Knicks Notes: Landry Shamet, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby

The Knicks don’t complete that ridiculous comeback Tuesday night without Landry Shamet. Simple as that.

Shamet logged just 17 minutes in Game 1 against the Cavaliers, but 14 of them came during the fourth quarter and overtime, when everything flipped.

He buried three massive three-pointers, including the game-tying shot in the final minute of regulation as the Knicks erased a 22-point deficit.

Afterward, Jalen Brunson praised Shamet’s professionalism and readiness.

“He’s up to any task you put in front of him,” Brunson said, via Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “We have utmost faith in him.”

Historic Rally

According to the NBA, New York’s comeback was the largest fourth-quarter rally ever in a conference finals game during the play-by-play era, which dates back to 1997.

The Knicks looked dead entering the final stretch. Then Brunson exploded, Madison Square Garden woke up and Cleveland completely unraveled.

Even Karl-Anthony Towns, who struggled statistically most of the night, walked away satisfied afterward.

“I think the Knicks found a way to win tonight, and that’s all that matters,” Towns said.

Fair point. Because honestly, nobody in New York is going to care that Towns scored just 13 points if the Knicks keep winning games like this.

Frontcourt Battle

The Cavs clearly entered the series determined to make life difficult on Towns.

Coach Kenny Atkinson admitted Cleveland felt it had the personnel to bother the Knicks star offensively, and for most of Game 1, that plan worked.

Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen consistently pressured Towns and disrupted the point-center offense that had fueled New York’s recent surge.

Towns finished with only five assists, his lowest total since coach Mike Brown revamped the offense around him earlier in the postseason. Didn’t matter in the end.

Rust Factor

OG Anunoby admitted afterward he needed some time to shake off the rust after returning from a hamstring injury.

It showed early.

Anunoby managed just four points through regulation before suddenly looking like himself again in overtime, when he scored nine points and grabbed three rebounds to help finish off Cleveland.

“Just as the game went on I felt more and more like myself,” he said.

That’s probably not great news for the Cavs moving forward.

Hack Problem

One thing the Knicks may need to solve quickly? Mitchell Robinson at the foul line.

Robinson was effective early, but Cleveland intentionally started fouling him in the second half and the strategy worked. He went just 2-of-8 from the stripe and eventually became difficult to keep on the floor.

Still, Brown insisted afterward that the Knicks aren’t backing away from Robinson’s role.

“Mitch can impact the game in different ways,” Brown said. “We need him on the floor.”

The Knicks would probably prefer he stay there without turning every possession into a free-throw adventure.