Cavs Finals Path Feels Doomed After Historic Game 1 Collapse to Knicks

Cleveland sports fans are no strangers to pain. Most of them have plenty of scars and callouses to show for being one. 

The Drive.

The Fumble.

José Mesa's blown save. 

Art Modell moving the city's beloved Browns. 

The decision. 

So, watching the Cavaliers blow a 22-point fourth-quarter lead to the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals isn't anything out of the ordinary. 

The years, hell, the decades of conditioning to expect the worst couldn't prepare Cavs fans for the unfathomable collapse they witnessed on Tuesday night. 

With 7:52 to go in the game, superstar guard James Harden knocked down a free throw to put the Cavaliers in front 93-71. They were in the driver's seat to steal Game 1 in the Mecca of Basketball. It was the statement of all statements. 

The Knicks entered Game 1 considered a juggernaut. They had put up historic shooting numbers, wrapping up their first two rounds of the playoffs, including shooting 56% from the floor over their last five games. That stretch included a close out win over the Atlanta Hawks and a clean sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Wrapping that series up so quickly also gave them a major rest advantage over Cleveland. New York hadn't played in 8 days, while Cleveland has played a game every other day since April 29 and was coming off back-to-back, grueling seven-game series wins. 

The rust and shooting regression were real for the Knicks, particularly from three-point range. At halftime, they had made just 2 of their 19 three-point attempts. The Cavs had committed 11 turnovers, which turned into 15 points for the Knicks. 

Over the final 5:20 of the half, the wine and gold used a 21-8 run to rally from down 11 and actually took a 2-point lead into the half. That surge continued in the third quarter, where they exploded 35 points and pushed the lead to 23 at one point.

Everything was going the Cavs way. It was their night. Until it wasn't. 

The difference in rest was apparent in the fourth. Cleveland's offense went stagnant, with Harden and Donovan Mitchell resorting to chucking up iso-ball, Hail Mary threes, while the Knicks made Harden the focal point of switch, after switch, after switch for Jalen Brunson, who did what he tends to do late in games this time of year. 

Kenny Atkinson had no answers. He refused to call a timeout until New York's run had spiraled to an 18-1 avalanche; by then it was too late. Sam Merrill nearly came to the rescue with a three-pointer that went halfway down and rattled out, drawing out the first sound of Mike Breen's famous "BANG" call with two seconds to play and the game tied at 101. 

Overtime followed, but the Cavs went down without much of a fight, scoring just 3 points in the extra period. 

Teams in the last 30 seasons were 594-1 when leading by 22+ points in the fourth quarter of a playoff game. Now they're 594-2. In many ways, the game was a microcosm of who the Cavaliers have been throughout this entire playoff run. 

You never know which version of the team will show up game-to-game. Still, a dominant Game 7 win over the Detroit Pistons to advance to the conference finals went a long way in convincing people they had found themselves. In an instant, that goodwill is gone again. 

Now, this postseason has tested the wine and gold in ways that there should be confidence they can move past this. R.J. Barrett's buzzer-beater in Game 6 of the first round didn't break this group. Neither did a blowout home loss to the Pistons in Game 6 of the last round. 

But this, this cut deep. There may be no coming back from a loss like that.  

If they can bounce back in Game 2 or go on to win the series somehow, this meltdown of epic proportions will become but a footnote in Cleveland sports history. For now, it joins the likes of so many heartbreaking moments before it that have left Cleveland fans speechless for all the wrong reasons. 

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