NEW YORK — Sometimes, the whole “rest vs. rust” thing plays out just like you might expect it to. Such was the case of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The New York Knicks hadn’t played in nine days, and the layoff seemingly killed the offensive rhythm that had them scoring more than 120 points per 100 possessions through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Whether it was rust or regression to the mean, they struggled for the first 40 minutes, scoring an anemic 71 points on their initial 82 possessions of the game.
But the Cleveland Cavaliers lacked rest, having played every other day for the last three weeks. They were the sharper team for those first 40 minutes.
And then things turned … dramatically.
The Knicks had the legs. More importantly, they had Jalen Brunson, who led the Knicks to a 115-104 overtime victory at Madison Square Garden on Monday. Brunson scored a game-high 38 points, with 17 of them (along with four of his six assists) coming as the Knicks outscored the Cavs 44-11 over the final 12:45 of the game.
Even with Brunson’s brilliance, the Knicks needed a couple of bounces to go their way. And they got them.
