SAN ANTONIO — When he checked his phone Wednesday night, OG Anunoby had too many messages to count.
His game-winning tip with 1.2 seconds left sparked a huge celebration inside Madison Square Garden and spread quickly.
Among those who reached out are those who once played with the Raptors. Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal Named June 11 “OG Anunoby Appreciation Day.”
“It’s really cool,” Anunoby said Friday inside Frost Bank Arena, as the Knicks prepared for Saturday night’s Game 5. “Everybody has been telling me what it means, and obviously I can see what it means. It’s really cool to be a part of it, and I’m very grateful.”
The shot, which capped an NBA Finals-record comeback for the Knicks from 29 points down in the third quarter, is being talked about as one of the great moments in New York sports history.
It’s up there with David Tyree’s hat trick in Super Bowl XLII, Don Larsen’s perfect game in the World Series, Rangers captain Mark Messier making good on his prediction in the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals with a hat trick, and the Mets’ 1986 World Series comeback in Game 6, among others.
“I tried to explain it to him, but you know OG doesn’t give you a reaction,” Karl-Anthony Towns joked. “So I don’t know if you understand or not. Like you said, it’s a great moment. One of the best sports moments in New York history. But we have to cement it with one more win.”
Towns called Anunoby’s flying tip-in, “The Right Hand of God,” after Game 4. On Friday, a reporter showed Anunoby a photo of his close-up of the first “Hand of God,” Diego Maradona’s controversial goal in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup in Argentina where he used his left hand to score.
The referees didn’t see him use his hand, and afterwards, Maradona said “it’s less about Maradona’s head and less about the Hand of God.”
“I mean, it’s symbolic,” Anunoby said.
This is not Anunoby’s first trip to the Finals. Seven years ago, he got there with the Raptors, but couldn’t play because of an emergency appendectomy. He made a name for himself in court.
In four games against the Spurs, he averaged 23.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and shot an absurd 55.6 percent from 3-point range.
In Game 4, he poured in 33 points and shot 7-of-9 from 3-point range, making for an incredible comeback. If the Knicks win the series, he is the leading candidate to be the series MVP.
“You can’t spell God without OG,” Towns joked.
