NEW YORK (AP) — James Harden could not stop Jalen Brunson down the stretch and did not have enough offensively to make up for it.
The Cleveland Cavaliers blew a 22-point lead to lose Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals to the New York Knicks in overtime on Tuesday night, and Harden's struggles at each end of the court played a big part in the collapse.
Brunson scored on several possessions in a row off the dribble with Harden guarding him. Brunson had
15 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the fourth quarter alone.
“He made some tough ones, but we obviously all know he’s a great 1-on-1 player,” Harden said. “Anybody on an island, it’s going to be difficult, so we’ve got to do a better job of making sure he sees bodies. On the other hand, they do a good job at supporting him and helping him when he’s on an island. He made some tough ones, but we’ve got to do a better job as a team.”
Knicks coach Mike Brown put the ball in Brunson’s hands and trusted his point guard to exploit the matchup against Harden.
“There is no secret: We were attacking Harden,” Brown said. “Sometimes you’ve got to do what the game dictates, and they were trying to do the same thing with Jalen, so we said, ‘OK, we feel like we can play that game.’ We try not to play that game much, but we feel like we have a guy that we can play that game with in Jalen.”
Brunson only had 14 points at halftime, and Cleveland's defense switching defenders on him paid dividends until he got 1-on-1 with Harden to spark the comeback.
“Jalen was a little bit more aggressive,” Harden said. “We just allowed him to be aggressive, and he made shots and he continued to make shots.”
Coach Kenny Atkinson said he and his staff made adjustments, but nothing worked.
“We started sending two at him, getting the ball out of his hands, full rotating,” Atkinson said. “James was good most of the game. Listen, we weren’t great defensively in the fourth quarter.”
Playing 48 hours after blowing out Detroit in Game 7 of the second round, Atkinson said he never considered taking Harden off the court defensively.
“Listen, he’s been one of our best defenders and a big player in the playoffs,” Atkinson said. “I trust him. He’s smart, great hands.”
Trading for Harden, an 11-time All-Star, in February helped propel the Cavaliers to this point. But the 36-year-old struggled Tuesday night with the ball in his hands, too.
Harden shot 5 of 16 from the floor, including 1 of 8 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over six times.
Donovan Mitchell, who led Cleveland with 29 points, said he and his teammates could have done a lot more collectively to slow down Brunson and did not put the blame for the improbable defeat on Harden’s shoulders.
“Ultimately, this isn’t on him — it’s on all of us,” Mitchell said. “It’s not just on one person. He’s been around the league long enough. He understands that.”
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