New York Knicks beat Cavaliers 115-104

The New York Knicks opened the Eastern Conference finals with a 115-104 overtime win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night after erasing a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit. Jalen Brunson scored 38 points, according to the Associated Press and box-score reports, as New York turned a game Cleveland controlled for most of the night into a series-opening loss for the Cavaliers. The result put the Knicks ahead 1-0 in a best-of-seven matchup that is now one half of the NBA’s final four, with the Western Conference finals set between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs. Off the court, demand around the Knicks has risen with the run: The Athletic reported on May 18 that the team’s average regular-season ticket price reached $815 this season. ### How did the Knicks get to 115-104 after trailing by 22? The Knicks trailed by 22 points in the fourth quarter before forcing overtime and then outscoring Cleveland 14-3 in the extra period. The Associated Press described it as the largest postseason comeback in franchise history, and Sporting News and Basketball-Reference box-score pages show the final margin at 115-104 after overtime. (apnews.com) Brunson’s 38 points led New York, and the late rally gave the Knicks a win in a game Cleveland had led for the majority of the night. The comeback was large enough that CBS Sports framed it as a historic rally in its updated playoff bracket coverage. ### Who delivered the key number in Game 1? Jalen Brunson was the central figure in the comeback with 38 points for New York. (apnews.com) That total led all Knicks scorers in the Game 1 box score and was the headline figure in multiple immediate game reports. The 22-point deficit is the other number attached to the game. AP said Brunson “sparked” the comeback, while CBS Sports and Sporting News both centered the scale of the rally in their postgame coverage. (apnews.com) ### Where does this leave the playoff bracket? The NBA’s conference finals are now set with Knicks-Cavaliers in the East and Thunder-Spurs in the West. (apnews.com) CBS Sports’ updated bracket and the NBA’s official playoff page both list those two matchups as the remaining series. USA Today’s conference-finals schedule listing said New York, as the higher seed, hosts Games 1, 2, 5 and 7, while Cleveland hosts Games 3, 4 and 6. (apnews.com) That means the Knicks’ Game 1 win came on their home floor and preserved home-court advantage at the start of the series. ### Why are ticket prices part of this story? (cbssports.com) The Athletic reported on May 18 that the average regular-season price for a Knicks ticket rose from $79 in 1999 to $815 this year. That figure has circulated alongside the conference-finals run as a measure of demand around the team in New York. Secondary ticket listings for the series showed elevated asking prices for games at Madison Square Garden after the matchup was set, though resale prices move. (usatoday.com) Gametime listings viewed on May 20 showed Game 2 seats starting above $700 and potential NBA Finals home-game listings far higher. ### What comes next in the series? Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday in New York before the series shifts to Cleveland for Games 3 and 4, according to schedule listings published by USA Today and ticket platforms tracking the series calendar. (article.wn.com) The Western Conference finals continue separately with Oklahoma City facing San Antonio. (usatoday.com) (gametime.co)