By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports
The New York Knicks closed Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers in a historic 44-11 run.
The Cavaliers surged in the second half and looked like they had the game in the bag, but the Knicks erupted for a massive comeback in the fourth quarter, and the entire overtime was in their favor.
Jalen Brunson ignited the Knicks’ comeback and finished the game with 38 points and six assists. We had two back-to-back conference games that kicked off in overtime. On Monday night, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in double overtime in Game 1. Now, it was the Knicks’ turn to get the win in overtime.
The Cavs, who finished a 7-game series battle against the Detroit Pistons, completely collapsed in the fourth quarter. A heartbreaking loss for the team, but it’s still a long series to go.
Cleveland made 16 of their 50 threes. The Knicks made 10 of their 32 threes. The Knicks won the rebound battle 47-38 and finished shooting 48 percent from the field. The Knicks won eight straight playoff games.
“I’m just proud and honored that we’re giving the city something to cheer for,” Karl Anthony-Towns said. “To be able to come in every day, we sacrifice every day we put the work in and for our fans to recognize the work we’re putting in to support us, to show us love, and give us all the energy in the world to go out there, the motivation to get the job done every single night.”
Towns is playing his best basketball ever, and he’s stepping up at the right time. It’s his eighth straight game with five or more assists, the second-longest streak of his career.
Landry Shamet was a huge contributor from the bench. He made the biggest shot of his career with 45 seconds left to go in the fourth. Shamet finished with 9 points.
Knicks won 115-104. Game two will be on Thursday at 8 pm.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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