The Knicks were down by 22 points with 7:50 to go in the fourth quarter. That’s when Jalen Brunson went to work on James Harden.
Brunson scored 15 points in the final seven minutes, hitting seven of his last eight shots. His primary defender during several of those possessions? James Harden.
Brunson abused the entire Cavs defense – and Harden in particular – down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
At one point in overtime, Brunson had scored or assisted on 23 of the Knicks’ last 32 points. This was Brunson at his best, picking apart the Cavs defense. Landry Shamet and Mikal Bridges both buried good looks from beyond the arc, thanks to Brunson’s gravity.
“Sometimes you gotta do what the game dictates,” Mike Brown said of targeting Harden in the fourth quarter. “They were trying to do the same thing with Jalen. And 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.
“And just like we have to try to figure out different ways to guard Harden and [Donovan] Mitchell, they gotta figure out different ways to guard Jalen. But there’s no secret we were attacking Harden.”
Harden was just as bad on the other end of the floor. He went 1-for-6 in the fourth quarter. You’d have to think Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson will adjust this strategy in Game 2. It was a big part of New York’s historic comeback on Tuesday night.
CHESS MATCH
Another key decision in the fourth quarter? Brown going to Shamet. The Knicks coach initially went away from Shamet in Game 1. But with the Knicks down 14, he called Shamet’s number. He put Shamet, OG Anunoby, Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns around Brunson. It’s not often that Brunson is surrounded by shooters. But he was on Tuesday night. And it was a significant factor in New York’s historic comeback.
“We found a group of five guys that went out there, ended up getting stops and scoring the basketball,” Brown said.
Will Brown go back to this lineup in Game 2? Maybe. Will he go away from using Towns as a hub? Probably not. One thing Brown made clear after Game 1: he isn't going to abandon Josh Hart, who sat for the final 9:59 of regulation before entering for defense with the Knicks up nine in overtime.
“If Josh is open and his feet are set, he’s gotta let it fly. He’s made shots. We feel like he’s gonna make shots,” Brown said after the game. “And if he doesn’t wanna shoot it, he can get to his middy or he can go [dribble handoff] with somebody, a quick DHO with somebody. We faced this coverage all year and we played well throughout the course of the year and we faced it in Atlanta.
"So, we started the game off 2-for-19 from the three-point line. It wasn’t just Josh. We had some pretty good looks from the right people, and if those go in, the mojo is a little bit different. They didn’t, and Cleveland was able to get back into it. The game is about adjustments. We made an adjustment down the stretch, and we were fortunate to be able to come back and get the win.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 19: James Harden #1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives around Mikal Bridges #25 of the New York Knicks during the first quarter in Game One of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden on May 19, 2026 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers fumbled a prime opportunity to steal Game 1 on the road. They crumbled at the end, blowing a 22-point lead in history fashion.
Let’s go over today’s winners and losers.
LOSER – Big Jim Harden
James Harden just had perhaps the worst individual defensive performance in NBA Playoff history. Seriously, it was historically bad. Harden was targeted eight times in isolation during the fourth quarter, something that has only happened 30 times in the history of the NBA’s tracking data (including regular-season games since 2013).
Harden gave up more points per possession in those situations than anyone, ever.
The Knicks had an absolute feast courtesy of Harden.
Jalen Brunson hunted him in a switch that came far too easily from the Cavs. I can blame Kenny Atkinson for that. It’s inexplicable that the Cavs allowed this to happen as many times as it did without an adjustment.
Still, you have to do more than swipe at the ball and get torched any time you turn your hips.
— Coach Gibson Pyper (@HalfCourtHoops) May 20, 2026
Harden had no chance in these isolations. He’s an upright defender who can only hold his own when someone tries to outmuscle him. A game that’s predicated on craft and shiftiness is going to beat him every time. Brunson took advantage of that and delivered on a massive comeback.
That wasn’t all, however. Harden finished with more turnovers than made field goals for the sixth time this postseason. An unimaginable stat that has contributed to some of Cleveland’s ugliest losses. The margin for error is too tight for Harden to play like this.
Even a 22-point cushion wasn’t enough to cover it up.
LOSER – Prevent Offense
The Cavs, as I’m sure you’ve heard, had a 22-point lead with 7 minutes remaining. That’s bordering on garbage time. But this is the Eastern Conference Finals. And… we’re in an era of parity and three-point variance. You can’t take your foot off the gas.
Those days are gone. You have to sprint through the finish line or risk a collapse. You saw what happened when the Cavs tried to jog.
As much as we crushed Harden for his defense — an equally bad thing occurred on the other end of the floor.
Cleveland’s offense, which diced the Knicks all night long for quality looks, abruptly went away from everything that was working.
No more ball movement.
The bigs? Forget ‘em.
Let’s not even bother going into the paint, actually
What if we just dribbled for an entire possession? That would waste a lot of time.
Let’s dribble for two full possessions.
What if we dribble for every possession?
Can we just dribble for the final seven minutes? Will they end the game if we keep dribbling?
The Cavs played ‘prevent’ offense down the stretch. Grinding themselves to a halt by trying to burn the clock. Each possession waned until the final seconds of the shot clock, which then only left the Cavs with an opportunity to run one action before hoisting a shot.
That’s how you blow a 22-point lead.
Teams up 20+ with 7 minutes to go in the fourth quarter of playoff games were 643-0 …
Donovan Mitchell and Harden deserve blame for this. Kenny Atkinson, as well. There’s no excuse for making a mistake that has burned many teams before them. This team has overcome enough obstacles to understand what works and what doesn’t. In no world does this team win games by letting go of the rope and drastically changing their approach in the final minutes.
WINNER – Defending the KAT action
Alright, let’s talk about some positives.
I truly believe the Cavs did lots of great things in this game. After all, that lead didn’t appear out of thin air. The Cavs played lights out through three quarters, looking like the more focused and physical team. We know that didn’t last — but there’s one thing that remains a win for Cleveland.
The Cavs neutralized point-KAT.
New York had found success using Karl-Anthony Towns as an offensive hub. They’d set him up above the arch, forcing opposing rim protectors to vacate the paint and defend him outside as he poses too much of a shooting threat to leave alone. After successfully drawing out the big — KAT would set up shop and allow his teammates to screen for each other. Someone would slip to the rim or cause a breakdown, and KAT would handle the rest with his playmaking.
This has led to the Knicks posting some absurd scoring games in the playoffs with KAT dishing out over 7 assists per game.
However, the Cavs are especially equipped to handle this.
Evan Mobley defended Towns and got all up into his airspace. He didn’t allow KAT to put the ball on the floor and made it difficult for him to access passing lanes.
Meanwhile, Jarrett Allen ignored Josh Hart in the corner and instead roamed the paint to clean up any slippage from the backcourt. Allen was the safety, ensuring no one could get into the paint without seeing a shot blocker.
This dynamic sets Cleveland apart as they are the only team New York has played that has two rim-protecting bigs who can handle KAT as an offensive hub. As a result, KAT finished with just 13 points on 14 shots to go with 7 turnovers to only 5 assists.
This is a winning formula for the Cavs. It’s something that gave New York fits, and they can replicate it on any given night.
May 19, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Mariners second baseman Cole Young (2) fails to stop a ground ball against the Chicago White Sox, allowing a run to score during the ninth inning at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images | Joe Nicholson-Imagn Images
After the high of last night’s win, the vibes went right back to terrible today despite the presence of hundreds of shirtless fans in the upper deck providing energy into an otherwise sleepy Tuesday, cheering on the dual start of Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo. Unfortunately, the bats didn’t get the message, as once again the Mariners’ right-handed lineup failed to get anything going against lefty starter Anthony Kay and was similarly sleepy against the White Sox relief corps. For a game that featured almost no offense from either side and 27 combined strikeouts, it sure felt like a lot happened, namely that the Mariners’ piggybacking plan made their pitchers sad, forcing Andrés Muñoz into a weird spot in the ninth made him sad, and the Mariners’ right-handed lineup made fans – all 28 thousand-plus of them making a trip to the ballpark for a Josh Naylor bobblehead – saddest of all.
If you want to just focus on the good part of this game, watch the first inning and nothing more. Bryce Milller was lights out in his first inning, firing fastballs that averaged 98 mph and touched 99.3, getting a groundout from the pesky Sam Antonacci followed by two strikeouts, both on 98 mph heat – one a swinging strikeout of Munetaka Murakami and the other an utter undressing of Miguel Vargas, striking him out on three pitches and leaving him staring at perfectly-located 98 mph heat.
The Mariners were able to load the bases in the first, taking advantage of some poor command by White Sox starter Anthony Kay. Julio Rodríguez hit a one-out single off the changeup, a very pleasing development, and then Kay hit Randy Arozarena with a fastball in and walked Josh Naylor. That brought up Patrick Wisdom, playing in his first game since April 14th and making his first MLB start since September of 2024, who to his credit put the ball in play and hustled down the first base line to avoid a double play, allowing the first run of the game to score. Connor Joe kept the pressure on with a gritty seven-pitch walk that pushed Kay’s pitch count up over 30, even if Mitch Garver did strike out to end the inning and strand the bases loaded. That would turn out to be significant, as it’s the only time the Mariners would score tonight.
It looked like the Mariners would keep the pressure on in the second, with Cole Young working a leadoff walk and Colt Emerson going down on a strikeout but forcing Kay to throw him eight pitches to get the out. However, Rob Refsnyder then had…a very bad at-bat, striking out on three pitches, and Julio painfully fouled a ball off the inside of his kneecap and then another one, leading Randy to have to distribute some on-field medical attention:
Julio grounded out, and the Mariners went down quietly in the bottom of the third, leaving Kay’s pitch count at a suddenly manageable 73, and they followed that up with an even quicker bottom of the fourth, making three outs on just five pitches and tossing Kay and the White Sox a lifeline. (He’d get to the bottom of the fifth at 86. Not ideal!)
Meanwhile, Bryce just kept dealing. He kept the White Sox off the bases entirely until Murakami worked a walk off him in the fourth, and didn’t allow a hit until the sixth, when Mason Peters threw his bat at a first pitch splitter that didn’t quite split and rolled through a wide-open right side of the infield for a weak-contact double, the worst kind of double behind only Double Bubble, the worst gum. Miller rebounded to get his next two outs, but with Murakami due up again, Dan Wilson lifted Miller for lefthanded groundball specialist José A. Ferrer, who has unfortunately had trouble with both of those descriptors this year. No need to worry about BABIP luck when you strike them out, though, and Ferrer dispatched Murakami on four pitches, getting him swinging on a slider.
Normally, this is the spot in the recap where I’d try to spin a Mariners loss into a look-on-the-bright-side, better-days-ahead whimsy-soaked vignette. Instead, it’s more whiskey-soaked. Because while Bryce Miller was excellent, and tonight should have been a night to celebrate his 5.2 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and just the one bad-luck hit, instead it was a visibly frustrated Miller who spoke to the press postgame, who said he tried to make a case to stay in during the sixth inning.
“I thought I’d pitched the ball well up till then, I wasn’t thinking I was coming out,” he said. “At the end of the day, we have to throw the ball whenever they tell us to throw it. Whether that’s 100 pitches or 70 or 50 for Rock, we’re trying to win games.”
“It’s a tough situation. We have six guys that are really good starters, so – somebody has to do something. At the end of the day, we want to win, and however we need to do that, we’ll do it.”
Only the Mariners did not win, if you didn’t grasp that from the title. And while technically the pitching staff gave up more runs than the offense scored, the offense was utterly punchless tonight, eliciting boos from the stands as innings ended with no runs crossing the plate for the Mariners. The White Sox brought in their own reliever with one out in the sixth, tapping righty Tyler Davis who gave up some hard contact to Patrick Wisdom, who flew out to center, but struck out Connor Joe, still in the game despite the noted existence of both Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone. Davis would go on to pitch another scoreless inning in the seventh, walking Mitch Garver to lead off the inning but dispatching the two young righties with ease – handing Colt Emerson his first truly terrible at-bat as a big-leaguer, striking him out on three pitches – and then striking out Refsnyder, again somehow still in the game against a righty despite the continued noted existence of Raley and Canzone. Boos rained down on the field as Refsnyder walked off, and that made me sad in this calvacade of sadness, because Ref is a great human and a great leader and has been a great player, and this version of him is just sad, for the team and for him.
That set up the entrance of Luis Castillo, coming out of the bullpen for the first time in his career. They gave him the whole treatment, too, dimming the stadium lights and shooting off the flames at the bullpen gates while playing “Que Calor.” Whatever it was, it seemed to work, because Castillo went on to pitch one of the most dominant frames we’ve seen from him in ages, striking out the side, all on swinging strikes, hitting 96.8 mph on his fastball, and throwing some excellent secondaries.
And here, again, is where we could have spun something fun out of this game, even in a loss, if maybe that had just been the one inning. But the Mariners had pledged themselves to a piggyback game and the caja china had already been purchased, so one way or another, they were roasting this pig.
The velocity wasn’t there for Castillo in his second inning but he was able to protect the one slender run he’d been handed, and in the ninth, things devolved further facing the top of the White Sox offense. He started off by walking Murakami, immediately pinch-run for, and then in a 1-2 count hit Vargas with a pitch, putting two on with no outs and forcing Andrés Muñoz to begin warming. After a mound visit from Pete Woodworth, Dan Wilson came out like he was going to try to make a move to Muñoz, but home plate umpire Ryan Blakney shooed him back to the dugout, because you can’t do that, which Wilson admitted postgame was his mistake. Castillo came back to strike out Montgomery, at which point Wilson came out to get Muñoz.
Unfortunately, the White Sox immediately executed a double steal, putting runners at second and third with no outs, and then Chase Meidroth chopped at a ball and punched it at 82 mph in the same place Peters’s no-hitter-breaking double went, tying the game. The White Sox got would would be the eventual winning run on another weak contact single from Andrew Benintendi, somehow only 31 years old despite being the same age as Refsnyder in my mind, and man. The weak contact hits from the White Sox accounting for all the runs in this game just really feel like a stark referendum on the Mariners offense. Sadness, thy name is Mariners fan.
Grant Taylor had the ninth for the White Sox and despite Dan Wilson opening up the enclosure where they’d been kept all game for a trio of lefties – J.P. Crawford, Luke Raley, and Dominic Canzone – all three struck out, going down on a combined 13 pitches, providing no fight and soundtracked again b a chorus of boos. It couldn’t have been a starker contrast to the good vibes of last night’s game. It was just sad. The piggyback strategy was sad-making. The offense was sad-making. The bullpen management was sad-making. The 2026 Mariners make everybody sad and no one seems to know what to do about it, and that’s maybe the saddest thing of all.
NEW YORK — As exultant fans leaked slowly back out into an unseasonably warm night in the city, the New York Knicks players huddled briefly near midcourt and embraced each other.
Just minutes earlier, this building had been dazed, silent. That was before Jalen Brunson carried his teammates and this city to an improbable comeback in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
The Knicks frantically erased a 22-point fourth quarter deficit to stun the Cleveland Cavaliers in overtime, 115-104, Tuesday, May 19 to position themselves three victories away from the NBA Finals.
It was the second largest comeback in the fourth quarter of a postseason game since 1997, the start of the play-by-play era.
Here are takeaways from the Knicks’ victory Tuesday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals:
The Cavaliers wasted a pristine chance — maybe the best they’ll have — to steal a game at the Garden
Entering Tuesday night, teams holding a 22-point lead at any point in the fourth quarter of a postseason game were 594-1, a winning percentage of .998. The Cavaliers made it 594-2.
This was, practically speaking, as good a chance as Cleveland will have to steal a game on the road. From the 7:49 mark until the end of regulation, the Cavs allowed the Knicks to ignite on a 30-8 extended run to send the game into overtime.
In fact, if you extend it further, the Knicks closed the game on an astounding 44-11 fusillade that snatched Cleveland’s soul.
“Should’ve won the game,” Cavs All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell told reporters after the game. “Even if there was complacency, we were up 22 with God knows how much time — eight minutes? Gotta win the game.”
In the fourth quarter and overtime, Mitchell and James Harden combined to go 2-of-13 for 9 points. The pair was scoreless after regulation. As New York clamped up its defense and forced Cleveland into turnovers, possessions devolved and shots became forced. The Cavaliers were initiating their actions well beyond the paint and they were starting late in shot clocks.
The biggest issue for Cleveland is that it now needs to flush this result and move on. Because a loss like this can linger. It can seep into the team’s preparation and erode their confidence. And falling in an 0-2 hole could
“We lost,” Mitchell added. “We (expletive) blew it. All right, let’s get ready for Game 2. Simple as that.”
Jalen Brunson was a flamethrower in the fourth
This was special. It was one of the world’s best closers willing his team to overcome the improbable. Knicks All-Star captain Jalen Brunson went on an absolute heater, strafing the Cavaliers with clutch shot-making in the fourth quarter. He shot 7-of-9 in the period, finishing with 15 points. During one stretch, he poured in 11 consecutive points to single-handedly shrink Cleveland’s lead to five.
This was Brunson at his best, no wasted movement, an understanding of space and leverage, a commitment to get to his spots. And when he’s like this, the Knicks are very difficult to beat.
Brunson finished the game with 38 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
The Cavaliers need to find a solution to James Harden being hunted on defense
This, to be clear, is not the only reason the Cavaliers blew their 22-point lead. But it was painfully transparent how readily the Knicks were hunting James Harden on defense, seeking him out in pick-and-rolls so that Jalen Brunson would get matched up with him. And every time New York found itself in that scenario, it took advantage.
The Cavaliers were trying to do the same thing when they had the ball, only seeking out Brunson in a matchup.
Needing to launch that massive run to reclaim the lead, the Knicks had to resort to that strategy.
“Sometimes you’ve got to do what the game dictates,” Knicks coach Mike Brown told reporters after the game. “They were trying to do the same thing with Jalen, so we said, okay, we feel like we can play that game. We try not to play that game much, but we feel like we have a guy we can play that game with in Jalen.
“There is no secret: we were attacking Harden.”
The puzzling part about Tuesday night’s loss is that Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson didn’t adjust. He didn’t bring Max Strus, a guard who has solid (if unspectacular) defensive ability. In fact, Atkinson called timeout only once during New York’s relentless barrage.
“Yeah, I like to hold my timeouts,” Atkinson said. “I didn’t want to have one timeout at the end of the game. One or two-point game, I try to hold them.”
This won’t stop in Game 2. The Knicks will continue to exploit the matchup, so the Cavaliers need to find a way — whether it’s avoiding switches, whether it’s sprinkling in zone, whether it’s having Harden drift off to less potent scorers — to keep runs like this from happening again.
— Coach Gibson Pyper (@HalfCourtHoops) May 20, 2026
New York’s recipe for success in the series: get to the paint
As much as the 3-point shooting struggles were a massive factor for New York falling in an early hole, and as much as its catching fire late was a big reason for the comeback, the more sustainable path toward success in the series is in the paint.
The Knicks outscored the Cavs there by a margin of 60-38 on Tuesday night. This is particularly notable because Cleveland tied for 10th in the statistic during the regular season, putting up an average of 52.0 paint points per game, while the Knicks ranked 22nd, at 47.8.
By having Jarrett Allen guarding Josh Hart, and by having Hart leak out toward the perimeter, that left the paint open for the Knicks to attack. Look for Cleveland to find ways to keep both Allen and Evan Mobley closer to the basket to protect the rim.
Because if New York can keep gaining a similar edge down low, it’s tough to see how the Cavaliers can stay competitive in the series.
· Michigan State — RHP Aidan Donovan (5-3, 3.66 ERA)
What a difference a year makes. In 2025 Michigan State right fielder Parker Pico drops what would be the final out to end Nebraska’s season. The Huskers take advantage to not only win the game, but win the whole damn tournament and reach a regional. Back to 2026, Michigan State needs a Nebraska sweep of Minnesota to back in to Omaha, and this time Nebraska delivers. Michigan State gets in as the final seed, and at least as of Tuesday, they ran, and ran, and ran with it. (But let’s go ahead and relive the drop below, shall we?)
This year’s tournament however started on a beautiful, cloudy day with a “feels like” temperature of 41 at first pitch. (I swear the calendar said May when I checked this morning.). Despite the weather, the Michigan State dugout was red hot to start. Your friendly, neighborhood baseball writer was walking into the stadium as the first pitch was thrown and before I even found my seat, it was 4-0 Spartans. A walk to leadoff the tournament followed by an error, a squeeze bunt for a single, and 3 more singles had Purdue reeling and searching for a tarp.
Michigan State kept things rolling, adding 3 runs on 4 hits in the 2nd, all while ace Aidan Donovan held the potent Purdue offense in check. Donovan cruised all day against a team that was top 4 in the B1G in runs. The Boilermakers put up a couple garbage time runs on him in the 8th and he exited with 7.2 innings pitched and 6 strikeouts to go with 5 hits and 2 runs allowed. Purdue also left their starter in after things got out of hand, as no team has ever overcome a 7 run deficit in the history of Charles Schwab Field. That saves their bullpen for the next few days.
They added a couple more runs in the 9th to make it an 8 =4 game, but in a classic display of karma, Purdue is now 0-5 in games in the Big Ten Tournament since leaving the tarp on their field. Oh, and speaking of karma, Parker Picot got his revenge on this stadium as he blasted an absolute bomb to left that nearly cleared all the bleachers to reach Josh Caron-land. He’s on as big of a roll as one man can be, with 9 homers in his last 11 games. (Though he did have another mishap in right field in the 9th.) The Spartans could be an issue for this week.
Parker Picot pelts pitch 428-feet for solo HR as his bat is scorching HOT!!!
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) May 19, 2026
Game 2
Iowa 10 Illinois 6
Starting Pitchers:
· Iowa — RHP Maddux Frese (4-2, 3.62 ERA)
· Illinois — LHP Regan Hall (7-6, 5.74 ERA)
An early mental error in the top of the 1st by Iowa got Illinois rolling. Iowa’s short stop had a chance to roll a double plays and erase all the base runners, but stepped over the top of 2nd base as he threw to first, missing the base completely, and leaving the Illini runner at 2nd. A single by the next batter brought him in for the first run of the game. Another single and sac fly (which also wouldn’t be allowed with the double play) brought in another. The wind carried a ball into the Illinois bullpen for a 2 run home run and made it 4-0, none of which would have scored with the double play.
Two-run shot from Jennings caps off our four-run first!
— Illinois Baseball (@IlliniBaseball) May 19, 2026
Iowa did what they did all season and used a big defensive play to steal momentum back with a double play in the 2nd inning. They pounded out singles and used a big double to cut the lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the 2nd. They had runners on the corners in the 3rd and stole second on first movement of the pitcher. The pitcher threw to the first baseman who threw to second to try and get his runner out, which is exactly what Iowa wanted. The runner from 3rd scampered home as the throw to second was in the dirt. Tie game, 4-4.
Illinois seemed to get back on track, pushing a run across in the 4th. Then in the 5th, first baseman and probable runner up to Drew Grego for B1G Freshman of the year, AJ Putty sent a ball into the wind and still into the Iowa bullpen, pushing the lead to 6-4. Putty came up again in the 7th, and hit a tough ball to short who sailed a throw past the first baseman. Putty ran to second and Iowa’s first baseman threw a strike to 2nd as the second baseman faked like nothing was happening before reacting at the last second to snag the ball and tag Putty out as he was just walking into the base.
Again Iowa used that momentum to get their offense rolling. They put baserunner after baserunner on off one of Illinois go-to relievers, Sam Mommer. Two sac flys tied the game then gave them the lead. Then with 2 on and 2 out, left fielder Joey Nerat sent a no doubter over the right field wall for a 3 run bomb, giving the Hawkeyes a 10-6 lead, and just crushing any will Illinois had left. The Illini went quietly the rest of the way and will face Purdue Wednesday morning. Iowa will get the suddenly scorching Spartans in prime time, with the winner advancing to the championship bracket on Friday.
As the 10-0 scored indicates, this was a one-sided game from the start. It was all Michigan and pitcher Cade Montgomery tonight as the Scarlet Knights showed absolutely no life in this run-rule shortened first round matchup. As the scoreboard showed when it was all over, Rutgers had one hit in the entire game, a 5th inning single by Ryan Jaros. They had two runners reach on walks and another who was hit by a pitch. Total Michigan domination.
Michigan jumped out to a lead in the bottom of the first inning Brayden Jeffries launched a solo home run to right field off starter Vincent Borghese. They added a second run in the third inning when lead-off man Cooper Mullens smacked a double and scored when Colby Turner followed with a single. In the meantime, Montgomery was mowing down Rutgers batters by pounding the strike zone with a variety of pitches.
In the fourth inning, the Wolverines scored two more on a Drew Culbertson two-RBI single. At that point, Rutgers was fortunate to only be down 4-0 as Michigan was putting runners on base. By the same token, it seemed that the boys from New Jersey were a bit fatigued after finishing their season in Chicago against Northwestern on Saturday and then busing to Omaha arriving late Sunday night.
After leaving the bases loaded and not putting a run across in the bottom of the sixth, Michigan exploded in the bottom of the seventh with six runs to end it. It started with a Jeffries single to left field off Rutgers’ third pitcher of the game, Dalin Harrison. Next batter up Evan Haeger smashed a two-run homer to left to make it 6-0 Wolverines. The boys from Michigan could smell blood in the water.
Before Haeger could high-five everyone in the dugout, Noah Miller followed with a dinger of his own into the Michigan bullpen in left field.
Matthew Ossenfort hit one off the glove of the Rutgers third baseman to keep the Michigan train rolling. Rutgers coach Steve Owens the brought in Henry Radbill to hopefully silence the Wolverine bats. That didn’t happen.
Dane Morrow singled through the left side to put two on and no one out. Radbill did get Gary Pace, Jr. to strike out but then he walked Culbertson to load the bases. He followed that up with another walk of pinch-hitter Jack Laffitte. The final nail ended up being a two-run single by first team All-B1G second baseman Colby Turner.
Michigan’s win was the third run-rule win in tournament history. They will play tomorrow in the 9:00 p.m. game against the winner of Ohio State and Washington
Ohio State’s Sahil Patel got off to the kind of start every pitcher and his coach wants to . . . striking out the first three batters you face. That and the energy level from the Buckeye bench stood out in the early going of the fourth game of Day 1 at the Big Ten Tournament.
MID 1 | @thesahilpatel1 strikes out the side to open the game 😤
— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioStateBASE) May 20, 2026
Patel’s control left him a couple of innings later in the third inning. After striking out the leadoff batter, he gave up a single and walked two to load the bases. He then got another strike out before he walked yet another Huskie to give Washington the first run of the game. And then he walked another one to make it 2-0 Washington. At that point a handful of Buckeyes ran down to the bullpen. And then he found his strikeout pitch to end it.
Washington’s Hayden Lewis got off to a good start as well, not allowing a Buckeye to reach base until a Lee Ellis single in the bottom of the third. He scored on an Alex Bemis sacrifice fly to put Ohio State’s first run on the board. Henry Kaczmar, the B1G leader in doubles, hit a double to score Grant Mangrum to tie the game 2-2. Lewis bounced back with a strikeout to end the inning. Tie ball game.
Washington chased Patel from the game in the fourth inning and added a couple more runs off Luke Carroll by coming up with hits to knock in guys who had walked. Carroll mitigated the damage, but the Huskies were now up 4-2.
Back came Ohio State in the bottom of the fourth to put up two runs of their own to once against tie it 4-4. A pair of doubles by Dane Harvey and Mason Eckelman sandwiched around a walk to Maddix Simpson and followed by a Lee sacrifice fly accounted for the runs.
Hayden Lewis settled in on the mound for Washington after that and his offense put up another two runs in the sixth inning thanks to a two-run homer by Cason Taggart. Lewis then stopped the cycle of “I score two, you score two” in the bottom half and the Huskies were up 6-4.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Washington replaced Lewis with Gunner Nichols. Kaczmar led off with yet another double. Noah Furcht then drew a walk and that brought Ohio State’s best power hitter, Dane Harvey to the plate with two on and no one out. He moved the runners up 90-feet with a deep fly out to the warning track in centerfield. Nichols then inexplicably balked as he back foot slipped off the rubber and a run scored. Right after that, Simpson singled in the tying run. 6-6 going to the ninth.
Keeping with the two runs in an inning theme, Washington put up two more. Taggart led off with a walk off Jake Michalak. After a fly out, Sam DeCarlo reached on an error moving Taggart to second. That resulted in Ohio State bringing in Lincoln McVicker to face Colton Bower, who flew out to right for the second out. Up came Mic Paul with two on and two out. Paul popped up to the catcher Eckelman, who had it in his glove by ended up dropping it. Two pitches later he ripped a triple to the right field corner to score two. Washington went back up 8-6.
With the two run lead, the Husky closer Tommy Brandenburg came on hoping to seal the win. He did just that, punctuating it with a strikeout of Henry Kaczmar. The win was Washington’s first ever in the Big Ten tournament.
There are a couple of editorial notes that have to be included about this game. For tonight’s purposes, we will call this the Baseball Policy Report. Violation 1: Ohio State for using a pitching machine for infield. What? None of their coaches can swing a fungo? This is kind of like AI meets baseball. Just stupid! Violation 2: Purple and gold are great school colors. Purple jerseys with gold pants do not work at all as baseball uniforms. All purple or all gold maybe. These are just painful to look at.
Washington will take on Michigan tomorrow night at 9:00. Ohio State will face Rutgers in an elimination game at 2:00
Tuesday's loss to the Nationals wasn't the cleanest game for the Mets.
While New York's offense has been the reason for many of the team's losses this year, the 9-6 defeat to Washington in the second of their four-game series can be squarely put on the defense. Even more so than Nolan McLean's ineffective outing.
It started in the second. With the Mets already up 5-0, Nationals slugger James Wood hit a booming shot toward the left-center field gap with the bases loaded. Rookie left fielder Nick Morabito, in his MLB debut, tracked it down and had a beat on it, but when he leapt, the ball hit off his glove and kicked away from him and Tyrone Taylor, who was backing up. Taylor, however, did not immediately go for the ball, allowing Wood to pick up an inside-the-park grand slam.
"He lost track of the baseball," manager Carlos Mendoza said of Taylor on that play. "He went after and didn’t know where the ball was. Yeah, that’s a tough break there."
Morabito said the same thing but lamented he could not make the play.
"He hit it pretty hard," Morabito said of Wood. "Went back, and just missed it. Hit the palm of my hand. Should have had it."
Nick Morabito almost makes the catch, but James Wood ends up with an inside-the-park grand slam pic.twitter.com/SeAUhZY5ND
As Mendoza said, it was a "tough break," but what followed was anything but.
The Nationals tied the score at 5-5 in the third, but with runners on first and third and no outs, Luis Torrens let a pitch get past him. The play allowed Daylen Lile to get to second and CJ Abrams to score on the passed ball, giving the Nationals the lead they would not relinquish.
Then in the fourth inning, Marcus Semien botched a ground ball and made a throwing error to second instead of taking the sure out at first base, allowing the Nationals to have runners on second and third with one out. The next batter, with the infield in, Abrams hits a sharp grounder to Bo Bichette at short. Bichette threw the ball to Torrens in time to get Wood at home, but the Mets' backstop muffed the throw and allowed the Nats to score another run.
"He had a bad game today," Mendoza said of Torrens. "Was one of those where he has to turn the page. Passed ball, doesn’t make the tag play. Wasn’t at his best today."
The Mets made two errors on Tuesday, in addition to the defensive miscues. Entering Tuesday's game, the Mets as a team have 24 errors, which is middle of the road in MLB. However, the team has made four errors over its last four games.
"Not good. Past four days or so," Mendoza said of the defense. "Making errors on routine plays. We’re a good team defensively. We showed that... But we’re in a stretch where we have to clean it up."
The poor defensive performance put a halt to the Mets' momentum. They were winners of six of their last seven games, but the team is confident that days like Tuesday are the outlier and they can be better and get back to their winning ways.
"I don’t think it’s been in our identity," Bichette said. "We’ve been playing clean baseball all year. Days like this happen. We have to pick it back up and play better tomorrow for sure."
A Voodoo King delivered a clutch assist ahead of the Knicks’ wild Tuesday night comeback win, conducting a spiritual cleanse to quell fears from fans that Mayor Zohran Mamdani would bring his “Curse of the Mambino” to Madison Square Garden.
Michael Washington, 46, who goes by the name Tata Tilk, arrived outside the world’s most famous arena just in the nick of time, performing a Palo Mayombe spell about an hour before the Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 tip-off.
“I command thee for no more spells from Mayor Mamdani on any team or anyone that interfere with their success. I’m here to protect the Knicks from his malevolent magic,” Washington chanted outside the arena where the Knicks eventually pulled off a miraculous victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
He was originally summoned to MSG after Hizzoner hinted earlier in the day that he would attend the game.
“It is an incredible run. I am, like every New Yorker, just continuing to hope. Maybe I will be there, we’ll see, but I’m definitely watching,” Mamdani said at an unrelated press conference.
Michael Washington, 46, who goes by the name Tata Tilk, gave the Knicks an emergency cleansing on Tuesday night to stave off the “Curse of the Mambino.” James Keivom for NY Post
The mayor’s remarks created paranoia amongst fans after the lefty mayor’s hug with Mr. and Mrs. Met was blamed for the team’s brutal losing streak, dubbed the “Curse of the Mambino.”
The “Voodoo King” brought a cauldron full of “secret” spiritual items — including human and animal bones and meteorites — for his witchcraft.
Knicks fans Nick Ellard, James Questel, and Aidan Jordan gather outside the arena to watch the game. James Keivom for NY Post
He told The Post that Mamdani has proven he has “magical abilities” to curse New York sports teams and should stay far away from the Knicks.
“He’s basically showing the magic abilities that he has through cursing an entire team, in other words, multiple people, like multiple counterparts, like all at once,” he explained.
“It was a spell to basically not have Mamdani curse the Knicks, because we were nervous about him coming tonight, and he might possibly curse the Knicks, so I did the match for it,” Washington added of his ritual. “He wouldn’t be able to curse the Knicks, so no Mambino curses here.”
The Knicks staged a historic 115-104 Game 1 win over the Cavaliers, overcoming a harrowing 22-point fourth-quarter deficit. NBAE via Getty Images
The team’s stunning comeback is the largest in a Conference Finals game since 1997, according to the NBA.
Since 1997, the only larger fourth-quarter comeback to win any playoff game is the Clippers’ 24-point rally against the Grizzlies in Game 1 of the 2012 First Round.
Kareem “Reemo Meerak” Tyson, 46, thanked the Voodoo King for staving off any of the socialists’ sorcery before the epic win.
“Listen, Mamdani, listen, you’ve been doing an amazing job, respectful, respectful. You cannot ruin our flow. You see what you did with the other orange and blue, and that’s not cool. Okay, that’s not cool. It’s gonna lose you brownies for us,” Tyson, a social media personality from Harlem, said.
Kareem “Reemo Meerak” Tyson, 46, thanked the Voodoo King for staving off any of the socialists’ sorcery before the epic win. James Keivom for NY Post
“I feel amazing. Thank God. Thank you [Voodoo King] for what you’ve been doing so far for protection.”
A group of friends, Nick Ellard, James Questel, and Aidan Jordan, also gathered outside the arena to watch the game — and made their feelings about the Mamdani curse crystal clear.
“I’d love him to stay as far away from the team as possible,” said Jordan, a 20-year-old college student from Long Island.
“Don’t hug anybody. Tell him to pay for some waters for everybody,” Elleard, 20, added.
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - MAY 19: Maikel Garcia #11 of the Kansas City Royals is tagged out by Isiah Kiner-Falefa #2 of the Boston Red Sox as he tries to stretch a single in the fifth inning at Kauffman Stadium on May 19, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Every once in a while, you get a night where you have to tip your cap to the opponent. It might stem from a stellar pitching performance, a buttoned down operation in all phases of the game, or a bunch of clutch hits piled together. When you play 162 of these things, it’s going to happen a handful of times.
But tonight, we got the exact opposite of a “tip you cap” game, or whatever else you want to call this monstrosity. Forget Christmas, the Red Sox were almost handed enough gifts in one evening to light all the Hanukkah candles.
In fact, the theme started before the first pitch was even thrown. Kansas City had to scratch their originally scheduled starter Kris Bubic with elbow soreness and replace him with Bailey Falter, who entered tonight with a 10.13 ERA. He’s been so bad that despite only lasting two innings and allowing seven of the twelve batters he faced to reach base in this one, he actually lowered his ERA to 9.82.
But the pitching matchup was only the beginning; the Red Sox were also the beneficiaries of this befuddling call in the first inning:
If you hate replay, this is one to file away because even with an extended look, they did not get this call right.
And it was a sneaky enormous play too because Ranger Suarez was struggling to grab his bearings in the opening frame. If he’s not handed this free out and the inning gets out of control, we go down an entirely different rabbit hole than the one where he didn’t allow another hit until the fifth inning — Particularly with the inspiring efforts this Red Sox offense has put together all season when they fall behind.
Speaking of the Red Sox offense, they were able to take the lead in the top of the next next inning with more help. This time, from the Kansas City defense:
This is some of the worst baseball situational awareness I’ve ever seen from Maikel Garcia! You have the best player in baseball not named Shohei Ohtani coming to the plate in Bobby Witt Jr. with runners on the corners and nobody out in a one run game, and you get nailed trying to advance to second base? DUMB!
Chad Tracy pulled Suarez immediately after this as he didn’t want him to face Witt a third time, and while Zack Kelly did a nice job wiggling out of it, I’m not sure he would have posted the same result if there were a few more brain cells working in the Kansas City dugout.
Gifts also came from old friends. Here’s a real quality pitch from former Red Sox reliever John Schreiber to give Masataka Yoshida a free 90 feet. (Unsurprisingly, the Red Sox failed to cash this one in.)
Eventually, the game settled into an advantageous position for Boston. Justin Slaten and Garrett Whitlock posted uneventful zeros in the seventh and eighth, and the Red Sox offense finally got the dam to burst in the ninth with a three run homer from Jarren Duran.
Perhaps this is the thing that ultimately gets them going, and if it does, great! But tonight, the story is a lot more about gifts than guts.
Three Studs
Jarren Duran: On base four times including that three run homer in the ninth, and he also made this play in the second inning that helped Suarez settle in for a few frames.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa: On base four times while playing shortstop, something Trevor Story has only done once all year.
The Bullpen: Zack Kelly, Tyler Samaniego, Justin Slaten, Garrett Whitlock, and Jovani Moran combined to get the last 14 outs without allowing a run to score, and that’s pretty impressive considering their task started with a runner on third and less than two out with Bobby Witt Jr. at the plate.
Three Duds
Baserunning: The gift giving ran in both directions this game as the Red Sox were thrown out on the base paths three times.
Let’s make those our three dud plays of the game, starting with Isiah Kiner-Falefa getting nailed at second base:
Miguel Vargas took a very painful one for the team in the top of the ninth. | (Maddy Grassy/Getty Images)
Just when you’re sure the letdown is coming, they find a way to keep doing it. After dropping a sleepy one last night, the White Sox were on the verge of dropping another sleepy one in Seattle this evening, trailing 1-0 from the moment the game opened all the way until they had just two outs left in the game. Bryce Miller can only wonder what would have happened had he been allowed to go just a little farther.
I’ll leave you in suspense as to why that might be. And pretend you haven’t already read the headline.
This is the third night in a row that I’m spending here on the pages of South Side Sox recapping things with you all, so instead of trying to piece it all together into something interesting at the end, I’ll just let you know what I was thinking as this one unfolded, because if there’s one thing I’m great at, it’s using a lot of words to talk about very little. If you want to see how it happened, let it all unfold before your eyes!
Top of the 1st
Bryce Miller came out sitting in the high-90s with his fastball for the second straight outing, and while Sam Antonacci managed to fight some pitches off, the way he took care of Miguel Vargas to end the inning —specifically, the perfectly executed middle-high fastball that Vargas swung under, which is the speciality of Miller’s fastball-dominant arsenal — makes me think we might be in for a long one.
Bottom of the 1st
Anthony Kay threw 35 pitches, which is what happened, although he somehow managed to get away with just a single earned run out of it. I said before the game that the Sox were likely to live and die with Kay tonight, because the bullpen was tapped out and he was going to get his burn no matter what. You can cover three innings between Sean Newcomb and Tyler Davis, and if it’s worth bringing Grant Taylor or Seranthony Domínguez into the fold, then we’re in a pretty good place.
Top of the 2nd
Uh oh, Bryce Miller is completely locked in. He mowed down the first two hitters of the inning and drew a weak fly ball out of Andrew Benintendi. Miller is basically throwing fastballs right down the middle, and because they’re 97 mph and have an absurd amount of rise relative to where hitters think it’s going to be. Not a single one of these pitches has resulted in anything close to good content. Not great, Bob!
Bottom of the 2nd:
Kay walked Cole Young to start the frame before going full against Colt Emerson, and the anxiety is at times visible in his reaction to borderline pitches. Still, like Miller, he’s having some success getting hitters to chase high and hot fastballs, punching out Emerson and Rob Refsnyder with basically the same pitch before getting out of the inning thanks to excellent defense from Chase Meidroth.
Substitute announcer Gordon Beckham’s demeanor has been enjoyable, but he did call the Sox pitcher “Michael Kay” at the end of the inning, which was a little funny.
Top of the 3rd:
Well, a Sox hitter finally managed to not swing underneath a four-seamer at the top of the zone. The only problem is that it was Tristan Peters, who can only inside-out a soft liner to Emerson at shortstop. Miller has faced the minimum through three innings. Fortunately for the Sox, he was only up to 80 pitches or so in his first start, so if they’re lucky, they might still escape this after six innings despite the utter domination.
Bottom of the 3rd
You know, every time I start to have some serious doubts about Kay, the guy bears down and gets through a few innings despite not seeming to have a great feel for location. Josh Naylor keeps running long ass at-bats, and it makes me anxious. Seattle up 1-0 after three is about as good as we can hope for, given how both starters have looked so far.
Top of the 4th
Bryce Miller is perfect through three, which he’s apparently done three times in his career. He’s not perfect through four, as we got our standard government-issue Munetaka Murakami walk, but the Good Guys made no other threats, and things continue to look bleak for the Sox offense.
Beckham let us know that he had a Dungeness crab omelet for breakfast this morning, after enjoying a salmon scramble yesterday. We also got a solid rundown of the different salmon species available for consumption in that part of the Pacific Northwest. I hope to try it someday!
Bottom of the 4th
I don’t know how, but we’re still really in this one! Mariners hitters seem to like what they’re seeing from Kay, as they keep attacking and making pretty solid contact, but all three of them resulted in outs this inning, and he’s somehow still only at 78 pitches through four. I doubt he’ll get through the lineup again unscathed, so I’m going to call my shot here and say that if the Sox don’t score in the 5th, this one’s a wrap.
Top of the 5th
WE ARE THROUGH FIVE INNINGS, AND BRYCE MILLER HAS NOT GIVEN UP A HIT.
Jarred Kelenic does not look like he’s having a good time tonight.
I really thought it was going to unravel the moment Colt Emerson got to first base after being plunked to lead off the inning, but Kay keeps finding an extra gear with his fastball and putting hitters away when he needs to. We might wind up being lucky that Dan Wilson burned Andrés Muñoz last night in a non-save situation.
Top of the 6th
The Sox are in the hit column! The Tristan Peters Show continues. He’s on second base, but Edgar Quero falls victim to yet another high four-seamer. He just keeps pounding the heart of the plate and the inside corner like he has a patent on them. It’s pretty impressive.
Right after I uploaded that, Sam Antonacci flew out to the warning track, and Miller’s day was done. This is basically the same thing as when the Rays took out Blake Snell in Game 6 of the 2020 World Series. Will the Sox make Dan Wilson pay for his faith in his bullpen? Predictably not. José A. Ferrer is a nasty lefty, and Murakami didn’t stand a chance.
Bottom of the 6th
If Kay can survive this one, I have a gut feeling the offense might still have some juice left yet.
He just struck out Naylor on three pitches, and by the time I finished shotgunning a Miller High Life, he was out of the game. It’s in God’s hands now, and by God, I mean Tyler Davis, whose appearance was prognosticated several paragraphs above.
God loves the White Sox — we’re on to the seventh with the game still at 1-0.
Top of the 7th
Is Luis Castillo pitching out of the bullpen? The Luis Castillo who’s getting paid $24 million because he’s been an All-Star caliber starter for many years? I guess he’s got a six-something ERA this year. He looks like Mason Miller right now. Strike one, strike two, strike three. These guys have no chance.
Bottom of the 7th
We see your Castillo and raise you a Davis! He’s got some zip on his fastball and went undrafted out of Sam Houston and Wichita State. Quite a story!
Top of the 8th
They tried! They really tried! Jarred Kelenic isn’t seeing ghosts anymore. There he is on first base after legging out a deflected single. Now he’s on second base, and Peters is on first! And now they’re all going back to the dugout, because Castillo is still really good at striking everybody out. Three more chances …
Bottom of the 8th
Hey, it’s time for Bryan Hudson to pitch. I like Hudson! Nobody in Chicago knew who he was before the start of April, and now he’s one of the game’s more effective left-handed workhorses. This is why you don’t give decent setup guys a guaranteed $20 million.
Top of the 9th
Here we go, folks. They’re letting Castillo ride, and the Sox have the meat of their order coming up.
Castillo wants nothing to do with Murakami. Boom. Tying run at first.
Vargas at the plate. And there’s a fastball right into his hand. Do NOT love to see that. Nonetheless, first and second, nobody out. Colson Montgomery at the plate. Montgomery whiffs. And now it’s Andrés Muñoz time.
Steal! Steal! Tying run 90 feet away! Meidroth at the plate! Here we go?
It’s Grant Taylor, and not Domínguez. Now THIS is a development. Boom, strike one. Boom, strike two.
Boom, Dominic Canzone strikes out to end the game. Taylor picks up his first save of the season. The White Sox are back to two games over .500. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Tomorrow is a new day, and one that will see Sean Burke take the mound in an effort to make it yet another improbable series victory against Emerson Hancock, who the Sox touched up for five runs when they last met. First pitch is at 3:10 p.m. CT, and we’ll see you there!
Who was the brightest spot of tonight’s comeback win?
Even his most ardent admirers may admit to a case of Scott Pendlebury fatigue right now. So let’s begin by getting a few words out of the way. Time. Space. Basketball. Saunas. Ice baths. Let’s also put aside some of the more tedious elements of the buildup to his record-breaking game – the gold-plated number, the multiple and lucrative costume changes, the signature wine range, the standing ovation at the 10-minute mark, and the discussion over whether he should have been rested or not.
Emotionally, technically and physically, Pendlebury has much in common with his fellow 400-gamers who gathered at the MCG this week. All of them were wily enough to avoid grievous harm on the field. All of them were temperamentally sound, and weren’t the type of personalities to let the outside noise seep in. And all of them avoided the kind of vices and distractions that can curtail sporting longevity.
Madison Square Garden went electric when the Knicks’ customary spark went out.
As the Knicks mounted a miraculous 22-point comeback to steal a 115-104 overtime win over the Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, Josh Hart was glued to the bench for nearly the entire fourth quarter and the extra session due to his shaky shooting, as Mike Brown turned to Landry Shamet down the stretch.
Shamet validated the decision by hitting a game-tying corner 3-pointer in the final minute of regulation, then added another in overtime, finishing with a team-best plus-20 rating.
Josh Hart finished the Knicks’ Game 1 win with 13 points. Jason Szenes for New York Post
Hart, who finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists, posted a team-worst minus-23 rating in 30 minutes after making just one of five 3-pointers, but the aesthetics were worse than the numbers.
Hart was efficient when he attacked the paint, repeatedly beating Cleveland with a series of spin moves, but the streaky shooter received no respect from Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson, whose defenders slouched off him on the perimeter.
Hart missed each of his first four 3-pointers — one barely grazed the rim, another’s flight path barely went above the rim, another hit nothing — as the Knicks missed 17 of their 19 attempted 3-pointers in the first half.
Before the playoffs began, Brown noted he was aware that Hart might be tested despite the 31-year-old making a career-high 41.3 percent of 3-pointers this season. And despite Hart’s benching fueling a historic comeback, the Knicks coach didn’t believe his starter’s confidence should be shaken.
“If Josh is open, he’s gotta let it fly,” Brown said after the win. “He’s made shots. We feel like he’ll make shots. If he doesn’t want to shoot it, he can get to his middie or [dribble handoff] with somebody. Josh, we faced this coverage all year. And played well throughout the course of the year. And faced it in Atlanta. We started the game off 2-for-19 from the 3-point line. … If those go in, the mojo is a little bit different.”
Three years ago, Hart — who had been acquired in February 2023 — helped the Knicks earn their first postseason series victory in a decade, against the Cavaliers, with extraordinary defense against Donovan Mitchell and 5-for-11 shooting on 3-pointers, including a go-ahead shot from outside in the final minutes of their Game 1 win in Cleveland.
Usually, when Hart goes cold, the Knicks go with him.
In the 2023 second-round loss to No. 8 seed Miami, Hart shot 5-for-21 on 3-pointers. When the Knicks fell apart in the second round against the Pacers in 2024, Hart went 6-for-22 from deep. And last year, Hart shot 2-for-11 in the Knicks’ first conference finals appearance in a quarter century.
In this postseason run, Hart has been a constant on both ends of the floor, filling up every column of the boxscore.
But his shooting has remained erratic.
He was just 5-for-23 from 3-point range in the first round against the Hawks and was 2-for-11 through the first three games against the 76ers, before hitting four of six in the second-round clincher.
The Cavs are certain to return to the one strategy that worked.
Josh Hart of the New York Knicks drives to the basket during Game 1. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“I got to go out there, shoot the ball with confidence,” Hart, who wasn’t available to the media after the win, said recently. “I’m a good shooter, I know I’m a good shooter. I trust my work.”
Madison Square Garden was deflated. The Knicks, down by 22 in the fourth quarter, appeared headed at rapid speed to take a series-defining loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals for a second straight season on Tuesday night.
And then something happened that had never happened before. Per Nate Duncan, teams down 20 in the final seven minutes of the fourth quarter of a playoff game were 0-643 in the play-by-play era.
A 44-11 run by New York over the final 12:55 combined minutes of the fourth and overtime sealed a 115-104 win.
“I gotta give my group credit, they’ve been resilient all year,” head coach MikeBrown said, adding that the Cavaliers to that point were “shooting the ball well, they were turning us over, they were getting the ball in the pocket, and taking advantage of us.”
“And we just found a way,” Brown said. “We found a group of five guys that went out there, ended up getting stops and scoring the basketball.”
“Obviously,” the head coach continued, “we don’t get it done if Jalen Brunson doesn’t play like one of the MVP guys in the league.”
"He's an amazing player,” OG Anunoby, who added 13 points, said. “I'm happy he's on our team. I think we're all happy he's on our team."
Down 93-71, Brunson scored 15 points, including 11 straight at one point, and added two assists to send the game to OT.
“He was phenomenal,” Brown said.
Brunson said he was "just being in attack mode" during the fourth.
"Just trying tring to find seams to get to where I could be comfortable," he said. "Finally, one [three] did go down, that's just because of the rhythm I created from the shots beforehand."
The guard started the night by missing his first five three-pointers before he connected from deep to cut the lead to five with 3:30 to play in the fourth
“Brunson obviously took over at the end,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “We started double-teaming him, trying to do some different things… they dominated us in the fourth quarter.”
Donovan Mitchell, who led Cleveland with 29 points, said there was nothing they could do now other than look at the film and get ready for Game 2 on Thursday.
"He was a little comfortable. We could've done some things collectively, and we didn't, and that's on us," Mitchell said.
For the game, the Knicks' leader finished with 38 points on 15-for-29 shooting with six assists, five rebounds, three steals, and was a plus-15 in 47 minutes.
Atkinson added that he felt the Cavs held Brunson “in check most of the game.”
“Basically, the fourth quarter he got loose,” he said. “We definitely tried to mix up some stuff, throw some stuff at him. We’ll have to keep looking at it. There was a lot of tough floaters, and hit that tough, contested three.”
At one point late in the game with the Knicks down, Brunson got animated in the huddle.
“He’s a leader. He’s our guy. And he felt we needed to play faster, he felt we needed to be better defensively,” Brown said. “There were a couple things he felt and he made sure we knew. And our guys responded to him.”
Brunson said the message in the huddle was to "keep fighting."
"Keep chipping away, we're not gonna get it back in one possession," he said. "Most importantly, sticking together, no matter how that game finished, habits translate; they get transferred to the next game. So just finishing the game strong, regardless of whatever's going on. Making sure everyone has the right habits."
Over the first three quarters, Landry Shamet was on the floor for a grand total of 3 minutes and 13 seconds.
He took one shot, which he missed.
Then, everything changed — for Shamet and the Knicks.
Landry Shamet hits a clutch 3-pointer in overtime of the Knicks’ 115-104 overtime win over the Cavaliers in Game 1 on May 19. 2026 at the Garden. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
With Josh Hart struggling with his shot and unable to stay with Donovan Mitchell, Mike Brown called on Shamet.
“A lot of fun,” he said after the Knicks set a franchise record for a playoff comeback, rallying from 22 points down in the final quarter. “MSG comebacks are fun, especially in the playoffs. I’m just real proud of our group, because that’s quite the deficit in the fourth.”
Shamet was a big part of it.
On one end, the veteran guard hit three key 3-pointers, including one that tied the game with 45 seconds left in regulation.
Jose Alvarado lifts Landry Shamet to celebrate his clutch shot. Jason Szenes for the New York Post
He also sank a key triple late in overtime that iced the victory, putting the Knicks up nine.
On the other end, Shamet slowed down Mitchell, limiting him to three points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
“One of the luxuries of our team is we have a lot of really good defenders,” Shamet said. “I didn’t really play the first three quarters, and you throw fresh legs at somebody who’s got it going. Just try to come in and compete and be physical, take advantage of the fact that I haven’t played, use the energy I had. Try to compete, communicate and make it hard on him.”
It has been a roller-coaster postseason for Shamet. He was out of the rotation late in the opening-round series against the Hawks and early on against the 76ers — then picked it up when OG Anunoby missed the last two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Tuesday night, he was back on the bench as Anunoby returned. But Shamet stayed ready.
“He played big time. That’s just who he is. He’s a true professional, ever since he walked into the league,” Jalen Brunson said. “He’s up to any task you put in front of him. He’s been that player, he’s been that player for us. We have utmost faith in him.”
After the win, Shamet was greeted by John Starks, Spike Lee and Ben Stiller. The celebrities wanted to acknowledge the unsung hero of this victory.
“It’s kind of wild when I think about it,” Shamet said.
May 19, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte (4) is greeted by teammates with bubble gum after hitting a three run walk off home run against the San Francisco Giants during the ninth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images | Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Tonight almost fell into the bucket of the very frustrating games that this team definitely should have won category. Their starting pitcher went 7 strong innings while their offense continued to squander opportunity after opportunity late into the game. However with 2 outs in the 9th, the biggest star on the team Ketel Marte finally broke through and put this team on his back with a walk off 3 run home run! What a swing and what a swing of emotions for this fanbase!
Ryne Nelson was very solid tonight as he was able to go deep and get through 7 innings. The lone blemish on the night for Nelson was a 3 run 2nd inning, but he was able to right the ship quickly and get on a roll.
It was the offense that refused to come to play tonight. The Dbacks were able to get on the board first in the first inning today when Corbin Carroll lined a ball into the gap and when he slid into 3rd base, the throw glanced off of Carroll’s head and he was able to take the extra 90 feet and score. According to the broadcast, Carroll made it from home to 3rd in just 10.7 seconds which is the fastest in Carroll’s career and the fastest recorded time in the major leagues in nearly a decade! After that exciting play on the second hitter of the game, this teams offense went dead silent until late in the game.
One of the defining moments in the game for me was In the 7th inning when the Dbacks offense began to show some signs of life and loaded the bases with just 1 out and down 3-1. Torey Lovullo then elected to stay with his designated hitter Adrian Del Castillo who came into the game with a wRC+ of just 53. A startling 47% below league average hitter up in the biggest moment of the game. Del Castillo then proceeded to hit into a double play and kill the rally and get the Giants out of the inning. It is also worth noting that if anyone else on the team were running they would’ve beaten out the throw from the SS and the Dbacks would’ve scored a run as Del Castillo’s speed is in just the 21st percentile. It is also worth pointing out that Jose Fernandez was sitting on the bench and has speed in the 98th percentile and has been a much better hitter.
As if this heartbreak wasn’t bad enough, in the 8th inning the Dbacks would also load the bases again with 1 out and this time Nolan Arenado grounded into a double play. Back to back innings the Dbacks strand the bases loaded with one out in what has to be some of the worst timely hitting of the season so far. At least Arenado has been one of the hottest hitters on this team and put a good swing on the ball so its hard to be too critical. Just an unfortunate at bat.
In the 9th inning Del Castillo was given another opportunity for some reason unknown to anyone else on the planet and was surprisingly able to come through and knock in Ildemaro Vargas and make it a 3-2 game. Rookie Ryan Waldschmidt who had several good at bats tonight was able to get on base via a catcher’s interference call giving Ketel Marte a golden opportunity with the winning run on base. Ketel had just missed a 2 run home run in the at bat before and was visibly frustrated when the CF caught the ball on the warning track, but he got another opportunity with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th and his team down 3-2. And this time, he delivered!!!!! Ketel with the whole fan base down in the dumps ready to see yet another very winnable game slip through their fingers delivered a walk off 3 run home run with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning and tossed his bat in the air with an epic bat flip! This was the first walk off home run of Marte’s career per the broadcast. If there was one guy on this team who deserved this moment it was absolutely Ketel Marte who has hit so many balls so hard this season and had so very little to show for it.
The Dbacks were able to win this game tonight because Ketel Marte chose to put this team on his back and come through when his team needed him most. We are so lucky to have Ketel Marte on this team and for him to get through the stretch that he has had where he has had such bad luck on hard hit balls and come out the other side with a moment like this was just awesome to see. And lastly, anyone who has any questions about Ketel’s commitment to this team and his desire to win, watch him hit that home run and look at his face as he is rounding the bases. Watch his postgame interview and listen to the passion in that guy’s voice. Ketel just wants to win and tonight he did just that.
The Dbacks are finally back over .500 at 24-23 and go for the series sweep tomorrow afternoon. Time to step on the gas pedal and go get the sweep!
Kenny Atkinson attempted to explain the rationale for his curious decision-making in the fourth quarter as his Cavaliers watched a 22-point lead disappear.
The Cavaliers coach was ripped by fans and analysts on Tuesday night after the Knicks completed a 115-104 comeback win to take Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. Questions mounted over his decision to call just one timeout while the Knicks went on a 30-8 run in the final quarter, and over why he left James Harden in the game as he got torched by New York.
The questionable decision to take one timeout amid a catastrophic collapse was a result of Atkinson saying he likes to “hold my timeouts.”
Kenny Atkinson made some curious decisions during the Cavaliers’ crusing Game 1 defeat to the Knicks. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“I didn’t want to have one timeout at the end of the game. One- or two-point game, I try to hold them,” he bizarrely explained.
But that wasn’t the only odd response following the Cavs loss.
Harden’s defense left much to be desired, and Jalen Brunson, who finished with 38 points while leading the Knicks’ comeback, lit up the 36-year-old whenever he guarded him.
But Atkinson never gave a thought to taking Harden out of the game.
2 MINUTES AND 45 SECONDS of Jalen Brunson HUNTING James Harden in the 4th and OT pic.twitter.com/SzqflCwZ4j
