The New York Knicks staged one of the greatest comebacks in NBA playoff history – and poured more humiliation on James Harden – by hitting back from a 22-point deficit with 8:19 left to win Game One of the Eastern Conference finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Knicks appeared down and out at Madison Square Garden but they got Jalen Brunson to target Harden and it sparked a rally that carried the home team to a 115-104 overtime triumph.
Harden, 36, has struggled throughout the post-season and was simply not capable of keeping up with Brunson, who attacked him mercilessly. It resulted in a 44-11 rampage by the Knicks and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
“You got to do what the game dictates,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “They were doing the same thing with Jalen. So, we said two can play that game.
“It was no secret: We were attacking Harden. Just like we have to figure out different ways to guard Harden and [Donovan] MItchell, they have to find ways to guard Jalen.”
The comeback lit up the crowd and the momentum carried New York to an impressive win.
“Keep fighting, keep chipping away. We’re not going to get it back in one possession,” said Brunson, who finished with 38 points. “Most importantly, sticking together. No matter how that game finished, habits translate, translates to the next game. We’re just doing; we’re not giving up. We don’t want to give up, ever, so having faith in each other.”
Atkinson defends Cleveland approach in face of Knicks onslaught
It was a sobering night for the Cavs, especially as they now know the Knicks’ secret to success.
Coach Kenny Atkinson was also forced to defend himself after ending regular time with two timeouts remaining despite his team being on the back foot in the final quarter.
“I like to hold my timeouts,” Atkinson said after the game. “I didn’t want to have one timeout at the end of the game, one- or two-point game. I tried to hold them.”
Atkinson saw little wrong with his team’s play, or tactics, as they were overwhelmed late on.
“They hit some really tough shots in that fourth quarter,” Atkinson said. “We got a little unlucky, quite honestly.
“My only regret, and this can happen when you get a little fatigued, I think it just stopped moving. We were pinging the ball all over the place, great ball movement, and then it just got a little stagnant.”
It was difficult, admits Harden
Harden emerged as the key figure for the Cavs, carrying the team’s offensive burden and trying to keep a lid on Brunson.
“It’s difficult. Difficult situation,” Harden said. “As a coach, you kind of want the players to kind of figure out and withstand the storm and calm things down, but it’s happening fast.
“We just got to do a better job as players to offensively get our pace up and understand what we’re trying to do, which we had success in those first three quarters. So, it’s on us to get our pace up and get into our offense much, much quicker.”
Some losses are more significant than others and this one felt damaging to Cleveland’s chances in the series but Mitchell, who finished with 29 points but did not score in overtime, stressed there was no need to panic at this early stage.
“It’s the same. It’s one loss,” Mitchell said. “We’ve had some tough ones, but it’s one loss. It’s not like that loss gives them two or three games, right? It’s one. So we have an opportunity to come back here in two days and steal one here, and that’s really all it is.
“If you allow yourself to go down that path, you won’t be ready for Game Two. So that’s pretty much the mindset.”
