The New York Knicks are on the verge of winning their first title since 1973. Not only did they go up 3-1 in the NBA Finals, but they also pulled off the most historic comeback in NBA Finals history: coming back from being down 29 points. No matter what contest you put into something like that, a 30-point swing in perhaps the most decisive game of the season is beyond impressive.
Unfortunately for anyone who has been rooting for the Boston Celtics, the Knicks pulling this off also means they topped the Boston Celtics for the largest comeback in NBA Finals history. This originally belonged to the Celtics after they came back from 24 points down to beat the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals.
Ah, good times.
Much like the Knicks, both winning the game and doing it in the fashion that they did basically stuck a fork in their opponent. The Celtics didn't eliminate the Lakers the next game, but straight-up embarrassed them the one after that. No one's predicting the future per se, but New York winning the way they did makes it downright impossible to believe San Antonio is coming back from this.
But crazier things have happened.
Celtics' comeback was more impressive though
Not to take away from the Knicks' success because in all honesty, they've earned this. They didn't lie down when it looked like the Spurs were running away with Game 4, but a lot of what happened last night comes down to the experience factor.
The Knicks have plenty of vets who have been in the trenches. The Spurs may have more talent on their roster, but a running theme in this series has been San Antonio's lack of experience coming back to bite them whereas New York's experience being a decisive role in their commanding lead in this series.
The 2008 Celtics had a different predicament on their hands. They were going up against one of the best NBA players of all time at his apex (Kobe Bryant, who won MVP that season) playing for a streaking Lakers team that had lost three playoff games total before their finals matchup against the Celtics.
In fact, before the series, LA was notoriously considered the favorite because of their smooth path to the finals compared to the Celtics' rocky road. The fact that Boston had the momentum from start to finish of this series, arguably best highlighted by their historic comeback, made it even more impressive. Oh, and they were on the road.
If anything, the Knicks topping it further shows how historic their playoff run has been. The commonality is that if and when New York gets over the hump, no one can take away from their success much like Boston.
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