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343 - Captain Clutch! Brunson leads a Knicks Comeback For The Ages!

• Don Signorino

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0:00 | 20:24

Captain Clutch delivers the biggest comeback in Knicks playoff history!

A 22-point deficit with 7:52 left usually means one thing: turn it off and move on. But at Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks turned Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 into a full-on basketball fever dream and walked out with a win that lands near the top of NBA playoff comeback history.

I break down how the Knicks looked flat for 3 and a half quarters, then suddenly found the defensive edge and offensive clarity to storm back. Jalen Brunson goes into takeover mode, scoring in bunches and controlling the pace like the game is running on his clock. I also spotlight the supporting pieces that mattered when everything tightened up, including OG Anunoby’s overtime impact and Mikal Bridges showing up in the biggest moments even after an uneven night.

Then I get honest about what still has to improve if this series is going to end the right way. Karl-Anthony Towns runs into a wall against Cleveland’s size and mobility, Mitchell Robinson gets targeted with Hack-a-Mitch, and the “rest versus rust” argument feels a lot less theoretical after a long layoff. Game 1 is a thrill, but Game 2 is the test.

Subscribe, share this with a Knicks fan who needs to relive it, and leave a review if you like the postgame deep dives. What was the moment you believed the comeback was actually happening?

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Welcome And The Big Theme

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Welcome to Journey Guide for the We're talking for the Yanks, Giants, and Rangers and Rocket Cross. I'm your host, Don. I want to thank you for listening. Today I'm going to be discussing thriving in the epic 22.4 quarters. So let's go with this.

The 22-Point Deficit Setup

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Good times, good times, good times, New York Knicks fans. And what was the biggest comeback in New York Knicks playoff history? The Knicks beat the Cavs 115 to 104 in overtime in game one of the Eastern Conference Finals in what was an absolutely thrilling finish to a game that just about everyone thought the Knicks had no chance in in the middle of the fourth quarter. The Knicks looked lethargic, sloppy, and honestly just like they didn't care for about three and a half quarters. And it was so depressing after that tremendous series against Philly and the way that they finished the Atlanta series and the whole rest versus Rust. They really did not look like they had it, and they were getting blown out of the building by the Cavs. The Knicks were down by 22 points with 7.52 left in the game. Cleveland 93, Knicks 71, 752 showing on the clock. 93 to 71, the Knicks were down with 7 and change left in the

Brunson Ignites The Run

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game. And then Captain Klutch put his cape on and everything changed. Led by what was incredible Jalen Brunson play. The Knicks outscored the Cavaliers 44 to 11 the rest of the way, including the fourth quarter and overtime. And that run included an 18-1 run from that point on to close it to within four points, and then an overall 30 to 8 run to end the fourth quarter into force overtime. Jalen Brunson in that stretch scored 11 straight points for the Knicks. And that was kind of late in the fourth quarter, you know, between like the seven-minute mark and, you know, the one-minute mark, basically. Brunson had 11 straight points, and the crowd went from what was sort of a dead silence into what can only be considered a mob frenzy. What a change in attitude, in disposition, in everything for the Knicks and their fans. I can't tell you how quiet and depressing Madison Square Garden seemed, and then how incredibly mob-like it was at the end with just incredible comeback from the New York Knicks. It was unexpected, I have to say, and Jalen Brunson was every bit as good as you could possibly imagine if you somehow missed this game. He was magic. He was hitting shots from every conceivable angle late in the fourth quarter. He would drive in high arc shots off oblique angles off the very top of the backboard, driving, you know, hitting three pointers, you know, his patented pivot, you know, in the paint, fadeaway, you know, 10-foot jumpers over people. He was hitting every shot from every angle, including a really big three at one point. He could not be stopped. And, you know, for whatever reason, you know, they they kept Harden on him. And I don't know why Harden could not guard Jalen Brunson at all. And Cleveland has some excellent defenders. This is not Philly's defense here. I'm going to talk a little bit about some problems that Kat had, but this was Jalen Brunson doing his magic against very good defenders. Although, for some reason, like I said, James Harden was matched up against him for much of that comeback. And Brunson just used and abused Harden, and he was magic. There isn't anything more you can say. Go watch the last seven minutes of that game in overtime and take a look at Jalen Brunson. He was absolutely incredible. Yeah, it was basically a comeback for the ages. Brunson finished with 38 points. He had 17 in that critical fourth quarter. And he essentially picked up the Knicks off the canvas, dragged their sorry ass up, and led them to this thrilling, insane comeback win that, like I said, is really for the ages. It set records, right? Largest one in Knicks franchise history, second largest one ever in the history of the NBA. Just incredible, incredible. Apparently, no one had been down 20 plus points

Overtime Heroes And Rotation Surprises

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with seven minutes left and came back to win. And now there's one team that's actually done it. Now, in overtime, OG Anobi scored nine of the Knicks' 14 points. And actually, Shamot hit a pretty big three-pointer there as well. And by the way, Shamot came in for Josh Hart, middle of the fourth quarter. Hart ended up shooting very poorly for most of the game. And he was actually benched, Hart was, for most of the fourth quarter and all of overtime. So during this epic comeback, you know, Josh Hart was basically staple to the bench. So it was interesting, and something I didn't really notice till later on. But incredible, incredible vibes. And you know, it really could have felt the other way because we have the you know the ghosts of last year's Eastern Conference Final Game One in every Knicks' mind, right? And you didn't want to go down that route. And so to have this incredible, incredible, just unbelievable, unthinkable comeback to start the series really has to pump some blood through the veins of every Knicks fan. It was a sight to behold and an unbelievable comeback of epic proportions. Bridges honestly played pretty well when it mattered again at the end. He didn't have a great game, but then as the game went on and as the comeback started, Bridges made some good shots and he hit some clutch shots, you know. And I think it's incredibly important that Mikhail Bridges continues to rise to the occasion because I think this team is a different team when Bridges is hitting his shots and playing well. And when it mattered, he again had another good game at the end. He didn't have a great game overall, but you know, in that fourth quarter run and in overtime, Bridges played well. He had a huge steal in overtime. I think he ended up with about 18 points. But it's critical that Bridges continues to do what he did at the end of this game, and that is when the shots are big, he's got to make them, you know, whether they're open or not, you know, and he has to continue to do it in crunch time. And, you know, since the end of that Atlanta series, Bridges has really I'd say risen to the occasion, right? I I have big reservations about him, but you know, he he played a part, you know, uh in this comeback win for sure. And if you were a fan watching this game, the Knicks looked, I can't even tell you how dead in the water it looked, right? It seemed like there was not any chance that the Knicks would even get this game close. Everyone might come back and win. I mean, you're sitting there watching the the second half on fall, watching the awful third quarter that the Knicks have, and they're turning the ball over and they're missing shots, and and you're thinking, oh my god, this is really just not great. You know, Brunson was not that great early. Kat was ineffective throughout the game. Hart had very poor shooting. He did contribute in other ways. He had a few steals and got some rebounds, but you know, Josh Hart did not play well. OG looked particularly rusty early on, had a couple air balls. We didn't get much at all from the Deuce, you know, Clarkson. There really wasn't a lot, you know, going on at all. And, you know, it was a pretty big deal, you know, that that the Knicks were getting blown out after, you know, three quarters. And and, you know, there wasn't any. I don't know that you could find if you pulled every single Knicks fan in the country after three or three and a half quarters and said, you know, oh, you think the Knicks have a chance to come back in this game? Never mind, even win. Just make it a game. Everyone would have told you no. But the way they were playing and the you know 21, 22 point deficit, as I said, right? If you didn't see it, 752 left. Cavaliers 93, Knicks 71. You look at that, you're like, I'm turning this shit off. Forget it, man. But, you know, little by little, led by, you know, Captain Clutch, the Knicks clawed their way back in, forced overtime, and then kind of blew them out in overtime itself. Uh just an absolutely inspiring, far from perfect, but inspiring, important, critical almost, Knicks victory in game one of the Eastern Conference Finals. Right.

Game One Lessons And Game Two Risk

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There is this danger though with the Knicks because they talked over and over and over about last year's Eastern Conference Final, about the importance of game one, about not taking things lightly, about, you know, how hard they have to play. And then they kind of come out and sort of lay an egg through three and a half quarters. So I think going through every Knicks fan's mind was the Indiana series last year. And, you know, it was a little bit opposite in that in that series, the Knicks had the huge lead in the fourth quarter and then let it slip away. It wasn't this big a lead, but it was a pretty huge lead in the fourth quarter of the Pacer series that they let slip away and ended up losing in overtime. And in this series, they were getting blown out, had a big deficit, came back, and then won it in overtime. So there there is a little bit of the mirroring. But whether or not, you know, that was the case, every Knicks fan probably thinks here we go again with this game one of the Easter Conference Finals over a team that we are favored with. You know, we were favored over Indiana last year, we were favored over Cleveland this year, and you know, we're here we go, we're gonna drop game one again. But not today, not last night, right? That that's not the way it was on you know Tuesday night in Madison Square Garden, you know, Captain Courageous, Captain Klutch put on his cape and just drag the Knicks to victory. There is certain danger here, and if the Knicks go ahead and lose game two here, you know, it's not like this victory will ever be forgotten, but you know, uh it might be wasted in a way if we end up, you know, laying a neck in game two on Thursday night. But for at least for one night, uh New York Knicks fans can revel in what was just a brilliant, brilliant comeback and an incredible performance by Jalen Brunson almost single-handedly, leading the Knicks from the abyss to a 1-0 lead in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. Now, I want to talk on about a few other things before I get out of here. This will be a quick podcast here today.

Why Towns Struggled Against Cleveland

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Talk about Kat, right? Carl Anthony Towns was way, way less effective. He was essentially a non-factor offensively. I mean, really, due to much, much better defense from the Cavaliers than Towns saw from Philly. I mean, Kat had all kinds of trouble creating against Cleveland's big men, right? They have some good defenders and Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, and it showed because Towns struggled, right? He did not have the open passing lanes like he did against Philly. He couldn't stand there and hold the ball out in one hand like he does and just look for someone to cut and easily hit them for two points. You're right. The defenders were up on them. They're taller, they're more athletic, and they have they're very agile. And I think both Mobley, especially, and then Jared Allen, too, presented a lot of problems for Kat that he didn't have against a sort of wounded embied in the Philly series. So this is definitely not Philly, and Cleveland's defense is much more formidable, particularly as it pertains to guarding Kat. Towns only had 13 points on where is it here? Six of 14 shooting. Kat had seven turnovers. Brown's gonna have to see what changes can be employed here to get Kat a little more room to see if we can unlock him a little better, because you know, Cleveland certainly had the answer to locking down Kat. Towns has had a great playoff so far and a great end to the regular season, and we need to find a way to unlock him against Cleveland here. Certainly what worked against the Sixers did not against Cleveland in game one. So we'll see how that, you know, evolves as the series goes on. What else? Other bits.

Hack-A-Mitch And The Rule Problem

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Yes, of course. The Hackamich was employed again, right? So the Cleveland employed the you know Hakomich system, where of course, you know, where Mitchell Robinson gets the ball and they foul him and he has to try to shoot free throws, and that can only be done, you know, when there's more than two minutes left in a particular quarter. And it worked again because n Mitch Robinson missed a bunch of free throws, and it is a continuing New York Knicks problem. And for someone that came in in the first half and sparked a big comeback because Cleveland was up early. The first time that Robinson got in the game, he had some huge plays, big rebounds, a couple steals, a couple good passes. Robinson played really, really well and sparked, you know, a Knicks, you know, sort of comeback and lead at that point before they gave up the lead and you know, again later. But he is a big part of this team, Mitchell Robinson. And when other teams employ this Hakamich strategy, it's trouble for the Knicks because there isn't much we can do about it except, you know, hope he somehow starts to hit some free throws or just not play him, you know, at certain times. And it's a tough thing to deal with. I don't like it. I think the NBA needs to change certain rules about that. I mean, I it doesn't seem to me that you can just purposely foul someone away from the ball and not have it be an intentional foul, and that which would lead to a technical foul, right? I don't see how that can be the case, but it is the case. That is the rules, you know. But apparently when there's two minutes left, the rules change. Now it really is. You can't do that. You know, it's it's kind of funny, right? When I do action A, it is not a technical foul, and you don't get the ball. But if I do the same action A a little bit later, then it is, and then you get to shoot the free throw and keep the ball. So it's like, well, you know, it doesn't make a lot of logical sense. Bottom line is the Knicks have a problem. Hakomich was employed, and the Knicks have to think about what to do going forward. Because it certainly probably will continue, and if the Knicks end up getting past Cleveland and somehow make it to the NBA Finals, they'll probably do it again. So they need some kind of strategy or some kind of luck about him hitting free throws, but we're gonna have to see. What else? Other bits and bites here. How

OG’s Return And Needed Rim Pressure

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great is it to have OG Ananobi back in the lineup? Now, he certainly struggled early for sure, right? He's been off for quite a long time and it showed for sure. But he was a critical force during the comeback, and especially in overtime when Brunson was getting doubled and sometimes tripled after he was just killing it. OG had, I think, only 13 points, and he shot two of nine overall, but he looked much better at the end. He kept taking it to the hoop, which is awesome because we don't have a lot of people that get the ball on the perimeter and drive strong to the basket through contact and either jam or you know take the foul and you know sometimes make it, sometimes don't. But it's important that whether you make it or not, we continue to drive because otherwise you're gonna get guarded way too tightly on the perimeter. And the ability to drive will make defenders back off a little more. And OG is one of the few people, especially one with any size, that can actually, you know, drive consistently. And he did that, you know, again, especially in overtime, drew a lot of fouls, made some free throws. Again, did not have a particularly good game, particularly early, looked rusty, had a bunch of air balls, and you know, certainly showed you know some of this rust, and and you know, it is just still overall great, great to have OG Ananobi back on the team. It felt great. Speaking

Rest Versus Rust After Long Layoff

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of rust, I did want to discuss the rest versus rust discussion, right? And if anyone's not familiar with that, you probably are if you're listening to this podcast. You know, there's an old you know discussion that goes about when one team wins a particular playoff series quickly and then has to wait around a long time like the Knicks did to play their next game. And the rest versus rust discussion is about is it better to have all of that rest over all that long time, or does it make you rusty? Is it not better to have all that time? And almost universally, everyone in writing, all the talking heads, all the podcasts, Michael K, everyone else, everyone universally says, yes, it's better to have the rest. There, you know, it's not, you know, there's no chance of this rust, it's it's rest. Well, it turns out the Knicks sure as hell looked fucking rusty, didn't they? I mean, if you watch them, it certainly looked like they were very, very rusty, and it felt like it would have been way better had the Knicks only had, say, four days rest instead of nine days rest like they had, right? They certainly did not look like the same team at all for three and a half quarters, as they did, you know, in the last two playoff series. So certainly there was a big rust factor, and it almost cost them game one of the Eastern Conference Finals. So I think as much as people kind of shoo away the discussion, oh, of course, and they they roll out stats, like, you know, teams that, you know, sweep a series and have a long time off, uh, you know, have won this percentage of the next series or something like that. Well, of course, because teams that win four to nothing are great teams. You don't have crap teams that win four to nothing. So the fact that they may win the next series doesn't mean they're not too rusty and they would not prefer less days off. It just means that they're excellent teams because they won four games to none. And so they're probably gonna be whoever the next team is anyway, more times than not. Not always. But you know, rolling out a stat like that doesn't really prove rust versus rest. It just proves that a really good team happened to also win the next series, too, right? And if you just you know use the eye test here, the Knicks look fucking rusty. They certainly look very rusty, and I think they could have done with a little less rest to wear off some of that rust, in my opinion. So there is that discussion to be had, and I think you know, a lot of people were very cavalier about their opinions when it came to that because this was a very long time off, and you know, it showed for the Knicks.

Records, Final Thoughts, And Sign-Off

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Anyway, I think that's gonna do it. This win was probably you know, it was the biggest postseason comeback in Knicks franchise history and the second biggest in NBA playoff history. Go near go no you're go, go no you're gonna you go. How about that, man? What a game, what an incredible game. Knicks fans should be pumped. Can't wait for game two at the garden on Thursday night. That's gonna do it for the podcast. I want to thank you for listening to Jersey Guy Sports. Please subscribe to the podcast, tell your friends all about it, and I'll be back soon with some more sports talk. Thanks, have a good day.

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Don Signorino

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