Wembanyama’s flagrant foul fuels Knicks’ historic Game 4 comeback win

Victor Wembanyama’s elbow to Karl-Anthony Towns with 9:27 left in the third quarter became the hinge point of Game 4 at Madison Square Garden. The Spurs were up 81-52 when the flagrant 1 was assessed, but the call steadied New York and helped trigger a 13-0 run that fed the Knicks’ 107-106 comeback win.

The foul carried more weight because it came after the NBA had already declined to retroactively upgrade Wembanyama’s Game 3 shove of Jalen Brunson to a flagrant. That left him at two flagrant points entering Game 4, with an automatic one-game suspension hanging over any player who reaches four in a playoff run. After the Towns elbow, Wembanyama moved to three flagrant points, one away from that line.

The physical edge had already surfaced early. Mitchell Robinson was assessed a flagrant 1 in the first quarter for shoving Wembanyama in the neck and to the floor, a response that set an abrasive tone before the game had settled. Jose Alvarado had warned before tipoff, “He got away with one. That will be the last one.” The sequence turned Game 4 into more than a scoring binge; it became a test of discipline and composure under Finals pressure.

Wembanyama still finished with 36 points, but the Knicks matched him with poise and force. Jalen Brunson scored 36 for New York, and OG Anunoby added 33, including the winning tip-in with 1.2 seconds remaining. The result was the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, and it pushed New York to a 3-1 series lead after its 115-111 win in Game 3.

Wembanyama’s postseason profile now includes an earlier ejection for a flagrant 2 against Minnesota’s Naz Reid, underscoring how close he has come to crossing the threshold in repeated high-stakes moments. On a night when one elbow changed the temperature of the building, the Knicks took control of the game’s emotional center and turned a 29-point hole into a championship chance.