop, but instead of Wemby drawing the foul, the officials claimed Towns committed a Flagrant Foul by pinning Wembanyama's arm.
Towns had to sit with two fouls. This was just a minute into the game. And it changed the complexion of what was to come. The Spurs exploded offensively, jumping out to a 41-22 lead.
There were even missed calls on a goal tending by Luke Kornet that wasn't called, and an obvious offensive foul by Wembanyama a few seconds later when he touched the ball on the rim, and that wasn't called either.
The fans were beside themselves. Many jumping on social media calling the NBA rigged.
The officials seemed to get in the Knicks heads as well as the team lost its composure. Every shot the Knicks took started to miss and miss widely. The Spurs meanwhile were nailing everything. At one point San Antonio had 13 three pointers mid-way through the second quarter.
It looked like this series was heading back to San Antonio tied at two, and at that point anything could happen in a best-of-three scenario.
Then it all changed.
Its easy to forget when it changed, but it ironically started turning when Wembanyama was hit with a Flagrant 1 for hitting Towns in the jaw with his elbow. The foul put Towns on the line with the Knicks down 81-52, which the All-Star connected on both to pull to New York to within 27-points.
That little moment proved to be huge.
With Wemby on the bench, the Knicks caught fire. A 13-0 run, capped off by Josh Hart's 25-foot three pointer brought the Garden back to life as the Knicks came to within 81-65.
After both teams exchanged buckets, OG Anunoby's three-pointer to end the quarter brought the Knicks to within 15 at 90-75.
The Knicks who were down 29 points had outscored the Spurs 23-9 over the final 9:40 of the third quarter. They had a chance.
Then the Knicks did what championship teams are supposed to do: rip the heart of their opponent right out of their body right before their eyes.
A 13-2 run by the Knicks, highlighted by three pointers by Jose Alvarado, Towns and Anunoby brought the Knicks to within nine points with 7:03 to play.
After Devin Vassell missed a 23-foot running jumper, the Knicks quickly brought the ball down court as Towns connected with Brunson inside the paint as he popped one in to cut the deficit to seven points, 99-92.
MSG was on fire at this point; the fans could taste what was being cooked in the kitchen.
Seconds later after De'Andre Fox missed a three ball for San Antonio, Anunoby nailed a three-ball of his own to bring the Knicks to within four points.
All of a sudden a game that looked over a half hour ago, suddenly became a slug-fest as both teams exchanged body blows at the hoop.
Finally Jalen Brunson brought the house down with a three-pointer from the top of the key to get the Knicks to within one point with 2:21 to go.
A minute later Brunson put the Knicks in front for the first time all night on a little floater that somehow found its way through the hoop.
KNICKS 105 - SPURS 104.
MSG was shaking and rattling until Stephon Castle drew a foul and connected on his free throws to give the Spurs a narrow one point lead.
While Knicks fans stood at MSG in silent prayer, hoping for a miracle, the Knicks had the Spurs right where they wanted them.
Brunson tried to hit the game winner with 4.4 seconds left, but the ball bounced off the back of the rim and up into the air.
With Dylan Harper, Castle and Vassell all converging toward the ball at the same time, the hand of OG Anunoby popped out from underneath, gently tipping the ball back toward the hoop.
It fell through.
Knicks lead 107-106 with 1.2 seconds to play.
As ESPN said in its post on social media: the Hand of OG. A still image says a thousand words. And the image of OG Anunoby and his out-stretched arm with his hand of the ball as he is surrounded by Spurs players will be an image frozen in time forever.
The victory was the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history.
It was the greatest comeback in Knicks history.
And it turned what would have been the most deflating and disappointing loss in Knicks history to its most exhilarating.
The funny part is when these moments happen, its easy to forget what comes next. We think of that huge moment: Mookie, the Helmet Catch, Matteau! Matteau! Matteau! and the next thing that comes to mind is ecstasy, confetti, trophies, and a parade.
That might all come to fruition as soon as next week.
The Knicks meanwhile have one more mountain to climb. Their job is far from finished. They have to go back to Texas with a chance to win the title on the road in Game 5.
Do that and the OG tip-in is all the more solidified into the hallowed halls of New York championship success.
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