Greatest NBA Finals Comebacks, Re-Ranked After Knicks’ Game 4

Bedlam at the Garden doesn’t even begin to cover it.
Tonight, the New York Knicks didn’t just take a commanding 3-1 lead over the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals; they shattered modern basketball history. Facing an 81-52 third-quarter deficit, New York looked dead in the water against a red-hot young Spurs team led by Victor Wembanyama. Instead, Jalen Brunson’s 36-point masterclass and OG Anunoby’s dramatic putback with 1.2 seconds left completed a 29-point comeback—the largest single-game rally the NBA Finals have ever seen.
With the history books officially rewritten, it is time to re-rank the five greatest comebacks on the sport’s grandest stage, counting down from five to the new number one.

Here is the revised countdown, re-ordered from No. 5 down to the definitive No. 1:

5. Golden State Warriors vs. Toronto Raptors (2019, Game 2)

• Deficit Overcome: 12 Points
• The Result: Warriors def. Raptors, 109-104
  This one earns its spot due to the sheer medical adversity Golden State faced. Trailing by 12 points in a hostile Scotiabank Arena and already playing without Kevin Durant, the Warriors’ dynasty looked like it was fracturing in real-time when Kevon Looney went down with a fractured collarbone. Yet, the “Strength in Numbers” era had one more vintage burst left. Golden State opened the third quarter with a devastating 18-0 run. Even after Klay Thompson limped off with a hamstring injury late in the fourth, Andre Iguodala returned from a head knock to sink a cold-blooded, game-clinching three-pointer with 7.0 seconds left.

4. Chicago Bulls vs. Portland Trail Blazers (1992, Game 6)

• Deficit Overcome: 15 Points (starting the 4th quarter)
• The Result: Bulls def. Trail Blazers, 97-93
  The Portland Trail Blazers were entirely in control at Chicago Stadium, carrying a 79-64 lead into the final frame and threatening to force a decisive Game 7. Phil Jackson made the incredibly gutsy call to start the fourth quarter with Michael Jordan on the bench, deploying a lineup of Scottie Pippen, Bobby Hansen, Stacey King, B.J. Armstrong, and Cliff Levingston. That reserve-heavy unit caught fire, unleashing an immediate 14-2 run to cut the lead to three. By the time Jordan checked back in to finish off Portland with his signature mid-range execution, the Bulls had completely flipped the momentum to secure their second straight championship.

3. Miami Heat vs. Dallas Mavericks (2011, Game 2)

• Deficit Overcome: 15 Points (with 7 minutes left)
• The Result: Mavericks def. Heat, 95-93
  While other comebacks featured larger point deficits, none match the sheer, concentrated late-game execution of Dirk Nowitzki and the 2011 Mavericks. With just over seven minutes left in the fourth quarter, Dwyane Wade hit a corner three right in front of the Dallas bench, celebrating conspicuously to put the Heat up 88-73. The series was minutes away from becoming a 2-0 Miami blowout. Instead, Dirk sparked a furious 22-5 closing run. Battling a torn tendon in his left middle finger, Nowitzki scored the Mavericks’ final nine points, culminating in a driving layup with his injured left hand past Chris Bosh with 3.6 seconds left to shock the “Big Three” in South Beach.

2. Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers (2008, Game 4)

• Deficit Overcome: 24 Points
• The Result: Celtics def. Lakers, 97-91
  Before tonight, this was the undisputed gold standard of Finals shock value. The Celtics went into Staples Center already up 2-1 but found themselves buried under a 24-point avalanche by Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in the second quarter. What followed was a masterclass in championship resolve. Paul Pierce locked down defensively, Ray Allen played all 48 minutes, and Boston’s bench—led by an unlikely scoring burst from Eddie House—orchestrated a stunning 21-3 run to close the third. When Allen blew past Sasha Vujacic for a reverse layup to seal it late in the fourth, the Celtics had secured the largest comeback in a Finals game since the NBA started tracking play-by-play data in 1997.

1. New York Knicks vs. San Antonio Spurs (2026, Game 4)

• Deficit Overcome: 29 Points
• The Result: Knicks def. Spurs, 107-106
  To appreciate this, you have to look at how bleak things were. The Spurs opened up a 27-point halftime lead at Madison Square Garden, eventually stretching it to 29 in the third quarter behind a barrage of early three-pointers from Victor Wembanyama and company. But the Knicks clamped down, holding San Antonio to just 14 points in the third quarter on a grueling defensive lockdown. Jalen Brunson willed the team back into striking distance with a 36-point masterclass, and when Stephon Castle put the Spurs back up by one with 30 seconds left, New York had one final gasp. Brunson’s long triple bounced off the rim, only for OG Anunoby to soar through the air for a legendary putback with 1.2 seconds remaining to secure a 3-1 series lead and the biggest single-game statistical rally the Finals have ever seen.