Jalen Brunson leads Knicks on furious 22-point comeback, defeat Cavs in OT thriller

NEW YORK —  For the second time in as many years, the New York Knicks are in the Eastern Conference finals and found themselves in overtime in Game 1.

The vibe, and the result, was much different this time.

The Knicks overcame a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter to stun the Cleveland Cavaliers, 115-104, on Tuesday night. Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 38 points, including a heroic fourth-quarter effort that enabled the Knicks to wrestle away a victory from the jaws of defeat.

The Knicks trailed 93-71 with 7:40 left before Brunson got cooking. He scored 15 in the fourth and New York reeled off an 18-1 run to get within striking distance. Landry Shamet’s bouncing 3-pointer (remember Tyrese Haliburton from Game 1 of last year’s conference finals, here at MSG, that beat the Knicks?) with 45 seconds left tied the game at 99.

James Harden responded with a short jumper to regain the lead for Cleveland, only for Brunson to re-tie it at 101 on a short jumper of his own. The Knicks coasted in overtime, outscoring the Cavs 14-3.

Cleveland’s Sam Merrill had a clean look at a 3-pointer that rattled around the rim and off just before the buzzer sounded. The Cavs shot 5-of-17 in the final quarter as their lead collapsed. It was highly reminiscent of the game between these teams here on Christmas Day, in which Cleveland led by 17 in the fourth quarter and lost.

This loss hurts much, much worse for the Cavs, who were coming off a historic Game 7 in the second round Sunday in which they became the third team in NBA history to win a Game 7 on the road by 30 or more points.

The Knicks, meanwhile, hadn’t played since May 10 because they made such quick work of Philadelphia in the second round. Perhaps the layoff had something to do with them falling behind by three touchdowns.

But they got it together in time to set a whole new tone for this year’s conference finals, and devastate the Cavs in the process.

Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 29 points and Evan Mobley added 15 points and 14 boards. Mikal Bridges added 18 points for the Knicks, and Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Game 2 of the Eastern finals is at 8 p.m. (ESPN) Thursday at Madison Square Garden.

This story will be updated.