Donovan Mitchell admits Cavs ‘blew it’ vs. Knicks

The Cavaliers aren’t pretending Tuesday night was anything other than a disaster.

Not after blowing a 22-point fourth-quarter lead in a 115-104 overtime loss to the Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

“We lost, we (expletive) blew it,” Donovan Mitchell told reporters afterward.

Hard to argue with that assessment.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, NBA teams had been just 3-747 over the last 30 years when trailing by 20 or more points in the fourth quarter of a playoff game. The New York Knicks are now responsible for the fourth win on that list after storming back from 22 down at Madison Square Garden.

It also became the second-largest fourth-quarter comeback victory in playoff history during the play-by-play era.

The Cavs looked fully in control entering the final minutes. Then everything unraveled.

The Knicks closed regulation on a 30-8 run before completely dominating overtime as Cleveland’s offense froze and its defense collapsed.

“We weren’t great defensively in the fourth quarter,” coach Kenny Atkinson admitted. “The ball stuck a little bit too much.”

That might qualify as the understatement of the night.

The Cavs also continued an ugly postseason trend by surrendering 28 points off turnovers. It marked the sixth time this postseason Cleveland has allowed at least 25 points off giveaways, the most by any playoff team over the last 30 years.

Meanwhile, James Harden endured another brutal playoff finish statistically.

Harden finished with six turnovers and just five made field goals, marking the 32nd time in his postseason career he’s had more turnovers than made baskets.

Still, Atkinson defended him afterward when asked whether he considered benching Harden late for defensive purposes.

“No,” Atkinson said. “He’s been one of our best defenders in these playoffs. I trust him.”

Atkinson also defended his timeout strategy after allowing the Knicks’ comeback to spiral before finally stopping play.

“I like to hold my timeouts,” he said. “I try to hold them.”

The Knicks, meanwhile, credited unlikely hero Landry Shamet for helping change the game’s momentum.

Coach Mike Brown called Shamet “the difference in the ballgame on both ends of the floor.”

Mitchell attempted to keep the bigger picture in perspective afterward.

“It’s one game,” he said. “We could have lost by 40. Still would have been 1-0.”

True. But this one probably feels worse than losing by 40.