Legendary New York Broadcaster Has Three Words For Knicks Fans

The New York Knicks inched within one win of their first title since 1973 in the most remarkable fashion possible Wednesday night, when they overcame a 29-point deficit to stun the San Antonio Spurs, 107-106, in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

After such a dramatic win - and with such a lifelong goal tantalizingly within reach following nearly two months of dominant postseason play by the Knicks- there are Knicks fans who believe the championship is now a fait accompli.

But legendary New York broadcaster Howie Rose, who has a unique understanding of what Wednesday night meant to Knicks fans and what is still left to accomplish, has some friendly yet necessary advice.

"In order to validate it for eternity, they've got to win," Rose told Lindy's Sports before he broadcast Thursday's Mets-St. Louis Cardinals game. "They've got to finish it off. And it's not over."

A Miracle Win For The Knicks…Who Still Need One More Win

First things first though: Rose, who called Stephane Matteau's overtime goal that sent the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final in 1994 as well as Mike Piazza's game-winning homer in the first sporting event in New York following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, also knows a historic sporting event when he sees it.

And the Knicks' stunning comeback - topped off when OG Anunoby soared between three Spurs players to tap in Jalen Brunson's errant 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left- is an all-time miraculous sporting moment. New York or otherwise.

"For the younger generation of Mets fans who don't remember Game 6 in the '86 World Series and who have often wondered what did that feel like to be where their were, down two, two outs, down to their last strike," Rose said. "Now you know how that felt to a Mets fan. It's right there with any of the great ones."

Still, Rose knows of what he speaks when it comes to not celebrating too much before the championship is clinched.

Thirty-two years ago this month, the Rangers, seeking their first championship since 1940, raced out to a three games to one lead over the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Final. Game 5 was played at Madison Square Garden on June 9 - when the front cover of one of the tabloids read TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT!

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But the Canucks never trailed in a 6-3 win - and then never trailed two nights later, when they forced Game 7 with a 4-1 win in Vancouver. Three stressful days later, the Rangers edged the Canucks 3-2 in a game not decided until the very last second, when Craig McTavish won a faceoff with Pavel Bure to set off a wild celebration at Madison Square Garden.

"Flying back on the charter after Game 4 in Vancouver in '94, we're all thinking ‘We're going home to win the Stanley Cup,'" Rose said. "And they had to sweat out right down to the last second of Game 7.

"So everybody, pump the breaks a little bit here. It was great. It's a forever moment. But it'll solidify itself if they finish the job."

The Championship Clincher Is The Toughest

Brian Leetch, a star defenseman on the 1994 Rangers, told ESPN for a 20th anniversary story about the Rangers' title that captain Mark Messier, a five-time Stanley Cup winner with the Edmonton Oilers, "…kept telling me the fourth game would be the toughest you'll ever have to win in your life. And it was."

Messier has been proven correct plenty of times over the last 30-plus years.

The Cleveland Cavaliers became the only NBA team to overcome a three games to one deficit in the NBA Finals in 2016, when they stunned the Golden State Warriors, who'd won a record 73 regular season games.

Cleveland's baseball team was on the other side of such a comeback a few months later, when the Chicago Cubs won their first title since 1908 by storming back from a three games to one deficit in the World Series.

Two years ago, the Edmonton Oilers forced a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final after falling behind three games to none against the Florida Panthers, who escaped with a 2-1 victory in the winner-take-all clash.

Three teams this century have blown a three games to none lead in a best-of-seven series prior to the championship round - the 2010 Boston Bruins and the 2014 San Jose Sharks in NHL first-round series and, most famously, the 2004 New York Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series.

The Yankees were three outs away from sweeping the Boston Red Sox, who tied the score against Mariano Rivera to begin baseball's lone 0-3 comeback.

"How do you think Yankees fans felt going into Game 4 at Fenway?" Rose said. "I guess the benefit of advancing age is that you do have the ability to reference things from the past that reinforce how special a night and moment (Wednesday) night was, but that also remind you that its not over. It's not over."

Related: Three Reasons Why Knicks-Spurs Could Still Be An NBA Finals Classic

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This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 3:54 PM.