OG Anunoby’s late tip-in capped Knicks’ remarkable Game 4 rally from 29 points down

The Knicks’ Game 4 victory will be remembered for the size of the hole they climbed out of and the way the closing sequence landed. New York erased a 29-point deficit to win a pulsating Game 4, turning a seemingly distant outcome into a finish decided in the final seconds.

OG Anunoby emerged as the story’s defining closer. With 1.2 seconds left, a Jalen Brunson 3-pointer attempt missed, and Anunoby collected the moment in the most literal way possible, flying in for a tip-in that helped cap the comeback. It was the kind of sequence that tends to become shorthand for postseason resilience, because it merged urgency with precision at the exact time the Knicks needed it most.

But the rally’s late drama did not appear out of nowhere. Teams that climb back from large deficits usually do so by stacking smaller swings, and this Knicks run was described as a series of pivotal turns involving both recognizable primary options and players who did not always draw the same attention. The comeback effort, as characterized in the recap, included “unsung” contributions that helped New York keep possessions alive long enough to pressure the opponent into late mistakes.

That matters because a 29-point deficit is not just a scoring gap, it is a margin that typically forces a team into emergency offense while the other side can play with structure. The Knicks’ task, therefore, was not simply to make shots, but to change the rhythm of the game so that momentum began shifting possession by possession. The final stretch, ending with Anunoby’s tip-in after Brunson’s missed look, underlined how quickly the balance can flip when defensive pressure and timely second chances connect.

The finish also reflects why the Knicks’ identity in high-leverage playoff moments depends on effort plays as much as star scoring. Brunson’s shot attempt that did not go in still set up the final chance, and Anunoby’s ability to attack the ball after the miss became the decisive edge. Even without knowing every detail of the sequence, the description makes clear that the Knicks did not retreat into panic, they stayed aggressive and ready to convert one last opportunity.

For New York, the significance is both immediate and structural. A comeback of this magnitude changes how the series narrative will be framed, because it suggests the Knicks can still generate game-breaking runs even when opponents appear in control. For the opponent, it raises the standard for what “comfortable” leads look like, and it can influence how they defend late-game transitions and second-chance opportunities in the next matchup. The next game will be about whether the Knicks can sustain the intensity that created the turnaround, or whether it was primarily a product of one uniquely timed run.

The broader postseason takeaway is that comebacks are rarely single-moment miracles. This one featured a signature ending, but it also depended on multiple turning points that kept the Knicks within striking distance long enough for the final seconds to belong to them. Anunoby’s late tip-in against the aftermath of Brunson’s 3-point attempt gave the comeback its punctuation, but the ability to manufacture pressure earlier is what made the punctuation possible.