The New York Knicks staged a furious fourth-quarter comeback and dominated overtime to secure a 115-104 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday (Philippine time), taking a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Jalen Brunson spearheaded the Knicks’ offense with a stellar 38-point performance, engineering a late-game surge that completely erased a double-digit deficit before New York broke the game wide open in the extra period.
Cleveland seemed poised to steal a victory on the road after building a comfortable 83-69 cushion entering the final frame. However, New York responded with a clamping defensive effort and clutch shot-making in the fourth, locking the score at 101-101 by the end of regulation.
The momentum carried entirely into overtime, where the Knicks overwhelmed the sluggish Cavaliers with a definitive 14-3 run to put the game out of reach.
”Brunson spearheaded the comeback with a scoring explosion in the fourth quarter, while the Knicks tightened defensively and shut down Cleveland’s offense in overtime.”
Donovan Mitchell led the charge for Cleveland with 29 points, keeping his team afloat through most of the matchup. Mitchell registered 16 points, three rebounds, and three steals in the first half alone, helping the Cavaliers bounce back from a slow start.
Errors plagued Cleveland all night, as they committed 11 of their total turnovers in the first half, which New York swiftly converted into 15 easy points.
The Knicks initially established control in the opening quarter, unleashing a 12-0 scoring blitz to lead 23-16, capitalizing on five early giveaways from Cleveland. The Cavaliers found their rhythm in the second period, riding Mitchell’s production alongside James Harden (seven points, three rebounds, two assists) and Evan Mobley (five points, five rebounds, two assists) to carry a narrow 48-46 advantage into the halftime break.
Despite extending that lead significantly in the third period, Cleveland ultimately squandered their commanding advantage down the stretch. They will look to bounce back and even the series in Game 2, while the Knicks hold onto their early 1-0 edge.