Has an NBA team ever come back from 3–1 down in the Finals? Only one has done it
History suggests the 3-1 deficit the Spurs find themselves in vs. the Knicks is nearly impossible in the NBA Finals, but one team defied the odds.
The New York Knicks are now one win away from their first NBA championship since 1973 after a chaotic, record-breaking Game 4 swing shifted the 2026 NBA Finals in their favor.
The San Antonio Spurs actually looked in control for most of Game 4 at Madison Square Garden. The Spurs came out blazing, putting up 41 points in the first quarter alone and building what became a 29-point lead, the largest of the series. Their offense was firing early, led by Victor Wembanyama and a hot perimeter shooting stretch that left the Knicks scrambling.
But everything changed after halftime. New York slowly chipped away, then completely flipped the game in the second half, outscoring San Antonio down the stretch and completing a 107–106 comeback win on an OG Anunoby tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining. The Knicks now take a 3–1 series lead and a place in NBA Finals history.
THE FULL ENDING OF GAME 4.
— NBA (@NBA) June 11, 2026
UNCUT. 🍿🍿🍿🍿 pic.twitter.com/ZZNYRySRA3
Has any team ever come back from 3–1 in the NBA Finals?
When a team falls behind 3–1 in the Finals, history is brutal. Almost no one survives it. In fact, there is only one example of it ever happening. The 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers are the only team in NBA Finals history to erase a 3–1 deficit and win the championship, doing it against the Golden State Warriors.
Cleveland won Games 5 and 6 to even the series and then won Game 7 in Oakland to complete the comeback. That Cavaliers team, led by LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, remains the sole blueprint for an NBA Finals miracle.
No other franchise has matched it before or since.
The rarest twist: even 2–0 at home has never been overcome
While the Cavaliers proved a 3–1 comeback is possible, there’s another layer of history that makes it even harder than it sounds. Teams that lose the first two NBA Finals games at home have never come back to win the championship.
That shows just how narrow the path is. Even getting into a position where a comeback is possible usually requires avoiding early home damage, and once the Finals momentum tilts this hard, it almost never swings back.
Nearly half of tickets purchased for Game 5 in San Antonio are from NY/NJ area codes. (via @TickPick)
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 12, 2026
Spurs really about to play a road elimination game in their own city. Wow. pic.twitter.com/wI6HIdsiju
What it means for the Spurs now
San Antonio’s challenge is now twofold - historical and practical. They need to beat a Knicks team that has already won 13 straight postseason games earlier in the run, produced the biggest Finals comeback in franchise history in Game 4, and taken full control of the series at 3–1. But they also need to do something only one team in NBA history has ever managed in the Finals: win three straight elimination-pressure games against a team that has already found its closing gear.
Game 5 now shifts back to San Antonio, and the Spurs must win to stay alive. One more Knicks victory, and the series is over. The game tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET this Saturday.
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