The Spurs are still believers, but it's the Knicks who are 1 game from winning the NBA title

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama surely knew he was overstating the obvious, when he pointed out that there are two possible outcomes for Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night.

— San Antonio wins and extends the series.

— New York wins and becomes NBA champions.

That's it. It's one or the other. After 1,321 games — 1,230 in the regular season, 84 in the playoffs, six more in the play-in tournament and one between the Spurs and Knicks that decided the NBA Cup — it really is that simple. If Wembanyama and the Spurs win in San Antonio, the season lives for at least one more game. If the Knicks win, all that'll be left in this season will be a parade.

The Spurs trail the series 3-1 and Wembanyama understands the reality. Of the previous 38 teams that trailed 3-1 in the NBA Finals, 37 wound up watching the other team celebrate the title. And if that bit of history didn't look daunting enough, the Spurs will try to climb out of this 3-1 hole after the biggest collapse in NBA Finals history — wasting a 29-point lead in a Game 4 loss at New York.

“I think it’s going to go one of two ways,” Wembanyama said shortly after Wednesday's 107-106 loss in Game 4, a game where the Spurs were outscored 55-25 in the final 21 1/2 minutes. “One of two ways. A bad one and a good one. The bad one would be giving up. The good one would be getting stronger through this, getting more together. I know this is what we’re going to do.”

Thursday was an off day for the teams, at least in terms of formal practices. Both sides are scheduled to practice in San Antonio on Friday, and then Game 5 is there on Saturday night — with the Knicks one win away from what would be their first championship in 53 years.

New York won Games 1 and 2 of the finals in San Antonio — rallying from double-digit deficits in both games — to take command of the series. The Knicks, with a win Saturday, would become the first team since Houston in 1995 to go 3-0 on the Spurs' floor in a single postseason series.

“Our mentality has to be 0-0, the way it’s been,” Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said, repeating the mantra he's cited time and time again in this postseason run. “It has to be that way, and I feel like us moving forward with that mindset can really benefit us. There's nothing to celebrate. It’s not over yet, not even close.”

It's common sense for the team with a 3-1 lead to hold off on celebrating. But in this case, there's also some truth to what Brunson is saying.

Yes, the 3-1 deficit has been proven to be virtually insurmountable in NBA history; the only team that successfully escaped its grip in the finals was LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, when they rallied to beat the Golden State Warriors for that title.

This series, however, isn't exactly a statistical runaway.

The Knicks have outscored the Spurs by a total of eight points over the four games. Shooting is basically even; the Knicks are at 44%, the Spurs at 43%. The Knicks have made 52 3-pointers, the Spurs 49. Free-throw percentage, Knicks 79%, Spurs 78%. The Knicks have three more rebounds and both teams have exactly 90 assists through four games.

“Just take this one game at a time,” said Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox, who took heavy criticism for electing to try a layup — which was blocked — in the final seconds of Game 4 instead of taking time off the clock with a one-point lead. “It obviously looks like a steep hill, but this is something that’s happened before. Take this thing one game at a time. We’ve been in a position to win all these games. We’ve been up double digits. We have to figure out what we need to do to be able to put some of these games away.”

It has been a baffling problem for the Spurs.

They led Game 1 by one with 1:51 left, then lost after the Knicks finished on an 11-0 run.

They had the ball in a tie game with 11 seconds left in Game 2, then lost after Wembanyama threw a pass that Stephon Castle never saw and became a turnover that led to Brunson's game-winning free throw.

And now, this — a 29-point lead wasted in Game 4, and they still led by one until Anunoby's tip-in with 2.1 seconds left.

"We have to try to put this behind us," Fox said.

If they don't, the Knicks' 53-year wait for a title could end Saturday night.

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San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell passes the ball as New York Knicks guard Mikal Bridges (25), guard Jalen Brunson (11) and center Ariel Hukporti (55) defend during the first half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) shoots past San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle during first half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, right, drives as New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby, left, defends during the second half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama shoots against the New York Knicks during the first half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (Al Bello/Pool Photo via AP)

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots against the New York Knicks during the second half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (Al Bello/Pool Photo via AP)

Several hundred thousand homes and businesses were without power Thursday after severe storms swept through the Midwest — damaging buildings and structures across a wide swath and causing more than a thousand flight delays and cancellations. One person died after being struck by a tree in Iowa, police said.

The National Weather Service said it received more than a dozen reports of tornadoes Wednesday across northern Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Illinois. Trees and utility wires were reported down across the region.

In Des Moines, Iowa, a 54-year-old man died at a homeless encampment in a park after being hit by a tree that “broke apart and fell during strong storms,” police said in a statement. The man was found critically injured Thursday morning and died at the scene, authorities said. There were no immediate reports of other deaths or injuries from the storms.

Severe weather was expected to continue in the region on Thursday, while the Northeast and mid-Atlantic were bracing for high heat and humidity as well as a slight risk of strong storms through Friday, according to the weather service.

Residents of Springfield, Illinois, believe a tornado touched down in their area late Wednesday. Two buildings at the Animal Protective League animal shelter in Springfield were heavily damaged, but none of the nearly 150 cats and 28 dogs housed there were injured, said Deana Corbin, the group's executive director.

“It pretty much wiped out our shelter facility, took the roofs off both of our buildings,” Corbin said. “It’s a miracle. We were so blessed to not have any injuries of either people or animals.”

The community pitched in to take in all the cats and dogs temporarily, including a local animal control center, veterinarians and residents, she said.

Damage also was reported at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield.

Weather service meteorologist Frank Pereira said the frontal system that produced the storms, including high winds and hail, was moving eastward Thursday, fueled by cool air from Canada clashing with warm, humid air from the South.

“Going forward, we’re expecting another area of severe weather to develop across portions of the central Plains, Midwest, particularly from Iowa, northern Missouri, northeastward through the Great Lakes,” Pereira said. “Again, it’s all tied into a pretty well-defined frontal system.”

Tornado warnings were issued in Iowa north of Des Moines on Thursday as strong storms hit the area.

Potentially dangerous heat and high humidity also was forecast Thursday and Friday for a swath of the East Coast from the mid-Atlantic to the Northeast, where daily high record temperatures could be broken in numerous places, the weather service said. Temperatures in the mid-90s Fahrenheit (mid-30s Celsius) were expected, but with the humidity it could feel like 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) or more, the service said.

Philadelphia declared a heat health emergency for Thursday and Friday, activating cooling centers, home visits by field teams, outreach to people experiencing homelessness and other services. New York City officials were also urging residents to take precautions, including drinking plenty of water and finding a cool place to stay if they do not have air conditioning.

Wednesday storms moved into the Chicago area in the afternoon, downing trees and damaging some buildings.

The two major Chicago airports, Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Chicago Midway International Airport, temporarily put all flights on hold in the evening due to thunderstorms. A similar ground stop was issued at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York due to thunderstorms.

By Wednesday evening, more than 1,000 flights going into and out of Chicago had been delayed or canceled, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website.

Air traffic appeared to return to normal Thursday morning, with only 25 flight cancellations nationwide, although there were 300 delays, FlightAware reported. But the Federal Aviation Administration said it expected thunderstorms to cause more flight delays Thursday.

Strong winds blew part of the roof off an apartment building in the Chicago area, forcing residents to leave, according to NBC 5 Chicago. Elsewhere, barns collapsed in Wisconsin and buildings were crushed in rural northern Missouri, photos and video online showed.

More than 300,000 customers had no electricity in the Midwest on Thursday, down from about 390,000 earlier in the morning. There were nearly 190,000 outages in Illinois, down from 226,000 earlier the morning. A large number of outages in Cook County, including Chicago, had been fixed. Another 74,000 homes and businesses were without power in Michigan, according to poweroutage.us.

Commonwealth Edison Company, which provides electric service across northern Illinois, said the storms had downed poles and wires.

“We know how difficult and frustrating it is to be without power, and we truly appreciate your patience,” the company said in a post on X early Thursday morning. “Right now, more than 100 crews are working around the clock to safely and efficiently restore service after this unique storm brought widespread damage and challenging conditions across our service area.”

The storms soaked Rate Field in Chicago before Wednesday night’s game between the White Sox and the Atlanta Braves.

The story has been updated to correct the name of the White Sox stadium to Rate Field, from Guaranteed Rate Field.

Associated Press reporters Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

This frame grab from video shows a downed tree after storms struck Amherst, Ohio, west of Cleveland on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Courtesy WEWS/NEWS5) TELEVISION OUT

Grounds crew remove water from the field after severe thunderstorms came through the Chicago area before a baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/David Banks)

This frame grab from aerial video shows a building in Stickney, Illinois, after its roof was damaged by the severe storms that struck the Chicago area on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Courtesy WMAQ-TV in Chicago) TELEVISION OUT