3 stats that illustrate how historic Cavaliers collapse was vs. Knicks
The Cavs, as Donovan Mitchell said, "[expletive] blew it." Here are the NBA stats to prove it.
You don't necessarily need stats to tell you that any NBA team blowing a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter of a playoff game is historic. But there are some numbers that we absolutely need to highlight after the New York Knicks ' epic comeback to win Game 1 in overtime over the Cleveland Cavaliers. What was the culprit?
Was it the Danhausen Curse rearing its head with the WWE wrestler in attendance at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday? Was it James Harden's awful defense that Jalen Brunson and the Knicks picked apart in possession after possession? Whatever it was, the Cavs' loss was one of historic proportions.
Here are three stats proving it: How many NBA teams have blown a 20-point lead with seven minutes left in a playoff game? Teams up 20+ with 7 minutes to go in the fourth quarter of playoff games were 643-0 ... Until tonight.
(per @NateDuncanNBA ) ā Fred Katz (@FredKatz) May 20, 2026 The answer is: One. The Knicks did it. The Cavaliers had a 99.