yahoo - 6/12/2026 5:43:25 PM - GMT (+2 )
There’s a chance we are a little over 24 hours from the biggest celebration in Knicks history.
There’s no chance you miss it.
Here’s everything we missed coming off the historic Game 4 victory as the Knicks get back to practice ahead of Saturday’s matchup.
Jimmy recaps Game 4 of the @NBA Finals! @nyknicks@spurs FallonTonight #NBAFinalspic.twitter.com/XfIrd6jGcT
— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) June 12, 2026
On Jose Alvarado’s Game 4 outing:
“I know a lot of you guys can’t because you’re in the media, and you’ve got to be neutral, but I’m going to [expletive] clap for Jose. Sorry, Mom. Jose was unbelievable tonight.”
On why he inserted Alvarado in the fourth quarter:
“Jose has been good in the pick-and-roll. And if Jalen [Brunson] 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 three-point line, while trying to play faster.”
On luck and making your own breaks:
“The reality is that not just in basketball, not just in sports, but life, too, and I think you all can attest to this, you have to have a little luck. But you also can go make your own luck, too. That’s probably the biggest message. You got to get a little lucky in sports, but let’s do what we do so you can make some of that luck happen.”
On James Dolan’s pregame prediction:
“You know, he owns the team. He can say whatever he wants to say. Maybe he feels something, I don’t know. But I’m 100 percent OK with him saying whatever he feels like he needs to say.”
José Alvarado is dude from Brooklyn who just played a major part in biggest comeback in Finals history for his hometown team
— NYR Louie ™️ (@NYRLouie) June 11, 2026
Script writers went crazy pic.twitter.com/qY0FAIXfNJ
On holding tears after the Game 4 comeback:
“You said it, two kids from here, right. I’m not going to sugarcoat this: I was about to cry, not because — obviously there is one more [game to win], but I’m at Madison Square Garden, end of the fourth quarter, playing with these guys, and we’re playing for something special. I was just — I was just excited. It’s really something I couldn’t put in words. And like I said, we could get excited and enjoy this, but we got one more to do.”
On being part of the Knicks’ journey:
“It’s crazy, 2026 Finals [wallpaper] behind me. Just to be part of the journey is amazing. I appreciate, you know, 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. So 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, this is the next game, man. We’ve got to worry about when we play over there.”
KAT GETS HIS FINGERTIPS ON IT!
— NBA (@NBA) June 11, 2026
WHAT A PLAY ON THE LAST POSSESSION 😮
KNICKS TAKE A 3-1 SERIES LEAD IN THE NBA FINALS. https://t.co/1NBoXPrKC2pic.twitter.com/0iHZGvo4MA
On OG Anunoby:
“Every time we’re in the game with OG, third quarter, second quarter, he may not be feeling like he’s playing his best. Every time I talk to him, I say, I already know what OG Anunoby is going to do in the fourth quarter, and he did exactly what I thought he would do. He gave us a chance to win, and that’s all you could ask for from the best two-way player in the NBA.”
On OG’s game-winner:
“What it is they call Messi – Hand of God? That was the hand of God. I think I’m going to get that hand bronzed.”
On his emotions after the Game 4 win:
“I think for me, you could see my reaction, the emotion, it kind of spilled out of that moment. It was tears of joy, you know. Just it wasn’t boo-hoo or anything, just tears of joy, because like I say, all you can do is ask for a chance. And for me personally, I just wanted one break in life. And I got one. I got one at that last play with OG making the shot and us getting the stop. I just wanted one break in life, just one thing to go my way, one time, and I’m glad it did. I’m glad it did for us, man. God is good, man.”
On Jose Alvarado:
“It’s tough for me to be a Dominican talking about a Puerto Rican like this, but man, 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. You know, 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. He’s a special player . . . 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.”
On the halftime vibes after trailing by 29:
“For us, when we got in there at halftime, we understood we were disappointed with the performance we had in the first half. That’s, of course, the result of walking in. But I’ve always talked about the unity and the connectivity of this team. Went in there, people spoke up. Jose (Alvarado), just saying, regardless how the result of the game comes out, we can’t at least not work on our standards and be who we are.”
On his feelings after the comeback win:
“You could see my reaction, the emotion, it kind of spilled out of that moment. It was tears of joy… all you can do is ask for a chance. And for me personally, I just wanted one break in life. And I got one. I got one at that last play with OG making the shot and us getting the stop.”
"We're gonna find a way to win. That's gonna be our motto…Things aren't always how you planned…Stay connected, focused…We're gonna fight…not gonna quit, not gonna lay down. The game may be ugly…We're not afraid of failure, big-time thing about us"
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) December 17, 2025
– Jalen Brunson on Knicks pic.twitter.com/gB0JOyzzzK
On OG Anunoby:
“OG is someone who brings it every night. His work ethic, since the moment I’ve been teammates with him and seen him, has grown. His confidence has grown just because of his work ethic. Everything that I’ve seen, he’s gotten exponentially better at. So regardless of what the outside world thinks of him, we know what we have in our locker room, and we have a superstar in that locker room.”
On the Knicks’ halftime talk in Game 4:
“There really wasn’t much to be said at that point. Just, ‘We need to chip away, hit singles.’”
Miles McBrideOn the Knicks’ knack for improbable wins:
“I wish I knew.”
On why and how the Knicks keep doing it:
“Because then I’d stop it and we’d get good solid wins. At the end of the day, a win is a win. We got to take it.”
"I got a special shout-out for OG because he saved me, at least for this game, a lifetime of regret."
— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 11, 2026
– Josh Hart pic.twitter.com/CpCaYS6pWh
On OG Anunoby’s Finals impact:
“OG, he’s been amazing since he’s got here. This whole playoff run, he’s been amazing on both ends of the ball. He’s a winning player and he made a winning play.”
On the Knicks’ mindset during the comeback:
“You don’t look at when you’re down 29 — we’ve got to win this game. You look at it when you’re down 29 of ‘OK, let’s get it to 20.’ There’s three minutes left in the third quarter. We’re down 18, you’re thinking, ‘Let’s get it to 10.’ In the fourth quarter, you’re like, this is winning time. Anything can happen. And when you have a group of guys that do that — it starts with (president) Leon (Rose), (executive VP William Wesley) — and (head coach) Mike (Brown) is the same — and it just trickles down.”
On the journey to this point:
“Every game, every second, every practice of the season, it led us to this point. Now we have to go into San Antonio on Saturday and get ready for another battle. Special shoutout for OG, man, because he saved me, at least for this game, a lifetime of regret.”
Mikal Bridges on the halftime message during Game 4:
— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 11, 2026
"We've been here before. We've been down a lot before. You just gotta take it one possession at a time. You can't get it back in one" pic.twitter.com/rLPkBsRFcg
On OG Anunoby:
“Unbelievable. He’s different, man. I’m happy he’s on my team.”
On the Garden atmosphere:
“It was loud, especially when we made that run. It was unbelievable.”
"We were terrible early, got off to a horrible start. Huge deficit late, but this is the most proud I've been of our group. Just our collective approach from halftime on, nobody panicking"
— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 11, 2026
– Landry Shamet on Game 4 pic.twitter.com/PejjCZGfYR
On OG Anunoby:
“He does everything. He’s a virtuoso.”
On the comeback:
“I don’t think any of us have ever seen anything like that. It’s a lot to process.”
On the immediate aftermath:
“What the f—. That’s all I’ve got for you. What. The. F—?”
BREAKING: Man arrested for stealing $229 million dollars from the San Antonio Spurs pic.twitter.com/UqfOYjNKjL
— AuxGod (@AuxGod_) June 11, 2026
On the Spurs facing a 3-1 deficit:
“We’ve got to try to put it behind us. Get back to the things that we’ve done well in these games. … We have to figure out a way to hold the lead. We’ve been able to build double-digit leads in all four of these games, and we’ve got to figure out a way to sustain that. It obviously looks like a steep hill, but this is something that’s happened before. … We feel like we have a team that is able to come back from this, but we have to take this one game at a time.”
"I expect to win tonight – we're gonna win tonight, we're gonna win The Finals"
— SNY Knicks (@sny_knicks) June 10, 2026
– James Dolan with @craigcartonlive and @CMacWFAN on @CartonShowWFANpic.twitter.com/HaZP1kGii0
On his prediction before Game 4 and for the Finals as a whole:
“We’re going to win tonight, and we’re going to win the finals.
“If our guys come out and play the game that they know they can play and they know how to play, we will win this game, and we will win the series.”
“It’s not who we play, it’s not the referees. It’s how we play. … If we come out ready to play this game, I guarantee you we will win.”
Carmelo Anthony.
— NBA (@NBA) June 11, 2026
J.R. Smith.
Stephon Marbury.
Marcus Camby.
Latrell Sprewell.
Iman Shumpert.
KNICKS LEGENDS SOAKING IN AN ALL-TIME KNICKS MOMENT LAST NIGHT 🌆 pic.twitter.com/3zULTwDplG
On the current Knicks embracing alumni:
“They make us all feel a part of it. Like we’re a part of them.”
Latrell SprewellOn the Game 4 comeback:
“I can’t even put it into words. We were just thinking, ‘Get it close. Get it to 25, get it to 20, get it to 15, get it to 10. Put the pressure on them.’ I never thought they totally had it. I mean, once we got even or we got within four, I said, OK, we have a real shot.’”
Melo's words courtside made its way to the Knicks players before OG's game-winner 👀
— 7PM in Brooklyn (@7PMinBrooklyn) June 12, 2026
"I got Jose's attention. I was like, 'Yo, tap f**kin' KAT. Get in the f**kin' paint … Jose was telling them to attack the offensive glass." https://t.co/BNar15dKkYpic.twitter.com/B9MIU5sKDI
On the Game 4 game-winning play:
“I was yelling at them the whole time: ‘The offensive rebound is there! The offensive rebound is there!’ Coming out of that timeout, I made eye contact with them and was yelling ‘The offensive rebound is there! Somebody go!’ I didn’t know who was going to go. But I just kept yelling, somebody go!”
"One more baby one more"
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) June 12, 2026
Mariska Hargitay, Spike Lee, Kurt Thomas, Iman Shumpert, Kiyan Anthony, Karl Towns Sr, Gerald Wilkins, Victor Cruz, John Wallace, John Starks, Leon, Metta, Joe, AJ Dybantsa, Chris Dudley, Perk, Raekwon, Spree & Starbury w Tim Thomas postgame center court pic.twitter.com/WKJT4hFo6Q
On why Knicks fans travel:
“Here’s another thing. These seats cost an arm and a leg. It is more affordable to drive down to Philly and come back. It’s more affordable to buy a round trip ticket to Atlanta. A round trip ticket to Cleveland. So I’m fortunate that I can afford to see it. But everybody can’t. That’s why we travel.”
Raekwon gets interviewed after the Knicks won game 4 & performing at halftime with Wutang via @BruceBeck4NYpic.twitter.com/nexVioWeKU
— 2Cool2Blog (@2Cool2Blog) June 12, 2026
On watching the comeback unfold:
“I was in the back. I just wanted to take a breather and just kind of evaluate in my own mind what was going on. And all I kept saying was, ‘Let’s drive. Let’s get in the paint. Defense, defense.’ And, yo. They sustained. They did what they needed to do. With a little bit of Wu energy. I think it helped a little.”
Wally SzczerbiakOn Josh Hart’s rebounding:
“He’s maybe the best rebounder ever under 6-6 that I can remember in the NBA. San Antonio was struggling to score, but San Antonio is a good offensive rebounding team, and they attacked the offensive glass. And there were some of those rebounds that kind of bounced up there, and they were 50-50 rebounds, and then you got Josh Hart coming out of the pack with ‘em. And not only does he come out of the pack, he starts the fast break, because he can handle the ball and push it up the floor.”
On Hart’s rebounding mentality:
“Anytime he gets his hands on or around the ball, he secures it immediately. So he can outfight a lot of people for it. And then I just think . . . rebounding is a mentality. You have to think ‘rebound.’”
“They pursue the ball, and they read where it’s coming off the rim. And I think that’s what Josh Hart is really good at . . . and he just has that tenacity and that gift to pursue it and get to the ball quick, quicker than others. That’s kind of what makes him so great.”
On the value of rebounding in the NBA:
“With the analytical uptick in the NBA, and in all sports in general . . . getting your hands on the ball more often than the other team, that’s like gold. That’s the most important analytical measurement, and it’s very simple: the more possessions we get, the more opportunities we get to shoot threes to make points.”
“When you can get extra possessions and offensive rebounds, that leads to, just, backbreaking extra points. The other team . . . if they don’t secure the rebound after playing good defense, and forcing you to miss, they might as well have allowed you to score on the first attempt.”
On the Knicks’ offensive rebounding mentality:
“I know the Knicks coaches, all their analytical coaches, they teach the players anytime you get an offensive rebound, that’s like finding $20 on the side of the road. And immediately turn it around and try to make this a three. Try to get the ball to the three-point line immediately.”
Larry David reacts to the now forgotten Josh Hart miss. pic.twitter.com/ICZBQBnhYW
— Dave Mager (@DaveMagerNews) June 11, 2026
On Josh Hart’s rebounding:
“Heart [not Hart] over height. I mean, that’s what it is. He’s heart over height.”
On the mindset of rebounding:
“When it comes to rebounds, it’s all about a ‘want to’ mindset. You’ve got to want the basketball. And then go get it.”
On rebounding instincts:
“Some people have it, some people don’t. If you can follow the flight of the basketball — which most people don’t — then you can kind of see where it’s gonna hit and where it’s gonna come off. And you can, if you’re quick, you can get there.”
"I apologize"
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) June 11, 2026
–– Draymond Green to Jalen Brunson pic.twitter.com/8zpaDN6N3Q
On apologizing to Jalen Brunson for not considering him a title-winning player:
“I want to tell you now because I want to tell it to your face, and then I’ll say it publicly after. But I want to apologize in one game. So I will say it now to your face: I’m sorry. Then I will say it when you go and get your ring: I apologize.”
Always great to talk Knicks/NBA with my friend @ZachLowe_NBA… we were both lucky enough to be in MSG last night so we get into Game 4, OG Anunoby, Jalen Brunson, what’s next, some bigger picture Spurs stuff and more on The Zach Lowe show: https://t.co/eA5cyRgCjz
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) June 11, 2026
On OG Anunoby’s Finals MVP case:
“What a playoffs for OG Anunoby. He is averaging 21 points and six rebounds. Here’s his playoff shooting splits: 58% shooting, 51% on threes, 64% on twos.”
On Anunoby’s Finals production:
“In the finals, he is averaging 24 points a game on 58% shooting and 57% on threes, and despite averaging five and a half points less than Jalen Brunson and three and change assists less than Jalen Brunson, and Jalen Brunson having big moments in Games 1 and 2 in San Antonio, I think the Finals MVP right now would be OG Anunoby with a bullet.”
Chris Webber crushed the Spurs after their historic Game 4 collapse against the Knicks:
— NBA Base (@TheNBABase) June 11, 2026
"That was just probably the dumbest game, and I'd like to say most arrogant game, that's ever been played with the stakes this high.
It just shows how you really have to have on-the-court… pic.twitter.com/tBxuxwtRQq
On the Spurs’ collapse:
“That was just probably the dumbest game, and I’d like to say most arrogant game, that’s ever been played with the stakes this high.”
On San Antonio’s shot selection:
“It just shows how you really have to have on-the-court feel and not just analytics, because I don’t think analytics would tell you to shoot the ball eight times in a row if you miss, and taking shots early in the shot clock.”
Dwyane WadeOn the unpredictability of the Finals:
“I don’t think [any] of us expected the Knicks to go on to San Antonio and win two. And then turn around and San Antonio to win one [in New York]. The unexpected, the unknown. That’s what we love about sports. We don’t know the outcome. I love that these great athletes have put everything into this. Everything into their performance, into their individuality and also, everything into [their] team.”
On the Knicks’ tendency for comebacks and their deep postseason run:
“It’s game to game, possession to possession. The Knicks have habits that’s been built over years, especially this season with this unit. Obviously, with coach [Mike] Brown and his staff coming in, you gotta leave it to the fans to look at the outcome. You guys’ job is to look at the steps that you need and the habits that you built. Make sure you continue to work those and continue to work the game. The Knicks have given themselves a chance to win every game, and if you do that for seven games, you could possibly walk away with four wins. It’s not as complicated as it is for the fans, but inside you know who you are, you know what you can do. There’s gonna be a lot of ebb and flow, and they gotta stay the course.”
Knicks legends backroom so packed it’s like something out of Goodfellas pic.twitter.com/eHE7b3AvMy
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) June 11, 2026
On the Game 4 comeback:
“The game was so brutal, down 29 at the half, but I’m telling you, to watch this team fight and claw their way back — to see that look in Jalen’s eyes — there are just endless life lessons in there.”
On OG Anunoby’s game-winner:
“And then OG comes flying in, his orange and blue cape fluttering behind him, and then it’s just pandemonium.”
On the moment:
“It‘ll get replayed again and again, not just as an epic moment in basketball, but on the highlight reel of the best moments in sports. And all I could think was ‘THAT JUST HAPPENED!!!’ And ‘OH MY GOD, I LOVE THIS TEAM!!!’ And ‘OH MY GOD, I LOVE THIS CITY!!!’”
"She's not a Knicks fan. Get out of here girl!"
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) June 11, 2026
Monica McNutt is not a fan of Taylor Swift being at Game 4.
On the other hand, Tyler Murray made sure to get a picture for his wife. 😂 pic.twitter.com/dVaJ0p8QEj
On Taylor Swift attending Game 4:
“She’s not a Knicks fan. Get out of here, girl.”
On not realizing Swift’s Knicks connection and appologizing afterward:
“I did not know. We just saw her in Cleveland with her fiancé ― obviously, Travis supports the Cavs ― she didn’t have on any Knicks paraphernalia, so I did not know of her Knicks loyalty.”
“Swifties, I appreciate your passion. I said what I said and here’s the deal, if I’m wrong, and I am wrong apparently because we’ve got an OG Amar’e Stoudemire jersey. I misspoke. I apologize.”
Michael BloombergOn his friendship with Jose Alvarado:
“Our second meeting went a little smoother. Huge congrats to my new friend [Alvarado] and the [Knicks] on their historic comeback. Don’t ever count NYC out. One more to go. Let’s Go Knicks!”
"Larry's (David) like, 'Let's get out of here, I can't handle this anymore!' I'm like, 'Larry, take a deep breath here!'"
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) June 11, 2026
– John McEnroe on the atmosphere at MSG during the #Knicks' historic comeback win pic.twitter.com/mw8MJynBSj
On witnessing the comeback in person:
“It was hard for me to believe that I — and I would italicize the ‘I’ if I knew how — that I could witness that. I’m supposed to miss games and moments like that. That’s what I was thinking.”
John McEnroeOn the Garden crowd at Game 4:
“I’ve never felt the energy in a crowd at Madison Square [Garden]. We used to play a big tennis event there [the season-ending Masters], and nothing’s ever come close to that. No one left after an hour.”
On his exchange with Larry David during the comeback:
“We were sort of a little negative at 71-42. He was like, ‘Let’s get outta here.’ He was like, ‘Let’s get outta here.’ I go, ‘Larry, listen, over the years it hasn’t come up the way we expected [as Knicks fans].’ You know, I’ve blown a couple [of] big leads in my life….It was sort of like, ‘Here we go again, we’re gonna lose this. Something bad’s gonna happen.’”
On trying to stay optimistic:
“I said, ‘Larry, we have to get a little more positive here. If they get it down [from 29] to 25, 21, 18, it’s 15 at the end of the [third] quarter.’ This type of stuff. ‘Let’s keep it positive.’ That’s the most positive I’ve ever been at a game, and I’ve been at a lot of sporting events over the course of my 56 years of coming to Knicks games when I was 8 years old.”
Brian Windhorst says if Wemby going to talk trash, you’re gonna do some of the stuff that he does you can’t let this happen at the end of the game:
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) June 11, 2026
“2nd half he plays all but 57 seconds of the whole 2nd half, I feel like he completely ran out of gas. I don’t know understand why… https://t.co/ulp0q4Labcpic.twitter.com/5VK8AhXptI
On the Spurs ruining Victor Wembanyama’s already weak core:
“Second half, he plays all but 57 seconds… I feel like he totally ran out of gas. I don’t understand why he was not getting more rest in the game. At the end of the third quarter he’d played five more minutes than he played in Game 3 and that was a one-point game this was a 15-point game. He couldn’t move defensively, that made it easier for the Knicks and offensively, he was unable to get anything. At one point he went 1 of 10. When he gets fatigued he starts flopping around.”
On Wembanyama’s dirtiness, smacking him back in the face:
“I gotta say, if you are going to talk trash and you are going to do some of the stuff that he does — which he does — you can’t let this happen at the end of the game.”
"We go to the Under Armour Classic to see another player and all of a sudden I'm watching this guy with a with a long wingspan. Guarding the ball, trapping the ball and running the floor. His name wasn't in the book!"
— Knicks Fan TV 🏀🎥📺🏁 (@KnicksFanTv) June 11, 2026
– Tom Crean on discovering a young OG Anunoby pic.twitter.com/qDzGnXBuYU
On OG Anunoby before the game-winner:
“He was ready. The first thing you notice is how open he is as Jalen is going up for the move. And you felt he was going to be open because of the way San Antonio was playing the inbounds. And as Jalen goes into the move, you see OG at the top of the key — and all of a sudden, it was almost like, did the TV actually catch that he tipped it in, he was out of there so fast.”
On Anunoby’s instincts:
“He’s got such quick twitch. He’s anticipatory, he’s got excellent reaction. But he didn’t wait. He knew he was open. But he didn’t wait for a pass that didn’t come. He was gone. He knew Jalen was going to shoot it, especially when Jalen goes to the right, so OG was open, but I think even as Jalen was moving up and releasing that shot, OG was gone. I don’t think it was a lack of them blocking out as much as he was already there.”
On Anunoby’s mentality:
“When you combine the quick mind with quick feet and a quick twitch — he has such an alertness. How many players would’ve paused and hesitated because they were open and didn’t get the ball in that situation?”
On the decisive split second:
“And he didn’t have any of that. And that’s the split-second difference between him being there before everybody realizes you’re coming.”
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