Madison Square Miracle
Is this a team of destiny?
Final Score: Knicks 115 - Cavs 104
Series Record: 1-0
This.
This is why fans put up with all the pain. Why we willingly chose to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Endure the losing seasons and heartbreaking losses.
These moments.
The barrage of Brunson buckets. The Bridges step-back. Shamet’s shots.
The non-sports fans in our lives often question why we invest so much energy and “waste” so much time on this stuff.
The answer is simple: For the chance that, just once, you get to experience what Knicks fans witnessed on a Tuesday night in mid-May.
If there were a way to bottle that feeling, it’d be worth more than all the gold and diamonds on earth (or at least one full tank of premium gasoline in 2026).
That’s what we’re all chasing. You never know when it will arrive, but you keep showing up, night after night, in hopes you can enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
And, for the record, that is not hyperbole.
The NBA began tracking play-by-play data in 1996. Over these past 30 years, 643 teams had trailed by 20+ points in the fourth quarter of a playoff game with less than eight minutes remaining. Every one of those 643 teams had lost.
Until last night.
When James Harden hit a free throw with 7:52 remaining in regulation to cap off an 8-0 run, it gave the Cavs a seemingly insurmountable 93-71 lead.
Most teams would have waved the white flag. Most would have let go of the rope. Not these Knicks. They don’t know how to quit.
Jalen Brunson started the avalanche with a driving floater to cut the lead down to 20. Landry Shamet sacrificed his body and drew a charge on Evan Mobley and then drilled a three-pointer on the other end. The Knicks forced a turnover. KAT hit a reverse layup. Harden missed a jumper. Brunson rolled in a layup to cut the lead to 13.
The Garden, once dead, had been resuscitated. Game 1 was still on life support, but New York had a pulse.
That’s when Captain Clutch adjusted his cape and really went to work. A four-foot floater followed by a mid-range pull-up. A jumper in traffic cut the lead to single digits, and the Knicks got another stop.
Brunson then came down and banged in a three-pointer over Harden. Knicks within five.
The King of New York screamed into the crowd as the Cavs were forced to a timeout.
The delirious denizens inside MSG roared back at him, as the basketball cathedral on 7th Avenue was now in a full-fledged frenzy. The Garden had become a living, deafening organism.
Could this really be happening???
Well, Mobley knocked down a 3PT out of the timeout, pushing the lead back up to eight with under three minutes on the clock. And Cleveland played solid defense on the subsequent possession. With the shot clock about to expire, Mikal Bridges was forced to take a contested trey over Mobley’s outstretched hand. Splash.
Still, the Knicks nearly let the moment slip away. KAT got whistled for a foolish offensive foul when he grabbed Jarrett Allen’s on an OG drive, and Allen tipped in an offensive rebound to put the Cavs up by six with less than 90 seconds remaining.
Could the Knicks make one last push?
Yessir.
Bridges buried a corner 3PT to cut the deficit in half. One possession game. KAT then blocked a Donovan Mitchell floater.
Brunson brought the ball up the floor, and it found its way to Shamet on the wing. Landry let it fly.
The ball bounced off the back of the rim.
Then the backboard.
Then the other side of the rim.
Time froze.
Then it dropped.
Tie score.
Incredibly, almost a year to the day after Tyrese Haliburton’s back-breaking, rafter-scratching shot, the Knicks got the benefit of a bounce.
This.
This is why fans keep returning to the scene of the crime after unimaginable heartbreak. This is why generations get indoctrinated into this madness in the first place.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have been inside the Garden (both as a member of the media and a spectator, dating back to the early 90’s) for plenty of big shots in big games. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard the building quite as loud as it was during the fourth quarter last night. The floor was literally shaking when Shamet’s shot went in.
Incredibly, I was able to experience that moment with my son. Yes, last night was little Tommy’s first-ever taste of playoff hoops inside MSG’s hallowed halls. I told him afterward that he shouldn’t expect something like this every time!
One of our family’s favorite quotes comes from the movie “War Horse.” The main character often asks, “There are big days, and there are small days…which will it be, my boy?”
Well, I tried to explain to TT on the way home, as he was finishing off the last few bites of cotton candy and wiping his sticky fingers on a new Knicks shirt, that this was, indeed, a “big day.” He’s too young to grasp the importance or understand the magnitude of the moment, but I assured him that he’ll tell his kids and grandkids that he was inside The Garden the night of “The Comeback.”
Okay, sorry for the sidebar, back to the action…
Shamet’s three merely tied the score at 99. Harden answered with a go-ahead bucket, giving Cleveland a two-point edge. Surely all that magic wouldn’t go to waste… right?
Nope. Brunson, naturally, would score the final points in the fourth quarter. Sam Merrill had a good look at the buzzer, but the Basketball Gods finally decided Knicks fans had suffered enough.
New York opened up overtime with a 9-0 run and never looked back. OG Anunoby relentlessly attacked the tin, getting baskets or earring trips to the stripe.
The dispirited Cavs looked like they had seen a ghost. Come to think of it, maybe it was because the Knicks had exorcised a year-old demon?
Cleveland is the latest team to get a first-hand look at this Knicks squad’s incredible resolve.
“Just keep fighting, keep chipping away,” Brunson told reporters after the game. “We’re not going to get it back in one possession. Most importantly, sticking together. No matter how that game finished, habits translate. They can translate to the next game. So finishing that game strong, regardless of whatever is going on, making sure we have the right habits, so when we go into the next game, we’re doing what we’re doing. We’re not just giving up. We don’t want to give up ever. Just having faith in each other.”
Never underestimate the heart of a champion.
Nine down.
Seven to go.
Other Takeaways and Knicks Notes:
🏀 I mean, what else can I say about the Captain?
It wasn’t just that he poured in a game-high 38 points to go along with five rebounds, six assists and three steals. It was his efficiency and excellence in the clutch.
Yes, the Knicks relentlessly target Harden in screen actions, but The Beard actually didn’t play horrible defense on most of those possessions. Brunson, one of the greatest shot-makers of his generation, made contested shots look easy. The level of difficulty on some of those attempts was off the charts!
Per tracking data courtesy of ALLCITY_NBA, Harden was the screener defender on 21 on-ball picks in the 4th quarter and OT alone, with the Knicks forcing Harden to switch into nine isolations, on which New York generated an incredible 1.9 points per direct action.
🏀 Stats over the final 13 minutes of Game 1 (end of 4Q and OT):
Jalen Brunson:
17 points
8-of-10 from the floor
4 assists
3 rebounds
+36Donovan Mitchell and James Harden COMBINED:
3 points
1-of-10 from the floor
ZERO rebounds
ZERO assists
-33
🏀 Most playoff points scored in the clutch since the start of the 2023 postseason:
1. Jalen Brunson: 139
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 82
3. Nikola Jokic: 67
(The wild part is that Brunson was credited with only 4 clutch points last night because his personal 11-0 run was when the Knicks were down by 16 in the 4Q... just to get NY within 5).
Appreciate greatness.
#TheKnicksNeedADude
🏀 “Jalen Brunson is special,” KAT said. “When he’s playing that way, and he’s making points and buckets like that, I’m just blessed that I get a front-row seat to watch it.”
🏀 Mikal Bridges continued his phenomenal two-way play in Tuesday’s win, tallying 18 points, five rebounds, two steals and two (BIG) triples.
Not only was Bridges effective and efficient on offense, but he also did a great job of keeping Harden in check. The Beard was just 1-of-9 (including 0-of-4 from deep) when defended by Bridges.
Over his last six games, Bridges is averaging 18.7 points while shooting 67.1% from the floor.
Incredible.
Per Basketball-Reference, over the last 30 years, the only other non-centers to average more than 18 PPG while shooting above 65% from the floor over a 6-game postseason stretch are Kawhi Leonard and Shawn Kemp.
🏀 OG Anunoby, as expected, looked rusty in his first game back from the hamstring tweak. Through the first three quarters, he has just three points (on five FG attempts), one rebound and one assist. However, as noted above, he was a beast down the stretch and into overtime, finishing his evening with 13 points (2-of-9 FGs, 8-of-10 FTs), five rebounds and two assists.
The best news regarding OG is that he seems to have escaped the contest without suffering a setback. We’ll keep an eye on the injury report later tonight to confirm.
🏀 KAT wasn’t coming off an injury, but he also looked out of sorts in Game 1, possibly attributable to the team’s long layoff. He ended up with 13 points (6-of-14 FGs), 13 rebounds, five assists and four fouls.
“To be real, there was definitely rust,” Towns said afterward. “You could see we’re a team that hasn’t played in a playoff game in a while. It’s a testament to the grit and resiliency of this locker room and this team that as the game went along, you could see the rust was coming off a little bit, and we were able to find ourselves in the game. At the end of the day great offensive plays by JB, amazing clutch plays by Landry Shamet, clutch plays by the man next to me, Mikal Bridges, but it was our defense that has always been special in these playoffs and carried us in the playoffs that showed up in the fourth quarter and overtime and allowed us to be sitting here with a win against a really great team.”
🏀 Hart struggled last night. The Cavs, as expected, stuck Jarrett Allen on him and dared the Knicks’ Swiss Army Knife to fire away from behind the arc. Unfortunately for New York, Hart was misfiring, hitting just one of his five 3PT attempts.
On the other end of the floor, Hart had a tough time staying in front of Donovan Mitchell. The Knicks’ other four starters posted a plus/minus of +12 or better, while Hart was a minus-23.
Consequently, Hart found himself watching from the bench for most of the fourth quarter and OT. Which brings us to the game’s unsung hero…
🏀 Shamet!
Landry was an afterthought for most of the Hawks and Sixers series, before getting back in the rotation (and in the groove) late in the second round.
To his credit, he stayed ready and locked it. It showed in Game 1, when he knocked some of the biggest three-pointers imaginable. Shamet also did a great job cooling off Mitchell down the stretch. Donovan was a combined 12-for-19 when defended by Hart, Bridges, JB, McBride or KAT last night. He was 0-for-3 when Shamet was the primary defender.
Shamet was +25 in 17 minutes in a game that went to OT. That seems almost impossible. It’s safe to assume we’ll see more of Shamet in Game 2 and beyond. Matchups make fights, and with Cleveland’s ability to put a center on Hart, New York can counter by going 5-out with five shooters on the floor.
And props to Mike Brown for sticking with Shamet. Yet another dice roll came up 4, 5, 6. Brown has been on a heater these past 8 games.
🏀 The Cavs resorted to Hack-a-Mitch, and Robinson wasn’t able to make them pay, missing six of his 8 FT attempts. However, for what it’s worth, the Knicks are now 6-0 this postseason when Mitch Rob takes at least four free throws (maybe the Basketball Gods don’t like that BS?)
Deuce was quiet (0-for-1) in his 17 minutes of action, but still posted a +5… Jordan Clarkson saw 16 minutes but didn’t contribute much. I could see Shamet eating into Clarkson’s playing time as well this series.
🏀 The Cavaliers set a franchise record for both three-point attempts (50) and 3PT misses (16) in a playoff game in Game 1.
🏀 The Knicks’ current eight-game winning streak is the longest such streak in franchise history. They have outscored their opponents by 196 points over the eight games, the highest such mark in NBA postseason history.
🏀 New York closed the game on a 44-11 run, as the Cavs shot just 4-of-18 shooting (22.2%) in that stretch.
The Knicks’ incredible 22-point comeback was the largest Conference Finals comeback in the play-by-play era. It was the largest postseason rally in New York franchise history.
I still can’t really believe what I saw…
🏀 Next Up:
Game 2 Thursday night (8:00 pm tip)
Yes, the Cavs had plenty working over the first three quarters, but it’s hard to envision Cleveland having the wherewithal to bounce back after being floored by that devastating gut punch.
We saw last year, when the Knicks looked hungover after the Haliburton shot and dropped Game 2 at home.
The road-weary Cavs have to feel exhausted, in addition to dejected. They have played 15 high-pressure playoff games in the past 32 days.
New York, having knocked off the rust, has to come out early and keep their foot on Cleveland’s throat.
As much fun as unprecedented comebacks are, brutal blowouts are slightly less stressful.
Just an incredible moment and come back. I will never forget that landry shamet shot for the rest of my life
Tommy what a great game for you and your son to experience. You will always have the legendary “soul snatching” big Knick comeback to talk about for years as will your son. For gosh sakes , though, can someone please get through to KAT to stop with the idiotic fouls that cost at least foul shots including a flagrant one against Hart. Just mind boggling how careless he is at times.