Erica Brunson was lost for words when her brother, Jalen Brunson, and the New York Knicks pulled off a 115-104 OT win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday night.
After the Knicks went on a 44-11 run to end the game, Erica summed up the sentiments of Knicks fans with a very pertinent question.
“WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED. ??????” she asked.
The Knicks were down 92-71 with 8:19 left in the fourth quarter before rallying to a stunning victory, becoming the first team in decades to end a game on a 44-11 run.
Notable Knicks Fans Predict Sweep
Several notable Knicks fans such as Kiss, Ben Stiller, Fab and Action Bronson predicted the Knicks to sweep the Cavaliers, following their beloved team’s sweep of the Philadelphia 76ers in the second.
“Knicks in four,” said Stiller as he entered his car outside Madison Square Garden.
“We sweeping that motherf***er,” said Bronson.
Meanwhile, Karl-Anthony Towns thanked the Knicks fans for willing his team to a win when it was down big early in the fourth quarter.
“Anyone who’s been to the Garden can tell you, when the crowd is in the game, and you feel that energy, you feel unstoppable,” Towns told “SC with SVP,” via ClutchPoints.
“Our fans are the best fans in the world. They give us so much energy. They give us so much love. Whenever we’re feeling like the game’s getting away from us, our fans put us back in the game.”
“I really, truly feel the fans were the ones that got us this win tonight,” Towns added. “They gave us the energy to fight back and gave us the motivation to get it done.”
Knicks Rewrite NBA History
The Knicks didn’t just come back and win — they prevailed with a double-digit win in OT. As a result, they became the first team in the play-by-play era (since 1997-98) to win any game (regular season or playoffs) by 10+ points after trailing by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter, according to ESPN Research.
ESPN statistician Anthony Gharib highlighted other historical feats achieved by Jalen Brunson and the Knicks.
“New York’s 11-point win is tied for the largest overtime victory in a conference or divisional finals game in NBA history,” he wrote.
How rare was New York’s win on Tuesday? Entering Game 1 of the East Finals, teams that trailed by 22 or more points in the fourth quarter of the playoffs held a record of 1-594. The Cavaliers became the second among 596 teams to blow such a lead.
“New York’s victory marked the second-largest fourth-quarter comeback in the playoffs in the past 30 postseasons,” he wrote “It also marks the largest playoff comeback in Knicks franchise history since 1970.
“Only the LA Clippers in 2012 had a larger comeback when they were down 24 points against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.”
Knicks vs Cavaliers Game 2 tips off at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday.
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