Jalen Brunson Gives Honest Response After Knicks’ Unreal Comeback Win

The New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers will continue their Eastern Conference Finals clash in Game 2 on Thursday night, May 21. 

The Knicks won Game 1 via a massive comeback late in the fourth quarter and overtime to take a 1-0 series lead. The Cavaliers controlled the game for the first 40 minutes of Game 1, before Jalen Brunson erupted for 15 points in the final quarter to complete the come-from-behind win. 

Now in Game 2, the Knicks will look to keep their momentum going and preserve the homecourt advantage against the Cavaliers. 

Referees For Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals

GettyA Cavaliers coach reacts to a late-game call during Game 1 against the Knicks, a sequence later highlighted in the NBA’s Last 2 Minute Report.

Here are the officials for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals: Zach Zarba (crew chief), James Williams (referee), Sean Wright (umpire), and Ray Acosta (alternate).

The referees will be crucial in the series as the Knicks carry momentum after punishing the Cavaliers’ perimeter defense by relentlessly attacking James Harden in pick-and-roll actions towards the latter part of the game. 

In Game 1, the two teams combined for 54 fouls, with the Cavaliers committing 29, three more than the Knicks. 

For Game 2, both squads will be playing their full lineup as no one is listed in the game’s injury report ahead of the game. 

New York Knicks’ Plan To Neutralize James Harden

GettyNew York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson makes James Harden a target in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Heading to Game 2, the Knicks are expected to continue what had worked for them in the series-opener: attack James Harden in every possible way. 

“It was no secret: We were attacking Harden,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said. “Just like we have to figure out different ways to guard Harden and [Donovan] Mitchell, they have to find ways to guard Jalen [Brunson].”

The Knicks struggled to generate looks for Brunson until they decided just to hunt Harden down the stretch. 

Before the fourth quarter, the Cavaliers found success by shrinking the floor and protecting the paint by sagging off Josh Hart, who finished with 13 points on 1-of-5 shooting from 3-point range. 

Harden was also targeted by the Knicks’ defenders throughout the game, picking him up from full court on defense. In this way, according to Brown, Harden would be worn down, making him susceptible to the Knicks’ attacks. 

It was a tactic from the Golden State Warriors playbook. 

“We played Houston in the playoffs. We counted Harden’s dribbles,” Brown, a former assistant coach of the Warriors, said. “He’s dribbling 1,000 times a game. [Kevin Durant] was at 300 or right below, so keep picking him up at full speed. “Because at the end of series, at the end of games, it’ll wear him down.”

It remains to be seen if that same game plan would continue in Game 2, especially as the Cavaliers are expected to adjust accordingly.

Game 2 of the East Finals will tip off on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. The game will be played inside Madison Square Garden in New York.