Jalen Brunson flipped the game on its head as the Knicks turned around a 22-point deficit with under eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter and kept the momentum going for a 115-104 overtime win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday.

The Knicks, who led by seven after the first quarter, were outscored 67-46 in the middle quarters, and the energy of Madison Square Garden went from deliriousness when the home side’s lead hit 11 in the second quarter to palpable anxiety by the start of the fourth.

And then, like so many times this season, the game changed on the back of Brunson as he scored 11 straight points as the Knicks used an 18-1 run to get back into the game. Mikal Bridges and Landry Shamet each hit crucial threes to tie the game, before Burnson’s floated bank shot sent the game to OT.

The Cavs were dead on their feet for the overtime period and never got off the mat as the home team outscored them 14-3. The final run for the Knicks to steal the win: 44-11.

“Found a way, I don’t have an answer for you,” Brunson said on the broadcast about the turnaround. “We got some stops, we kept fighting, we kept believing, just kept chipping away. They were playing great basketball, just found a way. Again, I don’t really have an answer for you.”

After a poor shooting start, the Knicks shot 16-for-28 in the fourth quarter and overtime (6-for-9 from three).

- The overtime period saw the Knicks grab their first lead of the second half with OG Anunoby hitting two at the line, Brunson hitting a floater, and Anunoby driving for a layup to make it a six-point game as Cleveland started the overtime by missing its first four attempts.

With 109 seconds to play, Brunson found a wide-open Shamet and the lead was 110-101, forcing a Cavs timeout. Max Strus answered with a three, but with steals from Bridges and Brunson, the lead was 113-104 as Anunoby hit three free throws to ice the game.

- The fourth didn't start well with the Knicks committing three more turnovers (15 for the game) and missing their first four shots. The Cavs got a second four-point play of the game and Donovan Mitchell hit from three to give him 29 points on the night to put the lead at 21 with eight minutes left.

If the run were to come, there was a moment: Brunson hit a layup, Shamet drew a charge and hit on a three from a Karl-Anthony Towns offensive board. A Mike Brown timeout with the deficit at 17 with 6:41 to play didn't kill momentum as Brunson took the game over, leading an 18-1 run that cut it to a five-point deficit with 3:30 to play, forcing a Cavs timeout.

Evan Mobley hit a contested three to stem the tide, but Bridges answered with a step-back three, which just beat the shot clock to answer back. He connected again from deep, and after Towns blocked Mitchell, Shamet’s three bounced in to tie the game with 45 seconds to play.

It was a 28-6 run before James Harden’s jumper was answered with Brunson’s floater bank shot with 19.3 to play to level the score at 101. Sam Merrill’s three-pointer attempt with three seconds to play was more than halfway down when it rimmed out to send the game to overtime. The Cavs never recovered.

- The rest vs. rust debate got a boost in the early goings as the Knicks’ offense had a staccato beginning, missing seven of their first nine attempts (0-for-5 from behind the arc), a trend that continued throughout the first half. The Cavs were using their physicality to stick on all the cutters, making it tough on Towns to find a man in his playmaker role. The referees were letting both teams get acquainted with each other, with just 14 free throws attempted in the first half (only four by the home team).

New York’s defense, which has been quite good in the playoffs, didn’t appear rusty at all, holding Cleveland to 5-for-15 shooting to start, and a 6-0 spurt capped by Brunson converting a reverse layup to give him eight early forced a Kenny Atkinson timeout with the Knicks ahead 14-13 with 3:46 to play in the first. The timeout didn't work: Bridges picked Strus' pocket leading to a dunk, Dennis Schröder's missed jumper led to a Burnson jumper, Mobley's travel led to a Robinson alley-oop and the Knicks were up seven. (New York’s defense forced five turnovers in the first.)

New York missed its first eight from deep before Jordan Clarkson got one to go, his first in the playoffs after he was 0-for-8 to that point. The shooting was great for either team in the first quarter: Knicks 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) and 1-for-10 from three, Cavs 6-for-22 (27.3 percent) and 2-for-12 from three, with the home side up 23-16.

- The Knicks’ cold outside shooting continued (0-for-3) to start the second, but they made all five attempts inside the paint as they attacked the basket. The game’s physical nature continued, and the Knicks benefited as another steal led to a Burnson layup before Anunoby connected from deep for his first points of the night to make it an 11-point Knicks lead midway through the second. That was the high-water mark as the Cavs responded: Merrill, their hero in Game 7, connected from deep and Harden pulled up from 30 feet for an 8-0 spurt, forcing a Brown timeout with 4:25 left in the half, with the head coach frustrated by a few defensive mistakes.

Mitchell, who had seven in the first, connected on a four-point play to cut the lead to one as New York couldn't get much of any rhythm offensively. Six Cavs turnovers helped (giving them 11 in the half), but Strus' three with 68 seconds remaining leveled the score before a late Mitchell three gave Cleveland a 48-46 halftime edge. The difference: Cleveland rebounding to go 6-for-9 from deep in the game's second stanza.

In the first half, the Knicks shot 18-for-24 (75 percent) from two and 2-for-19 (10.5 percent) from three, a big change after they were shooting lights out in the first two rounds (41 percent).

- Towns, who had four assists and two points in the first half, missed from deep, got the rebound and hit from deep to cut the lead to one early in the third. But another ill-advised offensive foul spoiled things moments later as he grabbed Jarrett Allen's arm after he dished it to Josh Hart, wiping away what was originally called a third foul on Allen (and potentially a Flagrant 1, too). Cleveland’s challenge meant it would be KAT’s second foul and fourth turnover.

Mitchell continued to put his mark on the game, grabbing three early steals to give him six on the night and scoring six points to give him 22 for the game. That was all part of a 13-5 Cavs period to put Cleveland up nine as Brown called another timeout under five minutes into the third.

The deficit hit 13 points with 3:55 to go (the largest lead for either team to that point) as the Cavs started to find more holes in the Knicks' defense, and on the other end, New York was 5-for-12 in the quarter (2-for-4 from deep). Cleveland went with a hack-a-Robinson strategy, trying to keep New York out of rhythm while holding a 14-point edge. He went 1-for-6 on three trips, as any lingering excitement in MSG was gone and the anxiety of the crowd was noticeable.

In the quarter, the Knicks went 9-for-18 from the line (Robinson 2-for-8, Brunson 5-for-8), committed five turnovers (to give them 13 for the night), and were down 83-69 entering the fourth.

- Bridges finished with 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting with five rebounds, two steals, and an assist. He was a plus-12 in 42 minutes.

Shamet had huge stretches on the floor, providing both offense and defense. He finished with nine points and was a team-high plus-25 in 17 minutes off the bench.

Anunoby had 13 points on 2-for-9 shooting with five rebounds, two assists, and was a plus-15 in 34 minutes in his first action back from a hamstring injury.

Towns finished with 13 points on 6-for-14 shooting with 13 rebounds (four offensive) and five assists, but committed seven turnovers and was a plus-13 in 40 minutes.

It wasn’t a night for Hart: 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting with seven rebounds and four assists, but he was a minus-23 in 31 minutes.

Robinson had four points and six rebounds (four offensive) and was a minus-8 in 14 minutes.

For the Cavs, Mitchell had 29 on 12-for-23 shooting (4-for-11 from deep) with five rebounds, three assists, six steals, but was a minus-13 in 41 minutes. He missed his two shots in overtime as Cleveland went away from him in the extra quarter.

Mobley and Harden both finished with 15 points, Dean Wade and Allen had 10. Merill scored 12 off the bench and was a team-worst minus-17 in 28 minutes.

Who else? He finished with 38 points on 15-for-29 shooting (1-for-6 from deep, 7-for-10 from the line) with six assists, five rebounds, three steals, and was a plus-15 in 47 minutes.

Mitch steal ➡️ Mikal layup pic.twitter.com/snzLw4YdRI

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 20, 2026

Mitch steal ➡️ Mikal layup pic.twitter.com/snzLw4YdRI

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 20, 2026

Jalen Brunson goes to work 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DhgQlKAlM6

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 20, 2026

Beautiful defense from the Knicks 🔒 pic.twitter.com/jmmZGE8hnf

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 20, 2026

JALEN BRUNSON IS HEATING UP pic.twitter.com/6Zu7mGO1pK

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 20, 2026

JALEN BRUNSON. pic.twitter.com/sEMu4UoGpK

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 20, 2026

LANDRY SHAMET FROM DOWNTOWN! pic.twitter.com/gSWY663ChZ

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) May 20, 2026

After the Knicks had to wait some 218 hours to play Game 1, the two sides are back in action in under 48 hours at MSG for Thursday night's 8 p.m. tip.