NEW YORK — For the New York Knicks, a 53-year wait for another championship might have been decided by what happened in 4 1/2 seconds.And make no mistake: Those 4 1/2 seconds will never be forgotten by the Knicks. Or by the San Antonio Spurs.The situation: Game 4 of the NBA Finals, Knicks down by one in a game where they trailed by as many as 29 points. They call timeout with 5.7 seconds left, just as Jose Alvarado nearly committed a backcourt violation that would have cost the Knicks the basketball.Here’s how it happened.The timeout comes and New York’s Josh Hart is distraught. He blamed himself for missing an assignment at the other end, which allowed San Antonio’s Stephon Castle to hit two free throws that put his team up 106-105.“I’m sitting there just hoping my guys make a play,” Hart said.OG Anunoby inbounds the ball for the Knicks. The Spurs elect to not have a defender impede his vision, using all five of their players to guard the four who were moving about for New York. Jalen Brunson shakes free of a couple of defenders, including the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama, the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, and catches the inbounds pass near midcourt.Brunson takes one dribble and lets a shot fly from about 31 feet, over Wembanyama’s outstretched left arm. The shot, in the air for about 1.2 seconds, misses and hits the rim. It’s short, and the ball bounces off the iron into the air.Anunoby — with nobody in his path — sprints from the out-of-bounds spot into …
