Jalen Brunson orchestrated a remarkable comeback, leading the New York Knicks to an overtime victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game One of the Eastern Conference finals. The Knicks rallied from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
Knicks Overcome Fourth-Quarter Deficit
The Knicks trailed 93-71 with under eight minutes remaining. Brunson then ignited a series of drives to the basket, triggering one of the NBA’s greatest postseason comebacks.
New York finished regulation on an 18-1 run, with Brunson tying the game at 101-101 with 19 seconds left. The Knicks then opened overtime with a 9-0 run to take control, as fans celebrated in Madison Square Garden.
“Just keep fighting,” Brunson said. “Keep chipping away. We’re not going to get it back in one possession.”
Brunson’s Scoring and Anunoby’s Return
Brunson concluded the game with 38 points. Mikal Bridges added 18 points, and three Knicks players, including OG Anunoby, each scored 13 points.
Anunoby, who had missed two games with a strained right hamstring, returned to action. He scored nine of his 13 points in overtime.
“I was just going to play hard, be aggressive,” said Anunoby.
Coach Mike Brown noted Anunoby’s impact: “OG gave us a lot of versatility defensively and allowed us to do different things on that end of the floor.”
Cavaliers’ Collapse and Mitchell’s Reaction
Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points for the Cavaliers. Cleveland seemed headed for a third straight road win before their late collapse.
Evan Mobley had 15 points and 14 rebounds. James Harden also scored 15 points, but struggled from three-point range, going one for eight, and had more turnovers (six) than field goals (five).
“There is no secret: We were attacking Harden,” Brown said. “Sometimes you’ve got to do what the game dictates, and they were trying to do the same thing with Jalen, so we said, ‘OK, we feel like we can play that game.’ We try not to play that game much, but we feel like we have a guy that we can play that game with in Jalen.”
Mitchell accepted the blame for the loss, saying, “Ultimately, this isn’t on him – it’s on all of us. It’s not just on one person. He’s been around the league long enough. He understands that.”
Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson stated, “We played great basketball tonight for three quarters. Unfortunately, the fourth quarter – they dominated us.”
The Knicks have now won their eighth straight game. They are now within three wins of their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999.