{"id":132675,"date":"2026-05-20T07:20:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T11:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/knicks-storm-back-to-shock-cavs-in-game-1-as-james-hardens-defensive-play-comes-under-scrutiny-132675"},"modified":"2026-05-20T07:20:42","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T11:20:42","slug":"knicks-storm-back-to-shock-cavs-in-game-1-as-james-hardens-defensive-play-comes-under-scrutiny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/knicks-storm-back-to-shock-cavs-in-game-1-as-james-hardens-defensive-play-comes-under-scrutiny-132675","title":{"rendered":"Knicks storm back to shock Cavs in Game 1 as James Harden’s defensive play comes under scrutiny"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

James Harden\u2019s<\/a> defensive liabilities came into focus in the Cleveland Cavaliers\u2019 Game 1 collapse against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

The Cavaliers led by as many as 22 points before Jalen Brunson led the Knicks<\/a> to a storming comeback victory, 115-104. Brunson had 38 points, including crucial buckets in the fourth quarter while Harden was guarding him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Harden put the Cavaliers ahead with a few seconds to play, while Brunson answered back to tie the game. Cleveland\u2019s Sam Merrill had an opportunity to give Cleveland the game-winning basket at the end of the fourth quarter, but his shot rolled around the rim and out.<\/p>\n

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

New York, then, outscored Cleveland<\/a>, 14-3 in overtime to put the finishing touches on an incredible comeback.<\/p>\n

Harden had 15 points, four rebounds and three assists, but was marked with six turnovers and was minus-6 on the floor. NBA fans targeted Harden for failing to do enough on defense when it mattered the most \u2013 a critique that has haunted him his entire career.<\/p>\n

Knicks head coach Mike Brown pointed out after the game that the plan was to attack Harden.<\/p>\n

“There is no secret: We were attacking Harden,” Brown said. “Sometimes you\u2019ve got to do what the game dictates, and they were trying to do the same thing with Jalen, so we said, \u2018OK, we feel like we can play that game.\u2019 We try not to play that game much, but we feel like we have a guy that we can play that game with in Jalen.”<\/p>\n

Harden credited Brunson with making tough plays down the stretch.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“He made some tough ones, but we obviously all know he\u2019s a great 1-on-1 player,” Harden said. “Anybody on an island, it\u2019s going to be difficult, so we\u2019ve got to do a better job of making sure he sees bodies. On the other hand, they do a good job at supporting him and helping him when he\u2019s on an island. He made some tough ones, but we\u2019ve got to do a better job as a team.”<\/p>\n

Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson claimed the team made adjustments, but nothing worked.<\/p>\n

“We started sending two at him, getting the ball out of his hands, full rotating,” Atkinson said. “James was good most of the game. Listen, we weren\u2019t great defensively in the fourth quarter.”<\/p>\n

He said he never considered taking Harden off the floor defensively.<\/p>\n

“Listen, he\u2019s been one of our best defenders and a big player in the playoffs,” Atkinson said. “I trust him. He\u2019s smart, great hands.”<\/p>\n

Game 2 is set for Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n

The Associated Press contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/sports\/knicks-storm-back-shock-cavs-game-1-james-hardens-defensive-play-comes-under-scrutiny <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

James Harden\u2019s defensive liabilities came into focus in the Cleveland Cavaliers\u2019 Game 1 collapse against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. The Cavaliers led […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-132675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKnicks storm back to shock Cavs in Game 1 as James Harden's defensive play comes under scrutiny - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/knicks-storm-back-to-shock-cavs-in-game-1-as-james-hardens-defensive-play-comes-under-scrutiny-132675\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Knicks storm back to shock Cavs in Game 1 as James Harden's defensive play comes under scrutiny - Wall Street PR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"James Harden\u2019s defensive liabilities came into focus in the Cleveland Cavaliers\u2019 Game 1 collapse against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night. 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