NBA Finals: Towns and Alvarado Emotional After Historic Knicks Comeback: "I Just Wanted an Opportunity"

Karl-Anthony Towns and Jose Alvarado spoke after a historic night for the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals. The Knicks overcame a 29-point deficit against the San Antonio Spurs and won Game 4 by 107-106 thanks to a crucial offensive rebound and putback by OG Anunoby. Towns spoke through tears of joy about the energy of Madison Square Garden and New York's resilience, while Alvarado highlighted the bench's role and the need to close out the series.

Q. Karl, can you talk about the emotional roller coaster this game was, from the first half to the second, with the crowd getting into it and going through it with you guys?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: Man, credit to our fans, for real. They stuck with us. It was an ugly game, really ugly. We weren't up to the standard in the first half.

But they stuck with us. They stayed in their seats and kept cheering us on, and kept finding ways to give us energy. This is a testament to them, to the toughness, to the resilience, to the way New York is. We, from the ground up, found a way to pull it out in the second half. As anyone who lives in New York knows, if you want to make your way in this city, you have to be willing to pull it from the ground, and we did that tonight.

Q. OG's shot is going to go down in history… that offensive rebound is going to go down in history as one of the greatest in NBA history.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: The right hand of God.

Q. What does it say about him as a player to show up that big in that moment?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: It's OG, simply.

JOSE ALVARADO: He's been doing it throughout this entire playoff run. Credit to him for getting the rebound and doing something special.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: That's why, whenever we're in the game with OG, in the third quarter, in the second quarter, maybe he doesn't feel like he's playing his best basketball. Whenever I talk to him, I tell him: I know what OG Anunoby is going to do in the fourth quarter. And he did exactly what I thought he would do. He gave us a chance to win, and that's all you can ask from the best two-way player in the NBA.

Q. Throughout the season, the bench, you talk about the players, about everyone contributing. Jose, tonight you played in the fourth quarter. What does it mean to you, Jose, to play the fourth quarter the way you did to help get this win? And, on a lighter note, as you prepare for the Spurs, what do guys like Tyler and Ariel do on the scout team and who plays Wemby?

JOSE ALVARADO: First of all, you know, I think we all stick together, stay connected, and believe in each other. That's the main thing.

Playing the fourth quarter, that's something that, when you play this sport, that's where you want to be, in the fourth quarter. So credit to our bench. All those guys you just mentioned had a huge, huge role today, and we all stepped up when our number was called. We're happy we did the job well today.

Q. For both of you, this isn't the first time you've come back from a big first-half deficit. I was wondering, for both of you, when halftime came, Mike Brown said he didn't show any video and the coaches didn't show any video. What was going through your head when you were down 29 at halftime? Did anyone say something to spark the reaction you had?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: For us, when we came into the locker room at halftime, we understood that we were disappointed with the performance we had in the first half. That is, of course, the result of coming in there.

But I've always talked about the unity and the connection of this team. We came in there, people spoke. Jose said that, regardless of what the outcome of the game was, at least we couldn't stop working on our standards and being who we are.

JOSE ALVARADO: Yes.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: In my case, I mentioned experience. I said that last year we were in this situation two games in a row in Boston and found a way to pull it out. You know, experience teaches you a lot, and I think experience today allowed us to know that we couldn't let go of the rope. We always have a chance if we go out there, raise another level, and give ourselves an opportunity. All you can ask for after the first half we had is simply an opportunity.

You know, sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes you make your own luck. We made our own luck today.

JOSE ALVARADO: Yeah, and to follow up on what he said, basically I came into the locker room at halftime and said that, regardless of the outcome, in these next 24 minutes we better go out there and show them how we really play basketball, and that's what we did.

Obviously, the result was that we won. But, regardless of that, we needed to come out strong because we have another game to play there. So we needed to show them in those next 24 minutes that the first half was a fluke.

Q. You two are local guys. Being in Madison Square Garden and feeling what that was at the end, that nobody left the building and all the craziness out there… What did you feel? Did you even realize what was happening?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: No, I've seen people leave before the game ended at MSG, watching it before on MSG Network.

I think, in my case, you could see my reaction, the emotion, which somehow overflowed in that moment. They were tears of joy, you know. It wasn't crying inconsolably or anything, just tears of joy, because, like I said, all you can ask for is an opportunity.

And for me, personally, I just wanted an opportunity in life. And I had one. I had one on that last play, with OG hitting the shot and us getting the stop. I just wanted an opportunity in life, just one thing that went my way, once, and I'm glad it happened. I'm glad it happened for us, man. God is good, man.

JOSE ALVARADO: You said it, two local guys, right? I'm not going to sugarcoat this: I almost cried, not because… obviously there's one more, but I'm in Madison Square Garden, at the end of the fourth quarter, playing with these guys, and we're playing for something special.

I was just… I was just emotional. It's something I really couldn't put into words. And like I said, we can get emotional and enjoy this, but we have one more to do.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: For sure.

JOSE ALVARADO: So that's the main goal, the next game.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: To add to what he said, I think everyone who was in the game, obviously, could feel an abundance of joy in one moment from everyone, a collective joy that came from all of us in that instant. Hearing the buzzer sound and not seeing the ball go in the basket… I think we all felt something, that emotion was special. It's something that MSG hadn't had in a long time, so real credit to our fans.

Q. Mike Brown came out here and applauded Jose, and I don't know who else, but some people joined in. There was applause for you in this room about 15 minutes ago. You came in, talked about the crowd, how special it was. What do you see in this room, what do you feel?

JOSE ALVARADO: It's crazy, 2026 NBA Finals behind me. Just being part of this journey is incredible. I appreciate, you know, the coach and everyone giving me my flowers, but this is what I've worked hard for, to be in moments like this and shine in them.

So I'm glad it went our way today, and I'll definitely remember this for the rest of my life. But you know, the next game, that's the next game, man. We have to worry about when we play there.

Q. You've played with a lot of point guards. What's special about Jose?

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: I mean, it's hard for me, being Dominican, to speak like this about a Puerto Rican, but he is…

JOSE ALVARADO: I knew that was coming.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: Man, when you talk about someone who not only rises to the moment but plays with his emotion and uses it to his advantage, that's a rare quality. A lot of times you play with people who play with emotion, but that emotion overwhelms them. In Jose's case, that emotion is what drives him and makes him take it to another level.

He's a special player. His tenacity, his defensive ability and his offensive ability, which I could see firsthand when D-Lo asked if he could shoot, and now I know he really can shoot. It's special.

He has so much in his game that people don't recognize, and I'm glad that on this stage, on a night like this, he could show the world what he can do when given an opportunity. And Jose Alvarado clearly told the world tonight that he's a big-moment player.

And that's coming from a Dominican.