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The New York Knicks had been absolutely dominating in the playoffs thus far, but through three and a half quarters in Game 1, they were dominated. The Cleveland Cavaliers, maligned as they have been, flipped the script. They jumped out to a 22-point lead with about eight minutes to go. The Cavs did this on the back of a 35-point third quarter that carried over into the fourth.
The Knicks had been blowing everyone out. They’d won seven consecutive playoff games, making history along the way and sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers. They looked like a title threat until Game 1, when they looked pedestrian. Then, they remembered who they had been and made a historic comeback.
New York Knicks steal Game 1 with impressive comeback
At the 8:19 mark, the New York Knicks trailed by 22 points. That is pretty much as bad as it gets. Teams just don’t come back from that sort of deficit with so little time left. But from then on, the Cavaliers shrank, and the Knicks turned it on, led by none other than Jalen Brunson.
From then on, the Knicks outscored Cleveland 44-11 in the final minutes and overtime. New York aggressively hunted James Harden on defense, using picks and switches to get Brunson on Harden, who is known as a pretty bad defender. It worked brilliantly.
The Cavaliers had a 99.9% chance of winning with 7:49 left in the game. Brunson’s tear ensued, as he scored 16 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter, and the game changed entirely. Harden, while being hunted on defense, also shot 1/6 from the field in the fourth quarter. It was yet another ugly playoff performance by the future Hall of Famer.
When the Knicks did finally send Brunson at Harden, it worked. He shot 7/11 when Harden was his primary defender, and he was 8/18 when everyone else guarded him. The rhythm the Cavaliers had built from playing seven games against the Detroit Pistons was key until it wasn’t. Then, they collapsed in epic fashion.
Mike Brown opens up on targeting James Harden
The Knicks made an adjustment late in the game that definitely led to the win. The Cavaliers couldn’t or didn’t counter. James Harden was not having a good game and he was giving up a deluge of points on defense. Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson seemed not to mind.
“It was no secret: We were attacking Harden,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “Just like we have to figure out different ways to guard Harden and Mitchell, they have to find ways to guard Jalen.” No one could really guard Brunson on Tuesday, but especially not Harden.
Brown’s years as an assistant in the Western Conference made him very familiar with Harden. He thought that guarding him more aggressively would force more dribbles from a very ball-dominant guard, and that it could wear him down. Maybe it did, maybe it didn’t, but Brown wanted to try every possible advantage.
“Cleveland’s guards, they played 50% more minutes than our guards. Could that take a toll? We told our guys it could take a toll, so stay with it,” Brown added. “You hope telling your guys it gives a little bit of a psychological advantage.” It remains to be seen how the Cavaliers will counter, but Brown helped his team complete a crazy comeback and steal Game 1 at home.
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