NEW YORK — Maybe playing with fire isn’t the worst thing in the world. Maybe the Knicks are pyromaniacs, fire-bending, fire-breathing basketball animals who play their best basketball only after playing their worst. There were no worse minutes played for the Knicks than the six quarters from tipoff of Game 3 of the NBA Finals — the Knicks’ first playoff loss in 43 days — through the first half of Game 4, where they dug themselves a 29-point hole and stared defeat in the face once again on Wednesday.

These Knicks, however, don’t die. They dig themselves holes and fight like hell to claw back from the dead. They do not burn themselves with fire. They manipulate it. They bend it. They take the very embers heating the seats beneath them and throw them into their opponents’ faces. They did it again, outscoring the Spurs 58-30 in the second half in an incredible 107-106 victory in Game 4 on Wednesday.

The Knicks now lead the NBA Finals, 3-1, with a chance to close out the Spurs on the road in Game 5 at Frost Bank Center on Saturday.

The New York Knicks are now one win away from NBA history. One win away from bringing New York City its first NBA title since 1973. One win away from defeating the San Antonio Spurs to win the 2026 NBA Finals after a miraculous comeback on Wednesday.

They won it on a Hail Mary: On a play drawn-up coming out of a timeout, Jalen Brunson heaved a near 30-foot 3-pointer that bounced off the front of the rim, right off of OG Anunoby’s outstretched hand for a tip-in to put the Knicks up one with 1.2 seconds left. The Knicks then blew-up an out-of-bounds alley-oop designed for one of Victor Wembanyama or Stephon Castle, fans courtside rushing the hardwood floors as Karl-Anthony Towns held his hands high in victory.

The New York Knicks did that. They are the comeback kids, grave-digging basketball undertakers who are coming for everything the Spurs have en route for to the franchise’s first NBA title in over 50 years.

Once again, the Spurs won the first quarter, this time 41-22, increasing their first-quarter cushion on the series to an unfathomable 47 points. Once again, Towns, who hadn’t gotten into foul trouble in what felt like a basketball eternity, pulled off a series of blunders, picking up two fouls in the game’s opening 62 seconds. Once again, the Knicks came up flat on their own home floor.

But this is a situation they’ve become accustomed to: The Knicks came back from down 20-plus three times during last year’s Eastern Conference finals run. They came back from down 22 in Game 1 of the conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers this playoff run and have trailed double digits in every game of these NBA Finals.

There’s no such thing as a hole too deep for this team to climb out from. The Knicks are perfectly imperfect: They play with fire for fun.

This series isn’t over. The Spurs played a significant role in their own demise. Starting veteran point guard De’Aaron Fox looked like the rookie of the group, the deer in headlights who wasn’t ready for a moment so bright. Fox’s shot selection cost the Spurs dearly late on Wednesday, and a Spurs team that started the night shooting a torrid 11 of 16 from deep made just four of their final 16 attempts on the night.

The Knicks also got their revenge on Wembanyama, who went unpenalized for a malicious, above-the-shoulders shove on Brunson in Game 3. Mitchell Robinson elbow checked him in the face, Jose Alvarado pulled off a single-legged take-down in the first half, and Towns drew a frustration flagrant foul when Wembanyama whacked him in the face. The Spurs star now has three flagrant foul penalty points in the playoffs. One more will see him suspended a game.

History suggests the Knicks will lose the first quarter again on Saturday. The same history also suggests it might not matter. The Knicks, for some strange reason, play their best ball with their backs to the wall.

And now, they have a chance to go down as the best team in franchise history.

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