Everything, really, was at stake when the Knicks broke their huddle and returned to the court with 5.7 seconds remaining. Forget the 13-game playoff winning streak. Forget the dominating postseason run that included a 2-0 series lead to start the NBA Finals against the Spurs. Forget the hopes and dreams — the wildest ones possible — of snapping a 53-year title drought.
Because if the Knicks, trailing 106-105 in the final seconds of Game 4 of the Finals June 10, couldn’t score on their final possession, their comeback — a 29-point deficit — would be all for naught.
The Finals would shift back to San Antonio even at two games apiece. The Knicks would’ve botched their home-court advantage, their chance to keep igniting a Garden crowd waiting 27 years for a return to this stage. The momentum of the series would have radically shifted.
Down a point, 5.7 seconds remaining, OG Anunoby — whose life was about to change — was poised to inbound the ball in the frontcourt. Landry Shamet and Mikal Bridges were on the court having replaced Josh Hart and Jose Alvarado. Karl-Anthony Towns was on the left side near the Finals logo. Jalen Brunson, the Knicks’ Captain Clutch, hovered near the paint.