Fantastic Finish: Knicks complete largest comeback in NBA Finals history
OG Anunoby's game-winning putback in the final seconds caps an unprecedented 29-point comeback victory by the Knicks in Game 4.
• Complete coverage: 2026 NBA Finals
• Download the NBA App
New York Knicks reserve guard Jose Alvarado was hardly noticeable in the first half. That is, except for his foul on San Antonio Spurs forward-center Victor Wembanyama that underwent an official review to determine if the foul was flagrant.
Other than that, Alvarado played three nondescript minutes – no points, two fouls, one turnover and the Knicks were outscored by eight points during his brief time on the court in the first two quarters of Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
He played 2 1/2 scoreless minutes in the third quarter as the Knicks crept back in the game, trailing by 15 entering the final quarter.
But in the fourth, Alvarado was as indispensable as Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart.
Alvarado, who was born in Brooklyn and played high school basketball at Christ the King in Queens, was everywhere: scoring, rebounding, passing, defending, helping the Knicks pull off an improbable and stunning come-from-behind victory.
Alvarado played nine minutes, 40 seconds in the fourth quarter and had eight points, three assists and two rebounds. The Knicks outscored the Spurs by 17 points with Alvarado on the court as New York came back from a 29-point deficit in the third quarter to beat the Spurs 107-106 and take a 3-1 series lead.
Knicks coach Mike Brown made sure he mentioned Alvarado in his opening statement in his postgame news conference.
“Jose was unbelievable tonight,” Brown said. “He changed the game.”
Alvarado said he was on the verge of tears when the final buzzer sounded. “Just to be part of the journey is amazing,” he said. “I appreciate Coach and everybody giving me my flowers, but this is what I worked hard for, to be in moments like this and shine with it.
“I’m glad it went our way today, and I’ll definitely remember this for the rest of my life. But you know, next game. We’ve got to worry about when we play over there.”
Down 76-49 at halftime, Alvarado said he addressed the team.
“Basically, I went in there at halftime and said, ‘Regardless of the outcome, these next 24 minutes, we better bring it and show them how we really play basketball,’” Alvarado said, “And that’s what we did.”
Alvarado checked in to the game with 9:46 left in the fourth quarter, and 30 seconds later he made a 3-pointer, cutting the Spurs’ lead to 95-78. When he next checked out of the game with 30.3 seconds remaining, the score was 105-105.
His layup with 3:49 remaining trimmed the Spurs’ lead to 102-97, and his 3-pointer with 3:07 left made it 104-100. He also assisted on an Anunoby 3-pointer and a Brunson triple during a two-minute stretch late in the fourth when he had five points and two assists.
“When you talk about somebody who not only lives up to the moment but plays with his emotion, and utilizes that to his advantage, that’s a rare quality,” Towns said. “A lot of times, you play with a lot of people and they play with emotion, but it gets the better of them. For Jose, that emotion is what drives him and makes him take it to another level.”
Alvarado cut into minutes normally given to Mikal Bridges. But Brown was searching for answers and found one in Alvarado.
“Jose has been good in the pick-and-roll,” Brown explained. “Jose has been good touching the paint, and if Jalen wanted to get off the ball for a few possessions, Jose could handle it, and he could touch the paint and make the game easier for others.
“If Jalen was on the ball and the ball got sprayed and it found Jose, Jose can then touch the paint with his speed. So that’s all I was trying to do, is see if we can touch the paint a little bit more with the two guards out there while the floor was spaced the right way. See if we can get some easy looks, especially from the 3-point line while trying to play faster.”
That strategy worked. The Knicks made six of their 15 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
“He’s a special player,” Towns said. “His tenacity, his defensive ability and his offensive ability that I got to see firsthand … Now I know, he really can shoot. It’s special.”
Said Alvarado: “When you play this game, that’s where you want to play – (in the) fourth quarter.”
Alvarado was undrafted out of Georgia Tech in 2021 and signed with the New Orleans Pelicans where he earned a reputation as a tough defender at 6-0. The Knicks acquired him from the New Orleans Pelicans at the February trade deadline to bolster depth especially with Miles McBride needing hernia surgery at the time.
“He has so much to his basketball game that people don’t give credit to, and I’m glad on this stage on a night like this, he was able to show the world what he can do when he’s given a chance,” Towns said. “And Jose Alvarado clearly told everyone in the world tonight he’s a big-time player.”
* * *
Jeff Zillgitt has covered the NBA since 2008. You can email him at jzillgitt@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.
