'Phenomenal' Jalen Brunson once again takes over fourth to power Knicks' Game 1 comeback
The Knicks, down by 22 in the fourth quarter, appeared headed toward another series-defining loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals for a second straight season. That was until Jalen Brunson took over.
Madison Square Garden was deflated. The Knicks , down by 22 in the fourth quarter, appeared headed at rapid speed to take a series-defining loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals for a second straight season on Tuesday night. And then something happened that had never happened before.
Per Nate Duncan , teams down 20 in the final seven minutes of the fourth quarter of a playoff game were 0-643 in the play-by-play era. A 44-11 run by New York over the final 12:55 combined minutes of the fourth and overtime sealed a 115-104 win . “I gotta give my group credit, they’ve been resilient all year,” head coach Mike Brown said, adding that the Cavaliers to that point were “shooting the ball well, they were turning us over, they were getting the ball in the pocket, and taking advantage of us.
” “And we just found a way,” Brown said. “We found a group of five guys that went out there, ended up getting stops and scoring the basketball. ” “Obviously,” the head coach continued, “we don’t get it done if Jalen Brunson doesn’t play like one of the MVP guys in the league.
” "He's an amazing player,” OG Anunoby , who added 13 points, said. “I'm happy he's on our team. I think we're all happy he's on our team.