The Cleveland Cavaliers blew a golden opportunity to snag a 1-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals last night, as they lost a 22-point lead in the las
May 19, 2026; New York, New York, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson reacts during the second quarter of game one of the eastern conference finals against the New York Knicks during the 2026 NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden.
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images The Cleveland Cavaliers blew a golden opportunity to snag a 1-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals last night, as they lost a 22-point lead in the last eight minutes of Game 1 in New York. The Knicks stormed back and won in overtime, 115-104. Brunson took over the game in the final minutes, scoring 15 points in the last seven and a half minutes of the fourth quarter.
, and he exposed him immensely. Harden was not able to stay in front of Brunson whatsoever, which allowed Brunson to make pull-up shots around the rim at will. It wasn’t before Brunson scored the bulk of his points that he started seeing different looks from the Cavs defense. While you saw Sam Merrill come double in OT, there weren’t many other adjustments from Atkinson.
Keeping Harden out on the floor while he is struggling mightily to defend is unacceptable. Understandably, you need him on offense to be another ball handler and a guy to set up the offense, but the struggles were on both ends for Harden tonight.cut the lead to five, then cited that he has his own strategy with timeouts.
Mitchell only shot 5 shots in the fourth quarter and overtime combined, which could be a testament to how well New York denied him the ball, but also not enough action for Don to get open. Mitchell was having an effective shooting night while Harden was not; Mitchell needs those looks. The Knicks ended the night shooting 31% from three, while also missing 11 free throws.
Before the fourth quarter and overtime, they were 18% from beyond the arc. The Cavs got a bad shooting night out of New York and could not capitalize on it with a win.go on to win the series 78.2% of the time in NBA history. The Cavs had this game won multiple times, and still found a way to give it up. Loading recommendations...
Please wait while we load personalized content recommendationsHi, I’m Paul, I’m from Northeast Ohio, and a recent graduate of Kent State University. As an Ohio native, I’m a huge fan of the Browns, Guardians, and Cavaliers. Just don’t ask me about my favorite college team, though.
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