For three and a half quarters, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals looked like the JV version of the Spurs-Thunder varsity headliner. The Cavs were up 22. The Knicks couldn’t throw it in the ocean. Madison Square Garden was a cemetery.
And then Jalen Brunson happened.
Over the final 12 minutes and 39 seconds of the game, which included a five-minute overtime, Brunson scored 17 of his 38 points as the Knicks erased a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit by way of a 44-11 run to absolutely gut the Cavs. Final score: Knicks 115, Cavs 104. Knicks lead the series 1-0. It feels like this was worth more than one win.
The Knicks are no strangers to huge fourth-quarter comebacks in Game 1 of the conference finals. Last year, they were on the wrong end as Indiana came back from 14 down inside the final three minutes to shock them in overtime. This time, the Knicks did the shocking with the second-largest fourth-quarter comeback in the play-by-play era (dating back to 1997).
Over that span, teams leading by at least 22 points in the fourth quarter were an incredible 594-1. The only team to blow that kind of lead in a playoff game was the 2012 Grizzlies, who got got by the Clippers. Make that 594-2 as the Cavs have made the wrong kind of history.
How did it happen? Pretty simply, Brunson hunted down James Harden, threw him on his barbecue, and proceeded to cook him well past the point of done. If you’re a Cavs fan or a Harden defender (those two words should never be used in the same sentence, even though he has had his moments in the playoffs), cover your eyes.
Just to be extra cautious (nobody wants salmonella), Brunson left Harden on the grill for one last char job in overtime.
To even say the Knicks hunted Harden feels like an understatement. They tortured him. In the fourth quarter and overtime alone they pulled him into 21 on-ball screens, per the All NBA podcast, which resulted in nine isolations that yielded 1.9 points per play. Those are taking-candy-from-a-baby numbers.
If you’re keeping score at home, Brunson made eight of his final 10 shots while Harden and Donovan Mitchell combined to miss nine of their final 10. Some other stuff happened along the way. Mikal Bridges hit two huge 3s in the closing minutes. Landry Shamet tied it with a corner 3 that hit every part of the rim before falling with 45 seconds left, while Sam Merrill’s potential game-winner was halfway down before rimming out to conclude regulation.
You know what they say about getting a few bounces to go your way and all. The Knicks got the bounces at the end. But it never should have gotten to that point. Kenny Atkinson will never admit this, but he probably should’ve gotten Harden out of the game when the Cavs were up 22, or at least when it became clear that Brunson was going to be hunting him on every possession.
“He’s been one of our best defenders in these playoffs,” Atkinson said after the game when asked if he considered benching Harden. “I trust him. Smart. Great hands. Didn’t think about that.”
Of course Atkinson is going to say this, and he’s not totally wrong. I said above that Harden has had some good defensive moments in these playoffs, and he has. A big move for Cleveland against Detroit was being able to put Harden on a big man, notably Paul Reed, which freed up Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley to serve as roaming shot blockers. Harden can do this because he’s big and strong and can hold his ground bumping and banging. Guarding in the post has long been his one area of defensive value. That and he has good hands for swipe steals now and then.
But guarding in space is an entirely different story. Even if he wanted to give max effort, he doesn’t have the lateral movement to stay in front of a guard like Brunson. Again, once it became clear that Harden was New York’s prime target in open space, it was time to pull the plug.
At that point, the Cavs didn’t need Harden’s offense. His defense was one of the only things that could have tripped them up with that kind of lead. It did more than trip them. It sent them crashing into an all-time finish-line face plant.
Harden has had an interesting postseason. He hasn’t shot well and he’s turned it over like crazy. At the same time, his on/off splits look fantastic. The Cavs entered Game 1 having outscored their postseason opponents by 62 points over 524 minutes with Harden on the floor, while being outscored by 40 points in his 158 bench minutes.
Those numbers were not an accident. His inefficient shooting and turnover issues notwithstanding, Harden’s ability to make plays for his teammates (he’s taken that burden off Mitchell’s shoulders) has totally unlocked Cleveland’s offense. Mitchell has gotten to attack defenses in rotation. By pulling two defenders out, Harden has gotten Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen going with pocket passes into 4-on-3 advantages.
Personally, I would argue the Harden trade has been a major success for the Cavs in simply getting this far and with Harden, who leads the team in postseason minutes, playing such a big role. But it isn’t difficult to see the other side of that coin.
Prior to the start of this series, former NBA guard Jeff Teague said on his Club 520 podcast that the Cavs “don’t got nobody who can guard Jalen Brunson.” He’s probably not wrong, but if there is someone who offers at least a reasonable shot at moderately disrupting Brunson, that person sure as hell isn’t Harden, whose downside was on full, almost embarrassing display in Game 1.
On top of serving as a defensive red carpet, Harden missed 11 of his 16 shots and finished 1 of 8 from 3 with six turnovers. This is in keeping with a troubling trend that has plagued him his entire career.
Meanwhile, the Brunson legend continues to grow. If it isn’t already statue time for this guy, it’s not far off. This is only his fourth season with the Knicks and he already has a legit case as the best player in franchise history. His heroics aren’t even surprising anymore. They’re damn near expected.
Brunson owns the Knicks’ franchise record for points in a conference finals game with 43 in Game 1 against Indiana last year. Now he has the two highest-scoring conference finals games in Knicks history. He already has more playoff games with at least 40 points and five assists than Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant. He has five 30-point conference finals games in four years with the Knicks, also a franchise record.
Brunson has the Knicks’ offense humming, as this marks the 20th straight playoff game they have eclipsed the 100-point mark. That is the second-longest such streak over the last 35 years, trailing only the supercharged Curry-Durant Warriors, who did it 25 straight times.
There’s a lot to like about this Knicks team. The defense is very good and can be downright nasty when it’s clicking. They have elite size on the wings. They shoot the hell out of the ball (at least usually; they missed 16 of their first 19 3s on Tuesday and finished 10 of 32). They’re deep. Versatile. Great home-court energy. They have a big-time big in Karl-Anthony Towns. They rebound. They run with Josh Hart.
But mostly, they have Jalen freaking Brunson. This guy has saved the Knicks in so many ways, and he did it again in Game 1 as New York moves within three wins of its first Finals appearance of the century as they chase their first championship since 1973.
