Knicks face Spurs in Game 5, with first NBA title in 53 years in sight

The San Antonio Spurs now own the worst collapse ‌in NBA Finals history, but they refuse to be counted out yet.

While the New York Knicks look to clinch their first NBA title since ⁠1973, the Spurs aim to stay ⁠alive in the best-of-seven series when they host Game 5 on Saturday night.

New York holds a 3-1 lead after overcoming a 29-point deficit in Game 4 and notching a 107-106 victory over the crestfallen Spurs.

“The games that we’re losing have all been close games,” ⁠San Antonio point guard De’Aaron Fox said on Friday. “We still have that belief that we have a chance to win. But we’re taking this one game at a time.

“We’re not looking at it as we need to win three games. We need to win tomorrow and then we give ourselves a chance to play another ⁠game.”

The Knicks won 105-95 and 105-104 in San Antonio to open the series. The Spurs recorded a 115-111 win in New York in Game 3 before the stunning meltdown on Wednesday.

The previous largest documented comeback in an NBA Finals game was 24 by the Boston Celtics over the Los Angeles Lakers in 2008.

San Antonio led by 20 with 9:33 left in the game. Five minutes later, its lead was just four. The Knicks finished off the comeback with OG Anunoby’s stellar tip-in with 1.2 seconds ‌remaining.