With eight days off since their last game, the New York Knicks showed plenty of rust and looked like they were going to fall to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

They found their shooting touch just in time.

Jalen Brunson scored 38 points and the Knicks stormed back from 22 points down in the fourth quarter and completed their improbable comeback in overtime to stun the Cavaliers with a 115-104 victory on Tuesday.

Cleveland appeared to be well on its way to an easy win and stealing away home-court advantage as it led comfortably for much of the second half to silence the crowd at Madison Square Garden.

But with the Cavaliers ahead 93-71 with a little under eight minutes to play, the Knicks went on an 18-1 run over a 4:22 span to cut the deficit to five with 3:30 remaining, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Brunson scored the final 11 points of that stretch, capping the run with a 3-pointer from 27 feet out.

Brunson had 15 fourth-quarter points, tying the score at 101 on a jumper with 20 seconds to go.

The Cavs had a chance to win it in regulation but Sam Merrill's 3-point attempt in the waning seconds went halfway down before rimming out.

In overtime, it was all Knicks with OG Anunoby scoring nine points, with seven coming on free throws. Mikal Bridges and Brunson each came up with big steals in the final 75 seconds as New York outscored Cleveland 14-3.

From the 7:42 mark of the fourth quarter, the Knicks outscored the Cavs 44-11.

 

NEW YORK WENT ON A 44-11 RUN TO COMPLETE A 22-POINT COMEBACK WIN IN GAME 1 💨

DOWN 22 WITH UNDER 8 TO PLAY IN Q4.
30-8 RUN TO FORCE OT.
WON BY 11.

1-0 SERIES LEAD IN THE EAST FINALS pic.twitter.com/0InzFeaG4M

— NBA (@NBA) May 20, 2026

New York was playing for the first time since May 10, having been off since sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers in a conference semi-final series and looked sluggish early.

The Knicks were awful from beyond the arc, misfiring on 19 of 23 3-point tries through three quarters. They scored 23 points in each of the first three quarters before scoring 46 in the fourth period and OT.

The Cavs also struggled from deep in the first quarter, missing 10 of 12 3-point attempts before going 6 of 10 from deep in the second period.

They outscored the Knicks 20-8 over the final five minutes of the second quarter to turn a 10-point deficit into a 48-46 half-time lead. They extended their lead to 16 in the third quarter, and it looked like they were going to cruise to a victory until they suddenly went cold with their shooting.

Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 29 points, but had only three points in the fourth quarter and overtime.

It was a similar story for James Harden, who had 17 points, but only made 1 of 7 shots in the fourth quarter and OT. Evan Mobley chipped in 15 points and 14 rebounds.

Bridges had 18 points for the Knicks, while Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart and Anunoby each scored 13. Anunoby was playing for the first time since Game 2 of the second-round series after sitting out the last two games with a strained right hamstring.

Game 2 of the East finals will be on Thursday.