ESPN has more than 50 cameras set up around the arena during NBA Finals broadcasts, but only one of those angles is unofficially named after a New York Knicks legend. And moments after OG Anunoby tipped in a rebound to put the Knicks up 1 with 1.2 seconds left on the clock Wednesday, that was the shot ESPN director Mike Schwab wanted ready.
During New York’s Finals run before this one, at the end of the last century, Larry Johnson’s four-point play in the waning seconds of Game 3 in the Eastern Conference Finals similarly put his team up by one. Broadcasting that day, NBC cut to an ultrawide shot of the crowd erupting in jubilation.
ESPN had the clip of Johnson’s play ready to show during Game 4, though for most of the contest it didn’t seem relevant. Still, as the Spurs held a 27-point lead at halftime, the broadcast crew wisely reminded itself that no lead is safe in today’s NBA. The Knicks themselves had mounted multiple improbable comebacks over the last two playoffs.
While the broadcast spent the first half focused on the Spurs’ record-setting start, when the Knicks cut the lead to single digits in the fourth quarter, the story being told changed, and the faces of some of New York’s A-list fans came to life. An Anunoby three that cut the lead to four points with 4:32 remaining was followed by shots of Larry David, Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Swift celebrating. Fat Joe, Jimmy Fallon and Adam Sandler clips welcomed viewers back from break with 38 seconds left, this time with the Knicks up one.
