A 22-point fourth quarter hole turned into a 115-104 overtime win for the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in Game 1 of the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday. New York outscored Cleveland 44-11 over the final 12-plus minutes and then closed overtime with a 14-3 run. Jalen Brunson led the rally with 38 points and a relentless attack of Cleveland's switches on ball-screens, while tracking data show James Harden was the screener's on-ball defender on 24 Brunson screens. Game 2 is set for Thursday, May 21, 2026, at MSG, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, with FanDuel listing the Knicks as 5.5-point favourites and an over/under of 215.5.

The quick read is simple: the Knicks stopped playing like the team trailing by 22 and started running ball-screen work that Cleveland couldn't answer. That sequence of adjustments rewrote the scoreboard. The Cavs had controlled much of the night and led by 22 with under eight minutes left, but New York ripped the lead away with a 44-11 finish and sealed the win in overtime.

How New York swung the game

The comeback hinged on Jalen Brunson repeatedly attacking James Harden in ball-screen actions late in the fourth quarter. Tracking data and game coverage showed Harden often ended up defending the screener on those Brunson actions in the game's decisive moments, and the Knicks converted those looks at a high rate, turning them into points, trips to the line and turnovers.

Brunson was the obvious engine of the run. Mikal Bridges and contributors such as Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns also helped spread the load, according to game reports. That balance mattered because New York didn't rely on a single hero; the late sequence forced Cleveland to rotate and then failed to find reliable answers.

Cleveland's collapse, and where it came from

Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers offensively, and several other Cleveland players finished in double figures. The Cavs started Harden, Mitchell, Wade, Mobley and Allen. The Knicks began the game with Brunson, Bridges, Anunoby, Hart and Towns.

Mastheads

For much of the night the matchup looked tilted toward Cleveland. The Cavs built that 22-point advantage and controlled the tempo. Coverage and betting previews noted the same vulnerabilities that ultimately cost them: how the Cavs planned to cover Brunson on ball-screens and how they would preserve offensive flow in the closing minutes.

Once New York began forcing Harden into on-ball defensive duties as the screener's man, Cleveland struggled to protect both its rim and its rotation patterns.

The numerical collapse is stark. With under eight minutes left the Cavs had a 22-point lead. Over the remainder of regulation New York outscored Cleveland 44-11, then dominated overtime 14-3. Those runs are the kind that flip not only a scoreline but a series narrative.

From a rotations perspective, the Knicks' late-game choices paid off. The ball-screen focus created a steady stream of high-leverage possessions that turned into fouls, open shots and turnovers. Cleveland did make efforts to adjust, but the volume and the efficiency of New York's ball-screen outcomes were decisive.

FanDuel had already installed the Knicks as favourites for the next game, listing New York at -5.5 with an over/under of 215.5. That market view now hangs on how Cleveland responds defensively and whether the Cavs can reset their late-game execution. For New York the win is an immediate jolt of momentum on home floor, but the series is only beginning.

Neither team listed injuries ahead of Game 1, and the lineups reflected both teams' expected rotations. The next matchup gives Cleveland a quick chance to answer and avoid falling into a 2-0 hole in a best-of-seven series.

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Game 2 is Thursday 21 May 2026 at Madison Square Garden, tipoff 8pm ET on ESPN.

This article was created with AI assistance.