The Cleveland Cavaliers suffered a stunning Game 1 loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, squandering a 22-point lead with less than eight minutes remaining and falling 115-104 in overtime after a 44-11 Knicks run. The collapse ended Cleveland’s 27-0 mark this season when leading by 20 or more and marked the second-largest fourth-quarter playoff meltdown in NBA history; the Memphis Grizzlies blew a 24-point lead against the LA Clippers in 2012.
Getting past that setback is the latest of several postseason tests for the Cavs, who required seven games to eliminate the Toronto Raptors despite a 2-0 start and needed seven games to get by the Detroit Pistons after leading that series 3-2 with Game 6 at home. Star Donovan Mitchell, who has taken Cleveland to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since LeBron James led the club to four straight from 2015-18, said, “It’s been worth it,” and spoke about embracing the process ahead of Thursday’s Game 2, according to ESPN.
Mitchell had a team-high 29 points and six steals in Game 1 and has emphasized responsibility for teammates such as Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Dean Wade playing their best. He called the situation “expectations,” and said the group’s cohesion and work through ups and downs made the run back to the conference finals meaningful, according to ESPN.
The Cavs organization has shown patience under president of basketball operations Koby Altman with a near decade-long rebuild since James left for Los Angeles. The piece raises the question of how long that patience will last if the club, now knocking on the door for a title, does not deliver.
An hour before Game 1, Cleveland players learned that Jason Kidd had been dismissed as coach of the Dallas Mavericks, a reminder of the high-stakes environment surrounding the series. Cleveland began the season 17-16 and, according to ESPN research, has posted the league’s third-most regular-season wins (215) over the past four seasons while compiling only the sixth-most playoff victories in that span; the Boston Celtics (238) and Oklahoma City Thunder (229) are among the teams above them that have won championships.
