Game ID: 42500301
Cleveland Cavaliers @ New York Knicks
Tuesday, May 19, 2026 at 8:00 PM ET
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT1 Final
NYK 23 23 23 32 14 115CLE 16 32 35 18 3 104
CLE @ NYK ScoutingCLE @ NYK Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
NYK availability going into 5/04 · 3 days' restBACK Kolek back 4/25 after 7, 6 min since (57% of 11)
NYK availability going into 5/06 · 1 day's restBACK Kolek back 4/25 after 7, 7 min since (66% of 11)
NYK availability going into 5/08 · 1 day's restBACK Kolek back 4/25 after 7, 7 min since (66% of 11)
NYK availability going into 5/10 · 1 day's rest
full strength
NYK availability going into 5/19 · 8 days' restOUT Anunoby missed 2 since 5/08, returns tonight: 34 min (103% of 33)
NYK availability going into 5/21 · 1 day's restBACK Anunoby back 5/19 after 2, 34 min since (103% of 33)
NYK availability going into 5/23 · 1 day's restBACK Anunoby back 5/19 after 2, 33 min since (99% of 33)
NYK availability going into 5/25 · 1 day's restBACK Anunoby back 5/19 after 2, 32 min since (97% of 33)
NYK availability going into 6/03 · 8 days' restBACK Anunoby back 5/19 after 2, 31 min since (93% of 33)
CLE availability going into 5/11 · 1 day's restOUT Porter Jr. missed 7 since 4/26, returns tonight: 0 min (2% of 16)
OUT Tomlin missed 7 since 4/26, returns tonight: 0 min (2% of 14)
OUT Nance Jr. missed 7 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Bryant missed 2 since 5/07, returns tonight: 0 min (3% of 11)
OUT Proctor missed 7 since 4/26, returns tonight: 0 min (3% of 10)
BACK Ellis back 5/05 after 3, 8 min since (42% of 20)
CLE availability going into 5/13 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 8 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Ellis back 5/05 after 3, 6 min since (29% of 20)
BACK Porter Jr. back 5/11 after 7, 0 min since (2% of 16)
BACK Tomlin back 5/11 after 7, 0 min since (2% of 14)
BACK Bryant back 5/11 after 2, 0 min since (3% of 11)
BACK Proctor back 5/11 after 7, 0 min since (3% of 10)
CLE availability going into 5/15 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 9 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Ellis back 5/05 after 3, 6 min since (29% of 20)
BACK Porter Jr. back 5/11 after 7, 0 min since (2% of 16)
BACK Tomlin back 5/11 after 7, 0 min since (2% of 14)
BACK Bryant back 5/11 after 2, 0 min since (3% of 11)
BACK Proctor back 5/11 after 7, 0 min since (3% of 10)
NEW Mobley 33 to 38 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 5/17 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 10 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 2 since 5/13, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 5/11 after 7, 1 min since (8% of 16)
BACK Tomlin back 5/11 after 7, 1 min since (9% of 14)
BACK Bryant back 5/11 after 2, 1 min since (12% of 11)
NEW Mobley 33 to 38 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 5/19 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 11 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 3 since 5/13, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 5/11 after 7, 2 min since (14% of 16)
BACK Tomlin back 5/11 after 7, 2 min since (16% of 14)
BACK Bryant back 5/11 after 2, 2 min since (20% of 11)
NEW Mobley 33 to 38 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 5/21 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 12 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 4 since 5/13, returns tonight: 1 min (12% of 10)
BACK Porter Jr. back 5/11 after 7, 2 min since (14% of 16)
BACK Tomlin back 5/11 after 7, 2 min since (16% of 14)
BACK Bryant back 5/11 after 2, 2 min since (20% of 11)
NEW Mobley 33 to 39 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 5/23 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 13 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Proctor back 5/21 after 4, 1 min since (12% of 10)
NEW Mobley 33 to 38 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 5/25 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 14 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Proctor back 5/21 after 4, 1 min since (12% of 10)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 99, shooting 55 percent and 43 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 27 and Anunoby at 24 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Anunoby (2 straight). 8 days' rest. Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 107, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 35 free throws a game; Mitchell at 29 and Harden at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-11 a night and Cleveland plus-0 and the arc, New York at 43 percent from three to Cleveland's 36. Call it New York 118, Cleveland 108, New York by 10.
5/04 vs PHI 137-98 — NYK notes
NYK won 137-98. NYK shot 63% (53 of 84) to PHI's 41%, 19 of 37 from three, and got to the line 17 times to PHI's 34. NYK turned it over 14 times to PHI's 19. The glass went 39-28 for them. Brunson led with 35 (12 of 18, 3 of 6 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Anunoby added 18, Bridges 17. The hinge was Q2, 41-26: a lead of 8 became 23, and the lead reached 40. Brunson was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
5/06 vs PHI 108-102 — NYK notes
NYK won 108-102. NYK shot 51% (40 of 79) to PHI's 45%, 7 of 26 from three. NYK turned it over 13 times to PHI's 18. Brunson led with 26 (9 of 21, 1 of 5 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Anunoby added 24, Towns 20. The hinge was Q4, 19-12: NYK came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 6. NYK trailed 61-62 at the half and won the second half 47-40. Anunoby was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
5/08 @ PHI 108-94 — NYK notes
NYK won 108-94. NYK shot 50% (38 of 76) to PHI's 43%, 9 of 27 from three, and went to the line 32 times to PHI's 16 — 23 points from the stripe to their 13. The glass went 49-33 for them. Brunson led with 33 (11 of 22, 3 of 8 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Bridges added 23, Shamet 15. The hinge was Q2, 33-21: NYK came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 8, and the lead reached 16. Shamet was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
5/10 @ PHI 144-114 — NYK notes
NYK won 144-114. NYK shot 54% (49 of 91) to PHI's 50%, 25 of 44 from three. The glass went 47-30 for them. McBride led with 25 (7 of 10, 7 of 9 from three); Brunson added 22, Hart 17. The hinge was Q1, 43-24: from level to 19 ahead, and the lead reached 44. McBride was the night's best plus/minus at +33.
5/19 vs CLE 115-104 — NYK notes
NYK won 115-104 in 1 overtime. NYK shot 48% (42 of 88) to CLE's 40%, 10 of 32 from three, and went to the line 32 times to CLE's 23 — 21 points from the stripe to their 16. Brunson led with 38 (15 of 29, 1 of 6 from three, 7 of 10 at the line); Bridges added 18, Towns 13. The hinge was Q4, 32-18: NYK came in trailing by 14 and left it level. NYK trailed 46-48 at the half and won the second half 69-56. Shamet was the night's best plus/minus at +25.
5/21 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 102, shooting 53 percent and 42 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Anunoby at 18 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 108, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 34 free throws a game; Mitchell at 27 and Harden at 20 a game. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-10 a night and Cleveland minus-0 and the arc, New York at 42 percent from three to Cleveland's 34. Call it New York 117, Cleveland 108.
5/23 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 109, shooting 43 percent and 33 from three, 33 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Harden at 19 a game. One day's rest. New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 101, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 26 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Bridges at 18 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and Cleveland plus-1 and the arc, New York at 39 percent from three to Cleveland's 33. Call it New York 113, Cleveland 110, Cleveland keeping it close.
5/25 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 111, shooting 44 percent and 31 from three, 30 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Mobley at 18 a game. That is 3 straight losses. One day's rest. New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 103, shooting 52 percent and 41 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Bridges at 19 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, New York at 41 percent from three to Cleveland's 31 and the glass, where New York has been plus-9 a night and Cleveland minus-1. Call it New York 114, Cleveland 110, Cleveland keeping it close.
6/03 @ SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 105, shooting 43 percent and 34 from three, 28 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 26 and Castle at 17 a game. 3 days' rest. New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 102, shooting 51 percent and 43 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brunson at 25 and Bridges at 17 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 11 a night. 8 days' rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-11 a night and San Antonio plus-1 and the arc, New York at 43 percent from three to San Antonio's 34. Call it New York 113, San Antonio 111, San Antonio keeping it close.
5/11 vs DET 112-103 — CLE notes
CLE won 112-103. CLE shot 44% (34 of 78) to DET's 51%, 14 of 41 from three, and went to the line 34 times to DET's 12 — 30 points from the stripe to their 9. CLE turned it over 13 times to DET's 18. Mitchell led with 43 (13 of 26, 4 of 12 from three, 13 of 15 at the line); Harden added 24, Mobley 17. The hinge was Q3, 38-21: CLE came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 13, and the lead reached 21. CLE trailed 52-56 at the half and won the second half 60-47. Mobley was the night's best plus/minus at +30.
5/13 @ DET 117-113 — CLE notes
CLE won 117-113 in 1 overtime. CLE shot 45% (36 of 80) to DET's 44%, 14 of 35 from three, and went to the line 38 times to DET's 20 — 31 points from the stripe to their 18. CLE turned it over 16 times to DET's 10, and DET turned those into 10 steals. Harden led with 30 (8 of 21, 3 of 10 from three, 11 of 14 at the line); Mitchell added 21, Strus 20. The hinge was Q3, 32-20: CLE came in trailing by 8 and left it ahead by 4. CLE trailed 52-60 at the half and won the second half 65-53. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
5/15 vs DET 94-115 — CLE notes
CLE lost 94-115. CLE shot 39% (30 of 77) to DET's 52%, 12 of 35 from three, and went to the line 30 times to DET's 19 — 22 points from the stripe to their 13. Harden led with 23 (6 of 13, 3 of 8 from three, 8 of 10 at the line); Mitchell added 18, Mobley 18. Q2 was theirs, 26-27, but the other 3 periods went 88-68 against them. Mitchell's -25 in 37 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/17 @ DET 125-94 — CLE notes
CLE won 125-94. CLE shot 51% (43 of 85) to DET's 35%, 11 of 34 from three, and went to the line 44 times to DET's 29 — 28 points from the stripe to their 22. Mitchell led with 26 (10 of 22, 2 of 6 from three, 4 of 6 at the line); Merrill added 23, Allen 23. The hinge was Q1, 31-22: from level to 9 ahead, and the lead reached 35. Mobley was the night's best plus/minus at +31.
5/19 @ NYK 104-115 — CLE notes
CLE lost 104-115 in 1 overtime. CLE shot 40% (36 of 90) to NYK's 48%, 16 of 50 from three, and got to the line 23 times to NYK's 32. Mitchell led with 29 (12 of 23, 4 of 11 from three); Harden added 15, Mobley 15. Q3 was theirs, 35-23, but the other 4 periods went 92-69 against them. They led by as many as 22.
5/21 @ NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 102, shooting 53 percent and 42 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Anunoby at 18 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 108, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 34 free throws a game; Mitchell at 27 and Harden at 20 a game. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-10 a night and Cleveland minus-0 and the arc, New York at 42 percent from three to Cleveland's 34. Call it New York 117, Cleveland 108.
5/23 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 109, shooting 43 percent and 33 from three, 33 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Harden at 19 a game. One day's rest. New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 101, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 26 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Bridges at 18 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and Cleveland plus-1 and the arc, New York at 39 percent from three to Cleveland's 33. Call it New York 113, Cleveland 110, Cleveland keeping it close.
5/25 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 111, shooting 44 percent and 31 from three, 30 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Mobley at 18 a game. That is 3 straight losses. One day's rest. New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 103, shooting 52 percent and 41 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Bridges at 19 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, New York at 41 percent from three to Cleveland's 31 and the glass, where New York has been plus-9 a night and Cleveland minus-1. Call it New York 114, Cleveland 110, Cleveland keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NYKJA J. Alvarado
JB J. Brunson
JC J. Clarkson
JH J. Hart
KT K. Towns
LS L. Shamet
MB M. Bridges
MM M. McBride
MR M. Robinson
OA O. Anunoby
CLEDM D. Mitchell
DS D. Schröder
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
JA J. Allen
JH J. Harden
KE K. Ellis
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
SC Schroder
NYK/CLE the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Jalen Brunson leads Knicks back from 22 down in the 4th for 115-104 win over Cavs in OT in Game 1
NEW YORK -- — Jalen Brunson sparked one of the NBA's greatest postseason comebacks, a rally from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter, and finished with 38 points as New York beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-104 in overtime on Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
After a record-setting run through the first two rounds, the Knicks were going nowhere for 40 minutes against the Cavs, trailing 93-71 with 7:52 to play. But Brunson relentlessly attacked James Harden to spark an 18-1 run that made it a ballgame, and he tied it at 101-all on a basket with 19 seconds remaining in regulation.
Before that, Brunson said the message for the Knicks was just to finish strong so they would have momentum for Game 2, even if they lost the opener.
“Just keep fighting,” he said. “Keep chipping away. We’re not going to get it back in one possession.”
The Knicks then opened overtime with a 9-0 run as a delirious crowd in Madison Square Garden danced and screamed in the aisles. The Knicks moved within three wins of their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999.
Mikal Bridges added 18 points and three Knicks scored 13, including OG Anunoby , who came on late after struggling most of the way in his return after missing two games with a strained right hamstring.
Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points for the Cavaliers, who seemed well on their way to a third straight road win before their late collapse. The Knicks outscored them 44-11 after their 93-71 lead.
“We played great basketball tonight for three quarters. Unfortunately, the fourth quarter — they dominated us in the fourth quarter,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said.
The Knicks won their eighth straight game and will host Game 2 on Thursday.
The Knicks had outscored Atlanta and Philadelphia by a combined 194 points, the largest margin ever through a team’s first 10 postseason games. But after not playing since May 10, when they finished their second-round sweep of the 76ers, the Knicks misfired most of the night, looking like the rust hurt more than the rest helped.
They were 4 for 23 on 3-pointers through three quarters and then had a horrible start to the fourth. But a year after coughing up a 14-point lead in the final minutes of regulation and losing to Indiana in OT in Game 1 of the conference finals on their home court, the Knicks found their offense just in time.
“But it was our defense that has always been special in these playoffs and that has carried us in this playoffs, that showed up in the fourth quarter and in overtime,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “It allowed us to be sitting here with a win against a really great team.”
The only bigger fourth-quarter playoff comeback in the last 30 years was when the Clippers rallied from 24 down to beat Memphis in Game 1 in 2012.
“That can’t happen. But it did," Mitchell said. "We play in two days. We can’t sit here and let it kill our momentum, kill what we’ve been doing. It’s not a good loss.”
The Knicks came from 20 points behind three times last year in the postseason. Those were their largest comebacks on record since 1969-70, when they won their first of two NBA titles.
Evan Mobley had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Cavs. Harden also scored 15 points, but was just 1 for 8 on 3-pointers and had more turnovers (six) than field goals (five).