The final possession of Wednesday’s epic Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs could potentially be investigated by the NBA, or at least should be looked into, per several analysts.
The play in question saw Karl-Anthony Towns guard the inbounder Dylan Harper with 1.2 seconds left with the Knicks up 107-106.
Per several videos circulating on social media, KAT could be heard asking courtside fans at Madison Square Garden to crowd the young Spurs rookie, to ensure he’s unable to inbound the ball properly.
KAT got his fingertips on the ball, which landed in the hands of Stephon Castle, who couldn’t get a clean shot up over Josh Hart. As a result, the Knicks survived and took a commanding 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals.
Knicks Accused of ‘Violation’
Spurs beat writer Dusty Garza is convinced that Towns committed “a violation” in the final play, as NBA rules clearly require courtside fans to remain seated and give the inbounder enough room.
“NBA rules explicitly state that fans are strictly prohibited from entering the playing area or intentionally interfering with players, whether the player is inbounds or out of bounds. Furthermore, rules state that fans must remain within the physical limits of their own seats,” Garza wrote on X.
“In an instance like this, Arena security staff is required to back the front row up, and offenders should be ejected. The second video in the tweet below also shows how egregious this violation was.”
The “second video” in question, shared by a user on X, clearly showed that nearly every fan in the courtside area was on their feet standing a few inches from Harper.
Will Knicks Close out Spurs?
To avoid such incidents, the Spurs will reportedly beef up security for Saturday’s Game 5, where more than 50% of the fans are expected to cheer for the Knicks.
“Meanwhile @BexarCoSheriff in San Antonio announced today that they are beefing up security for Saturday’s game given that there will be thousands of Knicks fans for Game 5,” wrote Garza, noting that the Spurs are wary of another Game 4 situation.
The Knicks have the chance to close out the Spurs in Game 5 and capture their first NBA title since 1973. While the Spurs are 5.5-point betting favorites, many feel the Knicks have the psychological edge after completing a 29-point comeback in Game 4.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps has predicted that the Knicks will finish the job on Saturday.
“The series will end in five, and [OG] Anunoby will be the MVP,” wrote the insider.
“Anunoby has been fantastic throughout the playoffs, easily playing the best basketball of his career — and that was before his epic performance in New York’s Game 4 comeback. After the Knicks’ comeback in Game 4, they will finish this in five Saturday in San Antonio.
“But after the first four games of this series — two of which were decided by a point — who really knows what will happen next?”
Knicks vs Spurs Game 5 will tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Knicks KAT’s ‘Violation’ Could Trigger NBA Investigation Before Game 5 vs Spurs