The Cleveland Cavaliers had a win in their hands in Game 1 of their 2026 Eastern Conference Finals series against the New York Knicks. But a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday was simply not enough for the Cavs to stave off Jalen Brunson and company.
Former Los Angeles Lakers superstar point guard Magic Johnson saw the game and later shared a strong opinion on the Knicks and the Cavs.
“The Knicks were down 22 points against the Cavaliers when Jalen Brunson decided to take over and put the Knicks on his back!!” the NBA legend wrote in a social media post on X, formerly Twitter, following New York’s wild come-from-behind win. “He scored 17 of his 38 points in the 4th quarter to lead the Knicks to a win 115-104 in OT.
In addition, the Basketball Hall of Famer seemingly believes the Cavs may already be done after just one game.
“There’s no way the Cavaliers should’ve lost this game. It’s going to be hard to recover from this loss and win the Series.”
Brunson erupted for 38 points to lead the Knicks, scattering 16 of those points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Mikal Bridges churned out 18 points, while OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart each scored 13 points.
As for the Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell paced his team with 29 points on 12-for-23 shooting. James Harden had 15 points, but shot just 5-for-16 from the field. Evan Mobley contributed a double-double of 15 points and 14 boards for the Cavs, who are facing adversity again in the NBA Playoffs.