Apparently, getting outscored by 33 points in nearly 13 minutes in one of the biggest choke jobs in NBA history can partially be chalked up to luck.
Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson surprisingly cited luck toward the beginning of his postgame press conference after his team’s shocking collapse in the 115-104 Game 1 loss to the Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Cleveland led by 22 points with 7:52 remaining and somehow managed to lose by 11 in overtime.
“I thought they hit some really tough shots in that fourth quarter, those two 3’s, prayer 3’s end of shot clock,” Atkinson said after the crusher.
“We got a little unlucky, quite honestly. (Jalen) Brunson obviously took over at the end.”
It takes more than luck for a team to collapse the way the Cavaliers did Tuesday night in a loss that could be rued the way Knicks fans lament last year’s Game 1 chokejob against the Pacers.
While it would be fair to cite the Knicks’ astronomical shooting percentages in the final roughly eight minutes plus overtimes, including Shamet Landry’s miracle 3-pointer that bounced in to tie the game, that would be an easy excuse for a Cavaliers team that both stopped defending and taking good shots.
The Knicks routinely went after James Harden and reaped the benefits, with Harden unable to stop Brunson when the game mattered during the Knicks’ 30-8 run in the final 7:52 of regulation.
Atkinson cited Mikal Bridges’ pair of 3s in the final 2:38 as examples of tough shots the Knicks converted.
“The two Bridges 3’s, like kind of what are you going to do?” he asked.
An inefficient offense compounded those issues since the Cavaliers could not stop the Knicks’ run at the end of regulation, settling for bad jumpers that led to one-and-done possesions.
Neither Harden nor Donovan Mitchell rose the occasion like Brunson did.
“My only regret, and this can happen when you get a little fatigue, it just stopped moving,” Atkinson said. “We were pinging the ball over the place, great ball movement and then it got a little stagnant.”
The Cavaliers’ mettle will now be tested in Game 2, since losses of this magnitude are not easy to forget.
The Knicks never overcame last year’s shocking Game 1 loss to the Pacers en route to falling in 6, but Atkinson tried to harp on the positives after one of the worst losses in franchise history.
“I’m super proud of the way our group played,” he said. “We played great basketball tonight for three quarters, unfortunately … they dominated us in the fourth quarter.”
