NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- A bitter public dispute between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Knicks owner James Dolan framed the buildup to Game 4 of the NBA Finals. By the end of the night, it was the Knicks who had seized the spotlight, pulling off a record comeback at Madison Square Garden.
New York erased a 29-point deficit Wednesday night to beat the San Antonio Spurs, 107-106, and take a 3-1 lead in the series. OG Anunoby delivered the decisive play, tipping in Jalen Brunson’s missed three-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining to cap the largest comeback in NBA Finals history.
The dramatic finish came only hours after a planned watch party outside Madison Square Garden was canceled amid a war of words between Dolan and City Hall. MSG Sports, the company controlled by Dolan, accused Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch of using President Donald Trump’s attendance at Game 3 as justification for security restrictions that the company said would stifle fan celebrations.
A bitter public dispute between Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Knicks owner James Dolan framed the buildup to Game 4 of the NBA Finals. By the end of the night, it was the Knicks who had seized the spotlight, pulling off a record comeback at Madison Square Garden.Bryan Bedder/Getty Images and Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images
The city said it had approved a permit for a ticketed watch party of up to 999 people outside the arena. Dolan, however, said MSG would not install outdoor viewing screens under those conditions, blaming the city’s security plan and attendance limits. Mamdani disputed Dolan’s version, saying MSG had requested the 999-person permit and that the city had approved it.
In a statement posted on X, Mamdani said Dolan had “decided to cancel the watch party,” calling the move one that was “breaking hearts across our city.” MSG Sports countered that the city’s plan was “disingenuous at best” and said the restrictions would prevent fans from celebrating a Knicks victory outside the Garden, turning the streets around the arena into what it described as a “police state.”
Inside the Garden, the Knicks looked finished for much of the night. San Antonio led by as many as 29 points and carried a 27-point advantage into halftime before New York mounted a furious second-half rally.
Karl-Anthony Towns said the Knicks drew on their experience in pressure moments rather than panic over the halftime deficit.
“When we got in there at halftime, we understood we were disappointed — but I’ve always talked about the unity and the connectivity of this team,” Towns said. “I brought up experience. I said last year we were in this situation two games in a row in Boston. We found a way to get it done. Experience teaches you a lot.”
For fans, the comeback turned a tense night into an unforgettable one. Ruth Contreras, who said she flew in from Seattle that morning, said the crowd never gave up.
“Whether we were 10 points behind, 15 points behind, we were like, ‘Go New York, go New York, go!’” Contreras said.
The victory leaves the Knicks one win from their first NBA championship since 1973, with Game 5 set for San Antonio on Saturday.
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