‘We were attacking Harden’: Knicks, Brunson go after Cavs veteran to key their improbable comeback

NEW YORK (AP) — James Harden couldn’t stop Jalen Brunson down the stretch and didn’t have enough offense to make up ground.

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’s struggles on either end of the court played a big role in the collapse.

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Brunson scored on consecutive possessions off the dribble with Harden guarding him. Brunson had 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the fourth quarter alone.

“He’s had some tough moments, but obviously we all know he’s a great 1-on-1 player,” Harden said. “It’s going to be difficult for anyone on an island, so we have to do a better job of making sure he sees the bodies. On the other hand, they do a good job of supporting him and helping him when he’s on an island. He’s had some tough ones, but we have to do a better job as a team.”

Knicks coach Mike Brown put the ball in Brunson’s hands and trusted his point guard to exploit the game against Harden.

“There’s no secret: We were attacking Harden,” Brown said. “Sometimes you have to do what the game dictates, and they were trying to do the same thing with Jalen, so we said, ‘OK, we think we can play this game.’ We try not to play this game too much, but we feel like we have a guy we can play this game with in Jalen.

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Brunson had just 14 points at halftime, and Cleveland’s defense switching defenders against him paid off until he found himself in a 1-on-1 with Harden to spark the comeback.

“Jalen was a little more aggressive,” Harden said. “We just allowed him to be aggressive, and he made shots and he kept making shots.”

Coach Kenny Atkinson said he and his team made adjustments, but nothing worked.

“We started giving him two, taking the ball out of his hands, full rotation,” Atkinson said. “James was good for most of the game. Look, we weren’t great defensively in the fourth quarter.”

Playing 48 hours after knocking out Detroit in Game 7 of the second round, Atkinson said he never considered taking Harden off the court defensively.

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“Look, he was one of our best defenders and an important player in the playoffs,” Atkinson said. “I trust him. He’s smart, with good hands.”

Trading for 11-time All-Star Harden in February helped propel the Cavaliers to this point. But the 36-year-old also struggled on Tuesday night with the ball in his hands.

Harden shot 5 of 16 from the floor, including 1 of 8 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over six times.

Donovan Mitchell, who led Cleveland with 29 points, said he and his teammates could have done much more collectively to slow down Brunson and did not place the blame for the improbable loss on Harden.

“At the end of the day, it’s not his fault, it’s all of us’ fault,” Mitchell said. “It’s not just one person. He’s been in the league long enough. He understands that.”

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba