To describe what Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs, played last night at Madison Square Garden, really was, you’d only need Jerry Seinfeld’s face in the stands: the most electrifying and insane Finals game ever seen in the history of basketball.

The home team, at one point down by 29 in the third quarter, managed the impossible: they turned the game around and closed it out by one point thanks to a winning tip‑in by the English forward Anunoby, scored with just one second left on the clock.

It’s the biggest comeback ever recorded in the history of the Finals — a surge that puts the Knicks up 3–1 in the series, just one win away from what would be the franchise’s third NBA title, after those claimed in 1970 and 1973.

Beyond my personal fondness for the New York Knicks, due to New York’s social fabric and multicultural spirit that has always reminded me a bit of “my” Turin, the spectacle witnessed last night in the iconic arena of the Big Apple is the kind of thing that restores your faith in sports.

And this applies even to those who, like myself, have long been rather disgusted by the atmosphere we breathe in our own country — and by the situations that, day after day, drop the mask and reveal how our most‑followed national sport is entirely in the hands of “a gang of crooks” (copyright Silvio Baldini).

At Madison Square Garden, you could feel the essence of sport — the clean, meritocratic kind, untouched by external influence. The home crowd initially watched, almost composed, as the opponents dominated, even applauding here and there the best plays by Wembanyama and his teammates.

Despite the disappointment, however, they never stopped pushing their heroes, fueling an unbelievable comeback from the moment it began to take shape with the first string of three‑pointers by the team’s star point guard Jalen Brunson, who finished with 36 points.

The “Let’s go Knicks” chant, paired with the famous “po po po po po po” from Seven Nation Army during offensive possessions, and the thunderous “Defense, defense!” shouted by 20,000 New Yorkers to ward off the Spurs’ attacks — these give you chills even through a TV screen.

And the Spurs, who saw a seemingly certain victory slip through their fingers? No theatrics, no surrounding the referees, no protests, no venomous statements — something that would be practically guaranteed in our leagues (especially with a certain Milanese team).

Just acceptance of defeat, in pure sporting spirit — the way it should always be.

For anyone who missed it, I’m leaving the link below to the final three and a half minutes of the game — an unmissable spectacle, a breath of fresh air in an increasingly rotten sporting landscape.

👉 LINK TO THE VIDEO

I'm part of ITALYGAME Team

together with:
@girolamomarotta, @sardrt, @mikitaly, @mad-runner, @famigliacurione

👉 VOTA PER NOI COME WITNESS👈