The New York Knicks pulled off one of the biggest comebacks in NBA playoff history in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, erasing a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Cleveland 115-104 in overtime. For the Cavaliers, the night did not end there.
The postgame scene outside MSG told two very different stories. Knicks center Mitchell Robinson rolled off into the Manhattan night in his white monster truck, the city glowing behind him, while the Cavaliers were busy making headlines of their own, as captured by X account @MSG_Rocking.
Cavaliers Nearly Left Dean Wade Behind at MSG
Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty ImagesVideo: Embarrassing Cavs Moment Steals Headlines After Knicks Comeback
The Cavs almost drove off from Madison Square Garden without their own starting forward. Wade reportedly had to run and stop the team bus before it pulled away without him, and one fan summed it up perfectly: “Oh sh*t, they left one!”
It was a fitting end to a rough night for Wade specifically. Cleveland had leaned on him as one of their primary Brunson stoppers this postseason, and he came in with a reputation for defending the Knicks captain better than most. He logged 29 minutes and scored 10 points, but Brunson finished with 38.
The problem was not just Wade though. Once Brunson started going directly at James Harden on the other end, Cleveland had no real answer, and the deficit that felt unassailable just melted away.
How the Knicks Pulled Off the Impossible in Game 1
GettyVideo: Watch Cavaliers Chaos Unfold Outside MSG After Brutal Loss
It looked completely over for New York. Cleveland led 93-71 with under eight minutes left, and ESPN Analytics had the Cavs’ win probability sitting at 99.9 percent. Then Brunson took over.
Coach Mike Brown made the call to attack Harden every time down the floor, and it worked. “They were doing the same thing with Jalen. So we said two can play that game,” Brown said after the game.
Donovan Mitchell had scored 29 points but unfortunately, the last five of his six misses were the heaviest moment without a bucket. The Cavaliers as a team at the end were not playing their regular game. A 22-point lead was changed to an overtime loss.
Game 2 is going to be at MSG again. Teams that win Game 1 of the Conference Finals historically have more than a 78 percent chance of going on to winning the series, and Cleveland now stands a real risk of going home down 0-2.
The Cavaliers lost a 22-point lead, almost left without one of their starters, and now they have to return to the same venue and do it all over again. The Knicks couldn’t have planned a better start.
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