{"id":868,"date":"2026-05-20T06:35:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T06:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=868"},"modified":"2026-05-20T06:35:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T06:35:07","slug":"we-were-attacking-harden-knicks-brunson-go-after-cavs-veteran-to-key-their-improbable-comeback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=868","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We were attacking Harden\u2019: Knicks, Brunson go after Cavs veteran to key their improbable comeback"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 James Harden could not stop Jalen Brunson down the stretch and did not have enough offensively to make up for it.<\/p>\n

Read more Shirtless fans the stars at MLB stadiums as \u201cTarps Off\u201d trend sweeps baseball world<\/a><\/p>\n

The Cleveland Cavaliers blew a 22-point lead to lose Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals to the New York Knicks in overtime on Tuesday night, and Harden\u2019s struggles at each end of the court played a big part in the collapse.<\/p>\n

Brunson scored on several possessions in a row off the dribble with Harden guarding him. Brunson had 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the fourth quarter alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe made some tough ones, but we obviously all know he\u2019s a great 1-on-1 player,\u201d Harden said. \u201cAnybody on an island, it\u2019s going to be difficult, so we\u2019ve got to do a better job of making sure he sees bodies. On the other hand, they do a good job at supporting him and helping him when he\u2019s on an island. He made some tough ones, but we\u2019ve got to do a better job as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knicks coach Mike Brown put the ball in Brunson\u2019s hands and trusted his point guard to exploit the matchup against Harden.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no secret: We were attacking Harden,\u201d Brown said. \u201cSometimes you\u2019ve got to do what the game dictates, and they were trying to do the same thing with Jalen, so we said, \u2018OK, we feel like we can play that game.\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brunson only had 14 points at halftime, and Cleveland\u2019s defense switching defenders on him paid dividends until he got 1-on-1 with Harden to spark the comeback.<\/p>\n

\u201cJalen was a little bit more aggressive,\u201d Harden said. \u201cWe just allowed him to be aggressive, and he made shots and he continued to make shots.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Jalen Brunson leads Knicks back from 22 down in the 4th for 115-104 win over Cavs in OT in Game 1<\/a><\/p>\n

Coach Kenny Atkinson said he and his staff made adjustments, but nothing worked. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe started sending two at him, getting the ball out of his hands, full rotating,\u201d Atkinson said. \u201cJames was good most of the game. Listen, we weren\u2019t great defensively in the fourth quarter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Playing 48 hours after blowing out Detroit in Game 7 of the second round, Atkinson said he never considered taking Harden off the court defensively.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen, he\u2019s been one of our best defenders and a big player in the playoffs,\u201d Atkinson said. \u201cI trust him. He\u2019s smart, great hands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trading for Harden, an 11-time All-Star, in February helped propel the Cavaliers to this point. But the 36-year-old struggled Tuesday night with the ball in his hands, too.<\/p>\n

Harden shot 5 of 16 from the floor, including 1 of 8 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over six times. <\/p>\n

Donovan Mitchell, who led Cleveland with 29 points, said he and his teammates could have done a lot more collectively to slow down Brunson and did not put the blame for the improbable defeat on Harden\u2019s shoulders.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, this isn\u2019t on him \u2014 it\u2019s on all of us,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just on one person. He\u2019s been around the league long enough. He understands that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Cleanup continues, health risk linger after more than a million gallons of sewage spills in Raleigh<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/nba<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 James Harden could not stop Jalen Brunson down the stretch and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018We were attacking Harden\u2019: Knicks, Brunson go after Cavs veteran to key their improbable comeback - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=868\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018We were attacking Harden\u2019: Knicks, Brunson go after Cavs veteran to key their improbable comeback - 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