Knicks win Game 1 in OT

The New York Knicks opened the Eastern Conference finals with a 115-104 overtime win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, but the score only partly explains what happened. New York trailed 93-71 with 7:52 left in regulation before Jalen Brunson led a collapse by Cleveland and a surge by the Knicks that carried through overtime. Brunson finished with 38 points, and the Knicks outscored the Cavaliers 44-11 over the final 7:40 of the fourth quarter and the extra period. The result gave New York an eight-game playoff winning streak after entering the series off a 53-29 regular season. ### How big was the comeback? The Knicks erased a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter, which NBA.com called a 22-point comeback win and the franchise’s biggest playoff comeback. New York closed regulation on a 30-8 run, then opened overtime with a 9-0 burst and never trailed again. (cbssports.com) The Cavaliers led for most of the night and were up by 22 after Donovan Mitchell’s basket made it 93-71. From there, Cleveland shot 22% the rest of the way, according to NBA.com’s recap. ### What did Brunson do late? Brunson scored 17 points across the fourth quarter and overtime, including the tying basket with 19 seconds left in regulation, according to the Associated Press game story carried by CBS Sports. (nba.com) He added five rebounds, six assists and three steals. Brunson described the closing stretch simply. “Find a way,” he said, according to NBA.com. “We got some stops, kept fighting, kept believing. (nba.com) We just kept chipping away.” ### How did Cleveland let it slip? Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points for Cleveland, while Evan Mobley added 15 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks. (cbssports.com) But the Cavaliers stopped scoring efficiently once New York turned the game into repeated drives and scramble possessions late. James Harden scored 15 points, went 1-for-8 from three-point range and committed six turnovers, the AP report said. (nba.com) Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson pointed to the final period. “We played great basketball tonight for three quarters,” Atkinson said, according to the AP report. “Unfortunately, the fourth quarter - they dominated us in the fourth quarter.” ### Was this part of a larger Knicks run? The Knicks entered the series as the East’s No. 3 seed after going 53-29 in the regular season, and CBS Sports noted before Game 1 that they had won seven straight playoff games. (cbssports.com) Tuesday’s result pushed that streak to eight. New York had not played since May 10, when it completed a second-round sweep of Philadelphia, and the AP report said the team looked rusty for much of the night before its late rally. OG Anunoby, back after missing two games with a strained right hamstring, finished with 13 points. ### What comes next in the series? (sports.yahoo.com) Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, with the series remaining at Madison Square Garden before shifting to Cleveland for Game 3 on Saturday, May 23. New York leads the best-of-seven series 1-0. (nba.com) (cbssports.com)