By Ian O’Connor | The Athletic, 2026-06-11 10:00:03
纽约——这是麦迪逊广场花园历史上最辉煌的篮球之夜。这一切得益于一场史无前例的NBA总决赛大逆转，得益于一群永不言弃的现场观众，也得益于阿努诺比 (OG Anunoby) 奉献的一记惊天动地的空中神迹，那是其他任何纽约尼克斯球员都无法做到的。
无论是威利斯·里德 (Willis Reed)、帕特里克·尤因 (Patrick Ewing)、戴夫·德布斯切尔 (Dave DeBusschere)、伯纳德·金 (Bernard King) 还是卡梅隆·安东尼 (Carmelo Anthony)。
谁都不行。
在第四战的最后几秒，阿努诺比像超人一样飞身跃起，盯准了杰伦·布伦森 (Jalen Brunson) 偏出的超远投篮，在那些忘记卡位的圣安东尼奥马刺球员头顶飞过。这位身体素质极佳的6英尺7英寸前锋本想完成一次右手补扣，但篮板球的弹向并不理想，飞过了他的头顶。阿努诺比只能用右手手指尖勉强碰到球，将球拨向篮筐。皮球穿网而过，永远载入了NBA的史册，而他自己则一屁股摔在地上，滑出了界外。
世界杯正在进行，所以为什么不把阿努诺比的这一球称为“上帝之手”呢？他的主教练迈克·布朗 (Mike Brown) 坚称，这一球“比尼克斯篮球历史上任何其他战术配合或进球都要伟大”。
杰里·宋飞 (Jerry Seinfeld) 也是现场19812名目击者之一，他们脸上的表情，正如杰克·巴克 (Jack Buck) 在1988年世界大赛中对柯克·吉布森 (Kirk Gibson) 击出全垒打时那句不朽的解说词所描绘的那样：
我不相信我刚刚看到的一切。
现场观众的疯狂程度甚至超过了1999年东部决赛中，当时还在场边观战的拉里·约翰逊 (Larry Johnson) 打进那记著名的“打四分”时的场景。那天我就在现场。1994年尤因带领尼克斯杀入总决赛时，我也在麦迪逊广场花园，当时他站在技术台上，张开双臂，仿佛将整座城市拥入怀中。
这场在第三节落后29分情况下的惊天逆转，以及阿努诺比在比赛还剩1.2秒时完成的令人惊叹的绝杀，帮助球队以107-106险胜。毫无疑问，这是我在麦迪逊广场花园见证过的最伟大的比赛。尼克斯带着3-1的大比分优势离开了球馆。他们距离自1973年以来的首个总冠军，仅剩48分钟真刀真枪的拼搏。
现场到处都是拥抱、亲吻和泪水。如果你不是马刺随行团队的一员，而你却没有起鸡皮疙瘩，那你真该立刻摸摸自己的脉搏，看自己是不是还活着。
在错失了像横扫克利夫兰骑士和费城76人那样横扫圣安东尼奥的机会的两天后，尼克斯在过去15场季后赛中第14次全员成为大赢家，从阿努诺比、布伦森，到卡尔-安东尼·唐斯 (Karl-Anthony Towns) 和豪塞·阿尔瓦拉多 (Jose Alvarado)，每个人都是功臣。
但在庆祝的人群中，只有一位尼克斯成员有胆量在赛前近乎“打包票”预言胜利。而他，也是这支主场球队中输掉比赛代价最大的人。
“我们一定会赢”
詹姆斯·多兰 (James Dolan) 在长岛长大，从小就想成为乔·纳马斯 (Joe Namath) 那样的人物。这么多年过去了，作为麦迪逊广场花园的亿万富翁掌门人，多兰对尼克斯夺冠的前景感到非常乐观，以至于在距离开球不到五个小时的时候，他在WFAN电台的《卡顿秀》(“The Carton Show”) 中上演了一出“百老汇乔” (Broadway Joe) 式的预言。以下是他的一些言论片段：
• “我们今晚会赢，而且我们会赢得总决赛。”
• “如果我们的队员们上场打出他们知道自己能打出、也知道该怎么打的比赛，我们就会赢得这场比赛，我们也会赢得这个系列赛。”
• “这与我们的对手是谁无关，也与裁判无关。关键在于我们自己怎么打。……如果我们准备好迎接这场比赛，我向你们保证，我们一定会赢。”
有些言论带有前提条件，有些则没有。但在至关重要的第四战之前，这些话其实完全没有必要说。
至少当年纳马斯保证在第三届超级碗中战胜大热门巴尔的摩小马队时，他是在迈阿密达阵俱乐部的一场颁奖晚宴上，回应一名预言喷气机队必败的起哄者。
电台主持人克雷格·卡顿 (Craig Carton) 和克里斯·麦克莫尼格尔 (Chris McMonigle) 并没有对多兰起哄，只是问了他一些关于总决赛以及麦迪逊广场花园外取消观赛派对争议的问题。当多兰一再痛斥纽约市长佐兰·马姆达尼 (Zohran Mamdani) 和警察局长杰西卡·蒂施 (Jessica Tisch) 破坏了派对气氛时，我不禁想起了这位我报道过的最引人注目、也最容易一点就着的体育老板。
哪怕是乔治·斯坦布雷纳 (George Steinbrenner)，也不会在世界大赛第四战开始前几个小时掀起这样的舆论风暴。
尼克斯主教练迈克·布朗表示，他在开球前并不知道多兰接受了采访。“你们知道的，他是球队老板，”迈克·布朗说，“他想说什么就说什么。也许他预感到了什么，我不知道。但我百分之百支持他说任何他觉得需要说的话。”
“我认为他们对自己的警察队伍没有信心……市长办公室，还有局长，都没有经验来处理这件事……他们不是尼克斯球迷。他不是尼克斯球迷”——詹姆斯·多兰 pic.twitter.com/Qe4di2bdoq
— Awful Announcing (@ awfulannouncing) 2026年6月10日
但在这场风波之前，麦迪逊广场花园和市长就已经在声明和发帖中互相交锋了。多兰曾邀请他的好友、总统唐纳德·特朗普 (Donald Trump) 在周一晚上的第三战中与他一起坐在包厢里，这导致在总决赛期间球馆周围不得不戒备森严。这无疑改变了球馆内外的氛围，至于这是否影响了球队和观众，则是仁者见仁、智者见智。
邀请这个星球上最有权势也最具争议的人——他同时也是土生土长的纽约人和真正的尼克斯球迷——是一回事。但在电台直播间里与市长和警察局长开战，给自己的篮球队施加更多压力，同时还可能激怒或激励马刺，这完全是另一回事。
在季后赛早些时候，迈克·布朗曾表示，他曾作为助理教练效力过的金州勇士和圣安东尼奥马刺夺冠球队的共同点在于，“没有人会得意忘形。在这支队伍中，从管理层到球员，在这次征程中都没有人得意忘形。”
直到本周。自1999年接管麦迪逊广场花园以来，多兰为这一刻等待了太久，以至于他无法克制自己。嘿，在周一晚上之前，我们中的许多人也都在谈论横扫和夺冠游行计划。
话又说回来，我们中的大多数人并不是尼克斯的老板。
平心而论，在开车前往麦迪逊广场花园的路上，听多兰的采访确实很有趣，也很解闷。
“今天你进入51区的机会都比进入麦迪逊广场花园要大，”他告诉他的顾客们。这位老板声称，马姆达尼和蒂施在处理观赛派对问题上完全是力不从心。“这就像一个花生酱果酱三明治，”他说，“酱汁都从两边挤出来了。”
多兰最搞笑的一句话是：“我们在第三场比赛的半场休息时请来了卡迪·B (Cardi B)，第四场比赛请来了武当帮 (Wu-Tang Clan) 的重聚。而圣安东尼奥只有一只站在沙滩球上的狗。”
但当马刺在当晚的大部分时间里羞辱尼克斯、几乎让全场观众鸦雀无声时，没有人能笑得出来。不止几位持有记者证的撰稿人（包括我在内）已经在敲击键盘，准备讲述一个关于多兰在接近最高荣誉时因分心而害了球队的故事。
接着，尼克斯做到了那个男人所说的事情——他们赢下了比赛，而且是以一种令人惊叹的方式。他们在最后时刻需要一些运气，比如达龙·福克斯 (De’Aaron Fox) 试图出手投篮，而不是运球消耗完时间。
“在体育运动中，你必须得有一点运气，”迈克·布朗说道。
事实证明，尼克斯的运气正是多兰精心布局的产物。正是吉米·D (Jimmy D) 在聘用里昂·罗斯 (Leon Rose) 时押下了赌注。也是他（与罗斯一起）率先推动了替换汤姆·锡伯杜 (Tom Thibodeau) 的决定，这是一次风险更大的豪赌。同样是他，最终批准了迈克·布朗的聘用。
在掌管尼克斯的岁月里，多兰在场内场外都犯过无数错误，但现在终于轮到他的高光时刻了。对他来说，他的篮球队甚至比他的冰球队——纽约游骑兵队——更为重要。
“如果他能赢得一个尼克斯的总冠军，”韦恩·格雷茨基 (Wayne Gretzky) 曾告诉我，“他的生命就圆满了。”
那么，詹姆斯·多兰的人生即将圆满。他的尼克斯刚刚谱写了麦迪逊广场花园有史以来最伟大的故事，也几乎为他在夺冠纸屑游行的花车上预留了一个位置。
由生成式 AI 翻译，译文内容可能不准确或不完整，以原文为准。
点击查看原文：In greatest Knicks victory of all, James Dolan was the biggest winner
In greatest Knicks victory of all, James Dolan was the biggest winner
NEW YORK — This was the most glorious basketball night in Madison Square Garden history, made possible by an NBA Finals comeback like no other, by a crowd that just would not quit, and by a stunning midair play from OG Anunoby that no other New York Knicks player could have made.
Not Willis Reed, Patrick Ewing, Dave DeBusschere, Bernard King or Carmelo Anthony.
Nobody.
In the final seconds of Game 4, Anunoby swooped in while tracking Jalen Brunson’s deep miss, Superman style, and went flying above the San Antonio Spurs players who forgot to put a body on him. The uber-athletic 6-foot-7 forward was thinking of executing a right-hand follow dunk, but the rebound didn’t cooperate. It was over his head. Anunoby could get a piece of the ball only with his right fingertips, which deflected it toward the goal, through the net and into a forever place in NBA lore while he crashed onto his rump and slid out of bounds.
The World Cup is here, so why not call OG’s a “hand of God” play? His coach, Mike Brown, argued that it was “bigger than any other play in the history of Knicks basketball.”
Jerry Seinfeld was among the 19,812 witnesses who had that look on their face best captured by Jack Buck’s immortal call of Kirk Gibson’s homer in the 1988 World Series:
I don’t believe what I just saw.
The crowd went wilder than it did when one of the spectators, Larry Johnson, made his famous four-point play in the 1999 Eastern Conference finals. I was there that day. I was also at the Garden in 1994 when Ewing sent the Knicks to the finals, stood on the scorer’s table and wrapped his extended arms around the city.
This comeback from a 29-point third-quarter deficit, and OG’s OMG finisher with 1.2 seconds left in a 107-106 victory, defined the greatest event I’ve ever attended in the Garden, hands down. The Knicks left the building with a 3-1 series lead. They are 48 earnest minutes of basketball away from their first championship since 1973.
Hugs and kisses and tears all around. If you weren’t a member of the Spurs’ traveling party and you didn’t have goosebumps, you should have checked immediately for a pulse.
Two nights after they kicked away a chance to sweep San Antonio like they had swept the Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers, the Knicks were all big winners for the 14th time in their past 15 postseason games, everyone from Anunoby to Brunson to Karl-Anthony Towns to Jose Alvarado.
But only one Knick amid the celebration had the nerve to essentially guarantee the victory. And he was the one member of the home team who had the most to lose.
‘We will win’
James Dolan grew up on Long Island wanting to be Joe Namath. All these years later, as the billionaire baron of the Garden, Dolan was feeling comfortable enough about his Knicks’ title chances to pull a Broadway Joe on WFAN Radio’s “The Carton Show” fewer than five hours before tipoff. A sample of what he said:
• “We’re going to win tonight, and we’re going to win the finals.”
• “If our guys come out and play the game that they know they can play and they know how to play, we will win this game, and we will win the series.”
• “It’s not who we play, it’s not the referees. It’s how we play. … If we come out ready to play this game, I guarantee you we will win.”
Some comments included qualifiers, some did not. But none of them was necessary right before the crucial Game 4.
At least when Namath guaranteed a Super Bowl III victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts, he was responding to a heckler who had predicted the Jets’ demise during an awards banquet at the Miami Touchdown Club.
Radio hosts Craig Carton and Chris McMonigle were not heckling Dolan, just asking him questions about the finals and the controversy over the canceled watch party outside of the Garden. As Dolan repeatedly ripped into Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, and Jessica Tisch, the police commissioner, for allegedly pooping the party, I couldn’t help but think about the most compelling and combustible sports owner I’ve ever covered.
Even George Steinbrenner wouldn’t be kicking up these dust storms hours before Game 4 of the World Series.
Knicks coach Mike Brown said he wasn’t aware of Dolan’s interview before tipoff. “You know, he owns the team,” Brown said. “He can say whatever he wants to say. Maybe he feels something, I don’t know. But I’m 100 percent OK with him saying whatever he feels like he needs to say.”
"I don’t think they have faith in their own police force…the mayor’s office, and the commissioner too, do not have the experience to do this…they’re not Knicks fans. He’s not a Knick fan” – James Dolan pic.twitter.com/Qe4di2bdoq
— Awful Announcing (@ awfulannouncing) June 10, 2026
But this started before the Garden and the mayor traded punches in statements and posts. Dolan had invited his dear friend, President Donald Trump, to sit with him in his suite for Game 3 on Monday night, creating the need for a police state right smack in the middle of the finals. It certainly changed the dynamic outside and inside the arena, and whether it impacted the team and the crowd is in the eye and the ear of the beholder.
Inviting the most powerful and polarizing person on the planet — also a native New Yorker and legit Knicks fan — is one thing. Fighting the mayor and police commissioner from a radio studio and putting more pressure on your basketball team while potentially angering/inspiring the Spurs is quite another.
Earlier in the postseason, Brown said the common thread connecting the Golden State and San Antonio title teams he worked for as an assistant was the fact that “nobody got ahead of themselves. And nobody in this group, from ownership on down, got ahead of themselves during this run.”
Until this week. Dolan had waited so long for this moment since taking over the Garden in 1999 that he couldn’t help himself. Hey, before Monday night, a lot of us were talking about a sweep and parade plans too.
Then again, a lot of us don’t own the Knicks.
To be fair, Dolan was a good, entertaining listen on the drive into the Garden.
“You have an easier chance of getting into Area 51 today than you do into Madison Square Garden,” he told his customers. The owner claimed that Mamdani and Tisch were in over their heads trying to manage the watch-party issue. “It’s like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich,” he said. “It’s coming out the sides.”
Dolan’s funniest line? “We had Cardi B at halftime for our third game, and a reunification of Wu-Tang (Clan) for the fourth game. And San Antonio had a dog on a beach ball.”
But nobody was laughing when the Spurs were humiliating the Knicks for most of the night, almost silencing the crowd. More than a few credentialed scribes, including this one, were warming up their keyboards to tell the story of Dolan costing his team by losing focus as he closed in on the grand prize.
And then the Knicks did what the man said they were going to do — they won the game, this time in astonishing fashion. They needed some breaks in the end, like De’Aaron Fox trying to shoot the ball rather than dribbling out the clock.
“You’ve got to have a little luck in sports,” Brown said.
As it turns out, the Knicks’ luck has been the residue of Dolan’s design. Jimmy D is the one who gambled with the Leon Rose hire. He’s the one who spearheaded (with Rose) the drive to replace Tom Thibodeau, an even riskier roll of the dice. He’s the one who notarized Brown’s hiring.
Dolan has made a ton of mistakes in his day with the Knicks, on and off the court, but this is his time at last. His basketball team means even more to him than his hockey team, the Rangers.
“It would make his life complete,” Wayne Gretzky once told me, “if he could win a Knicks championship.”
James Dolan’s life is about to become complete then. His Knicks just authored the greatest Garden story ever told, and all but booked him for a float in a ticker-tape parade.
By Ian O’Connor, via The Athletic