With 7:52 left in the fourth quarter, Cleveland led 93-71. The Cavaliers looked poised to steal Game 1 at Madison Square Garden, put New York in an immediate 0-1 hole, and send a message. What followed instead became the largest comeback in Knicks playoff history.
Jalen Brunson (38 pts, 6 ast, 5 reb, 3 stl) scored 17 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, tied the game at 101-101 with 19 seconds left in regulation, then capped a stunning 44-11 New York run to close out Cleveland 115-104 in overtime on Tuesday night.
A collapse Cleveland won’t forget quickly
Donovan Mitchell (29 pts) had Cleveland firmly in control through three quarters, and his last basket of the night came with 8:19 left on the clock. From that moment, the Cavaliers shot 22 percent and went through long, damaging scoreless stretches while New York clawed back possession by possession.
Brunson either scored or assisted on 23 of New York’s final 32 points in regulation. His pull-up midrange, his drive-and-finish through contact, his calm at the free-throw line – Cleveland had no answer. The crowd, flat for much of the fourth, erupted in stages, each Knicks bucket louder than the last.
“It’s a resilient group,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said post-game, per NBA.com. “We just kept competing.”
The numbers in context
New York’s 44-11 run over the final 7:40 plus overtime is the second-largest fourth-quarter playoff comeback in the play-by-play era – and the largest in franchise history. There’s more context: with the Spurs winning WCF Game 1 in double overtime the previous night, Tuesday marked the first time in NBA history that both Conference Finals Game 1s went to overtime.
OG Anunoby returned to the starting lineup after his hamstring injury and held his own on both ends. The supporting cast stayed composed through overtime. But this was Brunson’s night – a 38-point, 6-assist performance that confirms he belongs among the most reliable closers in the league.
What’s next
Game 2 tips off Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, still at Madison Square Garden. Cleveland needs an answer for how it lost a 22-point lead in under eight minutes. New York heads into Game 2 knowing one thing it didn’t know at tip-off Tuesday: no deficit is insurmountable.
Bottom line
- Historic comeback: New York’s 44-11 run is the largest comeback in Knicks playoff history and second-largest fourth-quarter comeback in play-by-play era history.
- Brunson as closer: 23 of New York’s last 32 points in regulation went through him. He tied the game at 101 with 19 seconds left.
- Cleveland’s collapse: Mitchell (29 pts) went scoreless from 8:19 left in Q4. The Cavaliers shot 22% over the final stretch.
Sources: NBA.com recap – ESPN box score
