By Daniel Feuerstein | New York, NY | May 19th, 2026
A miracle on 8th Avenue as the New York Knicks were playing poorly from the start of the game till the middle of the fourth quarter, when they had a miraculous comeback against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Nothing was working, nothing was going the Knicks’ way till the deficit reached 22 points. All of a sudden, they flipped a switch and started a run that tied the game at the end of regulation and gave them a major lead in overtime to steal Game 1 by a final score of 115-104.
The Knicks somehow found a way to turn things around and battle the Cavaliers, going on a miraculous 28-6 run to tie the game at 101. On the final shot of the fourth quarter with four seconds left, a three-pointer went in and out of the hoop, and the Knicks forced overtime to take a 9-0 run in the extra session and came out winning the game by 11 points. Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 38 points, Karl Anthony Towns had another Double-Double, scoring 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Mikal Bridges was second on the Knicks with 18 points. Donovan Mitchell led all Cavaliers scorers with 29 points.
First Half: Slow start for both teams and poor three-point shooting
In the first quarter, both teams were horrible from behind the three-point line. A combined 3 for 22 with the Cavaliers hitting two of them. While the Cavaliers did start well, the Knicks found a way to take the lead at 14-13 and had control throughout the entire first half until the final shot at the end of the second quarter, when Donovan Mitchell hit a three-pointer to give the Cavaliers a two-point lead. Many felt the Knicks were rusty after that long layoff, sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers as their timing was off from downtown. That final bucket from Mitchell sparked the Cavaliers going into the locker room at halftime.
Second Half: A domination from the Cavs, then Desperation by the Knicks
When the second half began, the Cavaliers started to play their game and forced the Knicks into positions on the court to force shots, or force turnovers with poor passing and stripping the ball away. They found multiple ways of hitting jumpers, three-pointers, and solid layups to take a big advantage. Even though the Knicks did try to stay within the game, it looked hopeless till something turned around in the fourth quarter. With 7:50 left in regulation, the Cavaliers had that 22-point lead, which told Jalen Brunson and the Knicks to start turning things around and chip this deficit away.
Brunson scored fifteen points, with two three-pointers from Landry Shamet, A big layup from Towns, and Bridges contributed with two three-pointers as well, which started an 18-1 run, and ended the fourth quarter on a combined 25-8 run against the Cavaliers. The Cavs had the final shot as Sam Merrell took the long-distance three-pointer, somehow it miraculously rolled in and out of the hoop, and then the buzzer sounded for the end of Regulation tied at 101 a piece. While Mike Brown did try to call a timeout, the referees never saw that and allowed the final shot to be taken by the Knicks as Bridges flung the ball down, but never reached the hoop.
Overtime: Knicks took control and escaped with the win
Once the overtime session got started, the Knicks took over and never looked back. They started with a 9-0 run with several strong shots from Brunson, O.G. Anunoby, and another three from Landry Shamet. Bridges stole the ball from behind his man and found a way to start an offensive run. The Cavaliers just couldn’t get anything going, and the Knicks, who grabbed the rebound within the final seconds of overtime, took it to the front court and held it to allow the clock to wind down. The Knicks outscored the Cavaliers 44 to 11 within the fourth quarter and overtime combined, and a big sigh of relief came to all the Knicks fans at Madison Square Garden.
KEY STATS GAME 1:
CLEVELAND: 35 FOR 90 FG’S, 16 FOR 50 3PTS, 16 FOR 23
NEW YORK: 42 FOR 88 FG’S, 10 FOR 32 3PTS, 21 FOR 32 FT’S
LARGEST LEAD: CAVALIERS WITH 22 POINTS IN THE FOURTH QUARTER
MOST POINTS: CAVALIERS WITH 35 POINTS IN THE THIRD QUARTER
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