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The Cleveland Cavaliers blew a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter, and star Donovan Mitchell made no bones about the historic collapse.
The New York Knicks defeated the Cavaliers 115-104 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, erasing a 93-71 deficit with 7:52 left in regulation.
“I said it in the locker room, it’s just that we lost, we blew it,” Mitchell said in his postgame news conference.
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Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell reacts during overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, on May 19, 2026. (Brad Penner/Image Images)
The only major fourth-quarter playoff comeback in the last 30 years was the Los Angeles Clippers coming back from a 24-point deficit to beat the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 1 of the first round in 2012.
The Cavaliers were in control of the game for 40 minutes, as the team’s defense stifled the Knicks’ potent offense. Mitchell scored 29 points and had six steals in the loss.
“We could have lost by 40. It still would have been 1-0,” Mitchell said. “Watch the film. We played pretty solid for about three quarters. We’ll make adjustments and go from there.”
KNICKS STORM BACK TO SHOCK CAVS IN GAME 1 WHILE JAMES HARDEN’S DEFENSIVE PLAY IS UNDER SCRUTINY
Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers is defended by Landry Shamet and Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks during the second half of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals in New York, New York, on May 19, 2026. (Seth Wenig/AP Photo)
The 29-year-old said he doesn’t want a fourth to affect the rest of the series.
“It’s a loss. It’s a bad loss, but all we can do is go back, watch the film and fix it,” Mitchell said.
“That can’t happen. But it did. We played in two days. We can’t sit here and let that kill our momentum, kill what we’ve been doing. It’s not a good loss, but we have to come out and respond for Game 2.”
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Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks reacts after scoring during the second half of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers in New York, New York, on May 19, 2026. (Seth Wenig/AP Photo)
Jalen Brunson sparked the Knicks’ comeback, scoring 16 of his game-high 38 points in the fourth quarter. The Knicks went on a 44-11 run in the fourth quarter and overtime to complete the surprising comeback.
The Knicks came back from 20 points down three times last year in the postseason. Those were their biggest comebacks on record since 1969-70, when they won the first of two NBA titles.
The Cavaliers will try to come off the mat and bounce back in Game 2 against the Knicks on Thursday night at 8 pm ET.
