The New York Knicks staged a dramatic fourth quarter comeback before beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-104 in overtime to win Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Inspired by star player Jalen Brunson, who finished with 38 points, the Knicks overturned a 22-point down the stretch in front of a raucous Madison Square Garden crowd on Tuesday night.
The Knicks, who were cheered on courtside by a star-studded Celebrity Row, used that momentum to overpower Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers in overtime and will take a 1-0 lead into Game 2 on Thursday.
After a record-setting run through the first two rounds of the postseason, the Knicks were going nowhere for 40 minutes against the Cavs, trailing 93-71 with 7:52 to play.
But Brunson relentlessly attacked James Harden to spark an 18-1 run and he tied it at 101-all on a basket with 19 seconds remaining in regulation.
The Knicks then opened overtime with a 9-0 run as a delirious crowd in Madison Square Garden danced and screamed in the aisles. The Knicks moved within three wins of their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999.
The Knicks staged a sublime fourth quarter comeback before beating the Cavaliers in overtime
Knicks fans go wild after watching Jalen Brunson score in their epic fourth quarter comeback
Donovan Mitchell (right) put the Cavaliers in control before Brunson inspired the turnaround
It was a stunning evening for their celebrity fans, including Ben Stiller and Timothee Chalamet
Brunson sparked an 18-1 run and he tied it at 101-all on a basket with 19 seconds remaining
Mikal Bridges added 18 points and three Knicks scored 13, including OG Anunoby, who came on late after struggling most of the way in his return after missing two games with a strained right hamstring.
Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points for the Cavaliers, who seemed well on their way to a third straight road win before their late collapse.
The Knicks won their eighth straight game and will host Game 2 on Thursday.
The Knicks had outscored Atlanta and Philadelphia by a combined 194 points, the largest margin ever through a team´s first 10 postseason games.
But after not playing since May 10, when they finished their second-round sweep of the 76ers, the Knicks misfired most of the night, looking like the rust hurt more than the rest helped.
They were four for 23 on three-pointers through three quarters and then had a horrible start to the fourth.
But a year after coughing up a 14-point lead in the final minutes of regulation and losing to Indiana in OT in Game 1 of the conference finals on their home court, the Knicks found their offense just in time.
The only bigger fourth-quarter playoff comeback in the last 30 years was when the Clippers rallied from 24 down to beat Memphis in Game 1 in 2012.
The Knicks came from 20 points behind three times last year in the postseason. Those were their largest comebacks on record since 1969-70, when they won their first of two NBA titles.
