Jalen Brunson praises his teammate after a historic game one comeback.
The New York Knicks reversed their fortunes in game one of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers mounting a 22-point comeback with 7:52 remaining in the fourth quarter.
With nothing going offensively for the first 40 minutes of the game, Jalen Brunson took it upon himself in the final minutes, seeking out James Harden on switches and torching him every single possession.
The Knicks also got clutch shotmaking from Mikal Bridges and stout team defense to force a Cavaliers offense that had been rolling through the first three quarters into bad shots, bad decisions, and bad possessions.
In the end, the Knicks walked away with a 115-104 overtime victory as the extra frame was simply a continuation of the final eight minutes of regulation.
Jalen Brunson Speaks
While Brunson carried the offense down the stretch, scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter, he credited his teammates for the job they did in helping the comeback.
"That's just who he is. He's a true professional ever since he's walked into the league," Brunson said of Landry Shamet.
With Josh Hart struggling all game, shooting 1-5 from three and being left open on many possessions, the head coach Mike Brown turned to Shamet in the fourth, playing him nine minutes as the team needed an offensive spark.
Shamet responded by hitting two big threes.
The first came with 6:58 remaining in the game, cutting the Cavaliers' lead to 17 points. It may not have seemed big at the time, but it put some energy into Madison Square Garden and helped fuel the comeback.
The second three was bigger on the scoreboard, tying the game at 99 with 45 seconds remaining.
Other Contributions
Along with his two big threes in regulation, Shamet also knocked down a three in overtime, which saw the Knicks outscore the Cavaliers 14-3.
While Brunson will get all the headlines for how he played in the fourth, Bridges hit two of the biggest shots in the quarter.
With 2:38 remaining, Bridges hit a stepback three as the shotclock expired to cut the lead to four.
Just over a minute later, he knocked down a corner three as Brunson was being double teamed to cut the lead to three, setting up Shamet's game-tying three on the following possession.
Defensively, the Knicks played as one, shutting off James Harden and Donovan Mitchell as they tried to create offense for themselves and others, forcing them into tough shots.
