Game Recap: 2026 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, Game 1 – NYK vs. CLE; W; CLE: 104, NYK: 115
Call it unprecedented. Call it improbable. Call it… the greatest Knicks playoff game of the century!
On a flat, disappointing night at Madison Square Garden, the Knickerbockers looked lost. They couldn’t handle Donovan Mitchell. They couldn’t dodge foul calls. They missed bucket after bucket, shot after shot.
After three quarters, the team that set distance-shooting records against Philadelphia had shot 4-for-23 from downtown.
Then the fourth quarter began, and the Knicks looked as hopeless as they have all season. With 7:49 remaining in regulation, following an 8-0 Cleveland run, the Knicks had a 0.1% chance to win. It was over. Fans were ready to call it quits and hope for a Game 2 recovery.
999 out of 1,000 times, the Cleveland Cavaliers would have won this game. In fact, up to this point, play-by-play-era teams leading by 20+ points in the final seven minutes of a playoff game were 643-0. So, it had to be over.
Right?
Well, at the 7:39 mark of the final frame, the Garden crowd erupted as Jalen Brunson danced through the lane and nailed a floater. The crowd grew louder as Evan Mobley received an offensive foul, and despite a blocked shot by James Harden, Karl-Anthony Towns found Landry Shamet for a massive three-pointer.
The Knicks were down 93-71 with 7:52 remaining. Now, they had scored five straight points. Towns and Brunson added four more, making it 93-80. The crowd was on its feet, and it stayed that way as Brunson went on an independent 9-0 run, part of an 11-1 run, cutting the Knicks’ deficit to five points.
“Obviously, we don’t get it done if Brunson doesn’t play like one of the MVP guys in this league,” said head coach Mike Brown. “He was phenomenal. He did what he’s supposed to do tonight, and it definitely helped us get the win.”
Harden, a notorious choker in big moments, was no match for Captain Clutch in the fourth quarter. Or, more accurately, in the final 7:45 of the fourth quarter, in which Brunson powered a 30-8 Knicks run with 15 points. He nailed seven of his eight shots, including one three-pointer, and he finished the game with 38 points.
“Sometimes, you’ve got to do what the game dictates,” Brown said. “They were trying to do the same with Jalen, so we said, ‘Okay, we feel like we can play that game.’ We try not to play that game too much, but we feel like we have a guy we can play that game with in Brunson.
“And just like we have to figure out ways to defend Harden and Mitchell, they’ve got to figure out different ways to guard Jalen.”
With 3:09 remaining, the Knicks found themselves in an eight-point hole before OG Anunoby, who reentered the game in the final frame with 7:52 left, missed a free throw. But down by seven, the Knicks didn’t flinch.
Following an offensive rebound and a loose-ball foul against Cleveland, Mikal Bridges delivered with an incredible right-wing triple.
Despite Towns turning the ball over, the Cavs made one of their next three shots before the Knicks got the ball back. A few possessions later, with 1:14 remaining, Brunson found Bridges, a signature Villanova connection moment, and from the corner, Bridges drained a three.
Down by three on the other end, Towns blocked Mitchell’s shot, putting the ball back in the Knicks’ hands. Heroically, Shamet tied the game with a heroic three-pointer. It was his second triple of the half, and it could not have come at a better moment.
Shamet finished the game with a team-best +25 rating in 17 minutes, including nine fourth-quarter minutes, a testament to his superb defense down the stretch.
“One of the luxuries of our team is we have a lot of really good defenders,” Shamet said. “I didn’t really play the first three quarters, and you throw fresh legs at somebody who’s got it going. Just try to come in and compete, and be physical. Take advantage of the fact that I haven’t played. Use the energy I had.”
With the game tied at 99, Harden hit a jumper, but Brunson responded with another game-tying double. Cleveland tried to regain the lead, but Sam Merrill missed his three-point shot, sending the game to overtime.
The Knicks had achieved the second-highest fourth-quarter comeback in NBA playoff history.
“This team, all we want to do is make the city proud and bring this city wins,” Towns said.
And that they did.
Thanks to nine points from Anunoby, including seven free throws, the Knicks pummeled Cleveland 14-3 in overtime, capping a 44-11 game-winning run. That sprint to a 115-104 triumph included an 18-1 run and a 12-2 stretch.
It was historic. It was spectacular.
“To be able to [win] on a night where it didn’t seem like it was gonna happen is an honor,” Towns said. “It’s truly something special.”
One year ago, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks were on the other end of a thrilling comeback win. Tyrese Haliburton slammed a shot off the Garden ceiling to push the Pacers in Game 1. In the Brunson era, the Knicks have never won a playoff series after dropping Game 1 at home.
The Knicks used their experience to defeat Cleveland yesterday. Also, after a grueling seven-game series that ended on Sunday, the Cavs were tired and prone to scuffling down the stretch.
However, the Knicks, after a week-plus of rest, were rusty for three-and-a-half quarters. They deserve all the credit for bearing down in the biggest moments.
The Cavs were lifeless late as the Knicks harnessed momentum and thrust it at their feet. The Knicks showed they are leagues above their reeling opponent, and Game 2 cannot come soon enough.
Game 2 is scheduled for tomorrow at 8 PM (ESPN, ESPN App).
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Knicks
