{"id":1986547,"date":"2026-06-12T11:00:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T08:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1986547"},"modified":"2026-06-12T11:00:41","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T08:00:41","slug":"after-knicks-rally-5-more-moments-that-opened-the-door-for-historic-comebacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1986547","title":{"rendered":"After Knicks\u2019 rally, 5 more moments that opened the door for historic comebacks"},"content":{"rendered":"
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OG Anunoby\u2019s tip-in basket\u00a0lifted the New York Knicks to a Game 4 victory<\/a> Wednesday night and capped the largest comeback in NBA Finals history. But the veteran forward\u2019s heroics never would have been possible without San Antonio Spurs guard De\u2019Aaron Fox first giving the Knicks an opening.<\/p>\n

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<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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Epic plays like Anunoby\u2019s tip-in are often the moments we remember, but sometimes they can overshadow an earlier sequence that, had things gone differently, would\u2019ve prevented the comeback.<\/p>\n

We sifted through several epic comebacks and heartbreaking collapses \u2014 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 \u2014 in an unscientific search to highlight five moments that opened the door to some of the most indelible endings in sports history.<\/p>\n

French Open final: Sinner vs. Alcaraz<\/h2>\n

Date<\/strong>: June 8, 2025<\/p>\n

Final score<\/strong>: Carlos Alcaraz wins 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6<\/p>\n

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Jannik Sinner was a point away from his first French Open title, up 40-0 in the fourth set and two sets to one with a service break for good measure. His devastating Roland Garros collapse was foreshadowed by grit and brilliance from defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who dug deep to save all three match points to hold serve, then break Sinner moments later before winning a fourth-set tiebreak that set Court Philippe Chatrier abuzz.\u00a0 A taut fifth set eventually went to another tiebreaker, which Alcaraz dominated to capture his fifth Grand Slam title<\/a>. At 5 hours, 29 minutes, it is the longest French Open final ever.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Super Bowl LI:\u00a0Falcons vs. Patriots<\/h2>\n

Date<\/strong>: Feb. 5, 2017<\/p>\n

Final score<\/strong>: New England Patriots 34, Atlanta Falcons 28, OT<\/p>\n

Many remember Atlanta\u2019s 28-3 third-quarter lead, with most viewers likely considering bedtime before witnessing New England\u2019s shocking comeback. But the Falcons\u2019 collapse became more likely late in the fourth quarter when Trey Flowers sacked<\/a> Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan, who failed to throw the ball away on second-and-11 at the Patriots\u2019 23-yard line with less than four minutes to go. (Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan also failed to call a run play, for what it\u2019s worth.)<\/p>\n

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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\u2019 35, and Atlanta was called for holding on the very next snap \u2014 stopping the clock and pushing the Falcons out of field-goal range.\u00a0After another incompletion on third-and-33, the Falcons were forced to punt,\u00a0opening the door for Tom Brady to seal one of the greatest comebacks the sport has seen.<\/p>\n

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\n 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)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

U.S. Open at Winged Foot: Phil Mickelson<\/h2>\n

Date<\/strong>: June 18, 2006<\/p>\n

Only a few collapses in golf are as easy to pinpoint as Phil Mickelson\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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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 \u201csuch an idiot\u201d to reporters, lamenting an implosion for the ages<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Champions League final: Liverpool vs. AC Milan<\/h2>\n

Date<\/strong>: May 25, 2005<\/p>\n

Final score<\/strong>: Liverpool 3, AC Milan 3 (3-2 on penalty kicks)<\/p>\n

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<\/a>. Liverpool fans inside Istanbul\u2019s Atat\u00fcrk Olympic Stadium suddenly had energy, and before AC Milan could regain its footing, Liverpool scored twice more within six minutes, on goals by Vladim\u00edr \u0160micer and Xabi Alonso, to tie the score. Liverpool eventually hoisted the champions\u2019 hardware in what became known as the \u201cMiracle of Istanbul\u201d in penalty kicks.<\/p>\n

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ALCS:\u00a0Red Sox vs. Yankees<\/h2>\n

Date<\/strong>: Oct. 17, 2004<\/p>\n

Final score<\/strong>: Red Sox 6, Yankees 4, 12 innings<\/p>\n

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera greased the skids for MLB\u2019s most epic collapse when he walked Kevin Millar<\/a> to start the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 4\u00a0with 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.<\/p>\n

In the 12th inning, David Ortiz hit a walk-off, two-run home run to cap Boston\u2019s 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 \u201cCurse of the Bambino<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OG Anunoby\u2019s tip-in basket\u00a0lifted the New York Knicks to a Game 4 victory Wednesday night and capped the largest comeback in NBA Finals history. But the veteran forward\u2019s heroics never would have been possible without San Antonio Spurs guard De\u2019Aaron Fox first giving the Knicks an opening. Rather than dribble the ball and bleed time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1986547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1986547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986547\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1986547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1986547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1986547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}