The New York Knicks, fueled by 38 points from Jalen Brunson, erased a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-104 in overtime in the opener of the NBA Eastern Conference finals.
The Knicks looked done for when they trailed 93-71 with seven minutes, 52 seconds left in regulation. But Brunson spearheaded an 18-1 New York run and banked in a floater to tie it at 101-101 with 19.3 seconds left in regulation.
When Cleveland's Sam Merrill missed a three-pointer they went to the extra session - in which the Knicks scored the first nine points.
Brunson admitted he did not know how the Knicks had pulled off the sensational comeback.“I don’t have an answer for you,” he said. "We got some stops. We kept fighting, kept believing.”
Mikal Bridges added 18 points, and OG Anunoby, back from a two-game injury absence, was one of three Knicks players with 13. Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points to lead the Cavaliers and James Harden added 15.
It was a crushing welcome to the conference finals for seven-time All-Star Mitchell, who never made it past the second round in five post-season appearances with the Utah Jazz.
"We should have won the game," Mitchell said. "We're up 22 with God knows how much time? Eight minutes? Gotta win the game. We didn't."
But he added there's still plenty of time to regroup. "It's one game," Mitchell said. "We could have lost by 40, still would have been 1-0. We played pretty solid for three quarters or so. We'll make adjustments and go from there."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
