{"id":1945611,"date":"2026-05-20T14:15:39","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T11:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1945611"},"modified":"2026-05-20T14:15:39","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T11:15:39","slug":"the-bounce-making-sense-of-that-knicks-comeback-against-the-cavs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1945611","title":{"rendered":"The Bounce: Making sense of that Knicks comeback against the Cavs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Bounce Newslette<\/b>r<\/strong> \":basketball:\"<\/span> | This is The Athletic\u2019s<\/em> daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

The conference finals need to slow down a bit. We\u2019ve had two games so far and three overtime periods. We\u2019ve had one of the best individual performances we\u2019ve ever seen and one of the biggest choke jobs we\u2019ve ever seen. It\u2019s Wednesday<\/a>. I\u2019m not complaining, by the way. I\u2019m just trying to stop my heart from jumping out of my chest.<\/p>\n

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About last night<\/h3>\n

Knicks snatch Cavs\u2019 souls with comeback<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been adamant that the New York Knicks are going to the NBA Finals and that nobody in the Eastern Conference can really hang with them. Granted, I\u2019ve only been saying this for a couple of weeks. But once we saw how mediocre the Pistons looked in the first round and after the 76ers knocked off the Celtics with a 3-1 comeback, it felt like the Knicks were destined for a return to the finals. Especially with the way they played in their previous seven playoff games entering last night\u2019s Game 1 of the East finals.<\/p>\n

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Then the Cleveland Cavaliers came out and reignited the \u201crest versus rust\u201d debate. The Knicks, who hadn\u2019t played in nine days, looked rusty. They looked slow. They looked uninspired. They looked like they were just waiting for the Cavs, who\u2019d won a Game 7 against the Pistons on Sunday, to fold. Except that Cleveland took a two-point lead into halftime at Madison Square Garden, and then proceeded to build upon it throughout the second half.<\/p>\n

All of a sudden, the Cavs were up by 22 points with 7:52 left in the fourth quarter. Maybe all that confidence in the Knicks and our doubts about the Cavs were unwarranted?<\/p>\n

Then, over the next 12 minutes and 52 seconds (including overtime),<\/strong> the Knicks outscored the Cavs 44-11<\/strong>. New York targeted James Harden seemingly every time down the floor, with Jalen Brunson going to work<\/a>. Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson just \u2026 kind of \u2026 let it happen to his team. It was bizarre. Over that final 12:52 of game clock, including OT:<\/p>\n