NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson sparked one of the NBA's greatest postseason comebacks, a rally from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter, and finished with 38 points as New York beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-104 in overtime on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
After a record-setting run through the first two rounds, the Knicks were going nowhere for 40 minutes against the Cavs, trailing 93-71 with 7:52 to play. But Brunson relentlessly attacked James Harden to spark an 18-1 run that made it a ballgame, and he tied it at 101-all on a basket with 19 seconds remaining in regulation.
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New York Knicks' Og Anunoby, left, fouls Cleveland Cavaliers' Jarrett Allen (31) as he drives to the basket during the first half of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) shoots over Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden, left, during the second half of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, top right, brings his arm down on New York Knicks guard Josh Hart, left, during the second half of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson (11) moves around the Cleveland Cavaliers defense during the first half of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Before that, Brunson said the message for the Knicks was just to finish strong so they would have momentum of Game 2, even if they lost the opener.
“Just keep fighting,” he said. “Keep chipping away. We’re not going to get it back in one possession.”
The Knicks then opened overtime with a 9-0 run as a delirious crowd in Madison Square Garden danced and screamed in the aisles. The Knicks moved within three wins of their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999.
Mikal Bridges added 18 points and three Knicks scored 13, including OG Anunoby, who came on late after struggling most of the way in his return after missing two games with a strained right hamstring.
Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points for the Cavaliers, who seemed well on their way to a third straight road win before their late collapse. The Knicks outscored them 44-11 after their 93-71 lead.
“We played great basketball tonight for three quarters. Unfortunately, the fourth quarter — they dominated us in the fourth quarter,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said.
The Knicks won their eighth straight game and will host Game 2 on Thursday.
The Knicks had outscored Atlanta and Philadelphia by a combined 194 points, the largest margin ever through a team’s first 10 postseason games. But after not playing since May 10, when they finished their second-round sweep of the 76ers, the Knicks misfired most of the night, looking like the rust hurt more than the rest helped.
They were 4 for 23 on 3-pointers through three quarters and then had a horrible start to the fourth. But a year after coughing up a 14-point lead in the final minutes of regulation and losing to Indiana in OT in Game 1 of the conference finals on their home court, the Knicks found their offense just in time.
“But it was our defense that has always been special in these playoffs and that has carried us in this playoffs, that showed up in the fourth quarter and in overtime,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “It allowed us to be sitting here with a win against a really great team.”
The only bigger fourth-quarter playoff comeback in the last 30 years was when the Clippers rallied from 24 down to beat Memphis in Game 1 in 2012.
“That can’t happen. But it did," Mitchell said. "We play in two days. We can’t sit here and let it kill our momentum, kill what we’ve been doing. It’s not a good loss.”
The Knicks came from 20 points behind three times last year in the postseason. Those were their largest comebacks on record since 1969-70, when they won their first of two NBA titles.
Evan Mobley had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Cavs. Harden also scored 15 points, but was just 1 for 8 on 3-pointers and had more turnovers (six) than field goals (five).
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New York Knicks' Og Anunoby, left, fouls Cleveland Cavaliers' Jarrett Allen (31) as he drives to the basket during the first half of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) shoots over Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden, left, during the second half of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen, top right, brings his arm down on New York Knicks guard Josh Hart, left, during the second half of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson (11) moves around the Cleveland Cavaliers defense during the first half of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
