Knicks win Game 1 in overtime

The New York Knicks opened the Eastern Conference finals with a 115-104 overtime win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 19 after erasing a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit at Madison Square Garden. Jalen Brunson scored 38 points, and New York finished the game on a 44-11 run across the last 7:40 of regulation and overtime. (nba.com) Cleveland led 93-71 with 7:52 left before its offense stalled and the series flipped in the closing minutes. The victory gave the Knicks a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. ### How big was the Knicks’ comeback? The Knicks trailed by 22 points in the fourth quarter before forcing overtime and winning by 11. NBA.com said New York outscored Cleveland 44-11 over the final 7:40 of the fourth quarter and overtime. (nba.com) NBA.com also said the league had been 3-748 in playoff games over the previous 30 years, using available play-by-play data, when trailing by at least 20 points in the fourth quarter. That made New York’s rally one of the rarest postseason reversals on record. ### What did Brunson do late? Jalen Brunson scored 17 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, and NBA.com said he added six assists, five rebounds and three steals. (nba.com) Brunson told NBA.com after the game, “Find a way. We got some stops, kept fighting, kept believing. We just kept chipping away.” NBA.com’s game analysis said Brunson repeatedly hunted switches late, targeting James Harden’s defense as New York climbed back into the game. (nba.com) The same analysis said Brunson had been 7-for-19 and 0-for-5 from three-point range before the comeback began. ### Where did Cleveland lose control? Cleveland had the sharper start and still held a 22-point lead with under eight minutes left in regulation, but the Cavaliers shot 22% the rest of the way, according to NBA.com’s live recap. (nba.com) Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 29 points, while Evan Mobley had 15 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks. NBA.com’s postgame takeaways said Cleveland had played every other day for the previous three weeks, while New York had not played in nine days. (nba.com) John Schuhmann wrote that the Cavaliers were the better team for the first 40 minutes before the game changed late. ### Did Game 1 produce any broader playoff markers? (nba.com) NBA.com said this was the first time in league history that both Game 1s of the conference finals went to overtime. The site also said teams that win Game 1 of a conference final have gone on to win the series 78.2% of the time in NBA history. CBS Sports’ game tracker listed the final score at 115-104 in overtime and showed New York taking the first game of the series at home. (nba.com) ### What comes next in the series? Game 2 of Knicks-Cavaliers is scheduled for Thursday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, according to NBA.com. ESPN’s playoff schedule page says the 2026 NBA Finals begin June 3 on ABC. (nba.com) The Eastern Conference winner will advance to those Finals, while the Western Conference final is also underway. For now, the Knicks carry a 1-0 lead into the second game after a comeback that turned a likely home loss into an overtime win. (cbssports.com) (nba.com)