OG Anunoby’s tip-in basket lifted the New York Knicks to a Game 4 victory Wednesday night and capped the largest comeback in NBA Finals history. But the veteran forward’s heroics never would have been possible without San Antonio Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox first giving the Knicks an opening.
Rather than dribble the ball and bleed time off the clock with his team holding a one-point lead, Fox attempted a fast-break layup with 11 seconds to go that was blocked by Anunoby. Not long after that, Anunoby soared through the Manhattan sky for the game-winning tip, and a 3-1 series lead that has New York on the brink of its first NBA title in 53 years.
Epic plays like Anunoby’s tip-in are often the moments we remember, but sometimes they can overshadow an earlier sequence that, had things gone differently, would’ve prevented the comeback.
We sifted through several epic comebacks and heartbreaking collapses — think Reggie Miller scoring eight points in nine seconds, or Jean van de Velde blowing a 3-shot lead with a hole to go at Carnoustie — in an unscientific search to highlight five moments that opened the door to some of the most indelible endings in sports history.
French Open final: Sinner vs. Alcaraz
Date: June 8, 2025
Final score: Carlos Alcaraz wins 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6
Super Bowl LI: Falcons vs. Patriots
Date: Feb. 5, 2017
Final score: New England Patriots 34, Atlanta Falcons 28, OT
Many remember Atlanta’s 28-3 third-quarter lead, with most viewers likely considering bedtime before witnessing New England’s shocking comeback. But the Falcons’ collapse became more likely late in the fourth quarter when Trey Flowers sacked Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan, who failed to throw the ball away on second-and-11 at the Patriots’ 23-yard line with less than four minutes to go. (Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan also failed to call a run play, for what it’s worth.)
The Falcons needed to tick time off the clock and kick a field goal to push their lead to 11 points. Instead, the 12-yard sack pushed the Falcons into third-and-23 at the Pats’ 35, and Atlanta was called for holding on the very next snap — stopping the clock and pushing the Falcons out of field-goal range. After another incompletion on third-and-33, the Falcons were forced to punt, opening the door for Tom Brady to seal one of the greatest comebacks the sport has seen.
New England Patriots defensive end Trey Flowers (98) brings down Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan during Super Bowl LI. (Leslie Plaza Johnson / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
U.S. Open at Winged Foot: Phil Mickelson
Date: June 18, 2006
Only a few collapses in golf are as easy to pinpoint as Phil Mickelson’s at Winged Foot. The left-hander, seeking his third Grand Slam title in a row, had a two-shot lead with three holes to play before a bogey on No. 16 and a scrambling par on No. 17 reduced his edge to just one.
Mickelson simply needed to make par on No. 18, a task that would have been much more manageable if his tee shot on the dogleg left had found the fairway. His driver had been dicey all day, but the left-hander reached for it on the tee box and sprayed it wide, his ball bouncing off a tent and landing in a trampled grassy area, with little to no shot at the green. His second shot ricocheted off a tree, and his third landed in a greenside bunker. By the time his putt for double-bogey settled into the cup, Geoff Ogilvy was being crowned the unlikely champion, and Mickelson was calling himself “such an idiot” to reporters, lamenting an implosion for the ages.
Champions League final: Liverpool vs. AC Milan
Date: May 25, 2005
Final score: Liverpool 3, AC Milan 3 (3-2 on penalty kicks)
AC Milan, leading 3-0 at the half, gave Liverpool hope by allowing an unmarked Steven Gerrard to score on a header in the 54th minute. Liverpool fans inside Istanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium suddenly had energy, and before AC Milan could regain its footing, Liverpool scored twice more within six minutes, on goals by Vladimír Šmicer and Xabi Alonso, to tie the score. Liverpool eventually hoisted the champions’ hardware in what became known as the “Miracle of Istanbul” in penalty kicks.
ALCS: Red Sox vs. Yankees
Date: Oct. 17, 2004
Final score: Red Sox 6, Yankees 4, 12 innings
Yankees closer Mariano Rivera greased the skids for MLB’s most epic collapse when he walked Kevin Millar to start the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 4 with the Yankees clinging to a 4-3 lead. The Red Sox immediately inserted Dave Roberts as a pinch runner to steal a base, plus some momentum in a series they were trailing 3-0. Roberts stole on the first pitch to Bill Mueller, just beating the tag from Derek Jeter. Then Mueller smoked a single two pitches later to score Roberts and tie the game, sending Fenway Park into a frenzy.
In the 12th inning, David Ortiz hit a walk-off, two-run home run to cap Boston’s comeback and transform the series. The Red Sox won the next three games to stun the Yankees, and they remain the only team in MLB history to come back from 3-0 to win a best-of-seven playoff series. To top it off, they swept the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series to finally end the “Curse of the Bambino.”