May 19, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) controls the ball against Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) during the fourth quarter of game one of the eastern conference finals during the 2026 NBA playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson did everything he could to expose Knicks star Jalen Brunson’s defense throughout the first 40 minutes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference, which is why, in part, they were able to build a seemingly insurmountable 22-point lead with 7:40 left in regulation.
But New York head coach Mike Brown, who normally shies away from such a strategy, one-upped Atkinson and the Cavaliers down the stretch by painting a target squarely upon the beard of James Harden.
For Brown, it was the classic case of anything you can do, I can do better.
He had Brunson go after Cleveland’s veteran guard, and the Knicks’ captain cooked him. Over the final 12:40 of Game 1 between the fourth quarter and overtime, Brunson hit eight of his last 10 shots and dropped 17 of his 38 points, mostly while isolating Harden.
“Sometimes, you gotta do what the game dictates,” Brown said. “They were trying to do the same thing with Jalen. We said, ‘OK, we feel like we can play that game.’ 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.
“It is no secret that we were attacking Harden.”
In what might have been Atkinson’s greatest folly of the night, he stayed with Harden despite his reputation of being a shoddy defender, at best. When fresh, he is in no way quick enough laterally to keep up with the shifty Brunson. After the Knicks repeatedly went after him, he was nothing more than a pylon.
According to the All NBA Podcast, the Knicks ran 21 on-ball screens in the fourth quarter and overtime, which resulted in nine isolations. They averaged 1.9 points per play in those scenarios — basically a basket every time.
That’s an unstoppable strategy, and one that Atkinson should have realized and addressed by taking Harden out of the game when Cleveland still had a healthy lead. Surely he will adjust. He has no other option. But the Knicks seem to have a fail-safe option whenever the beard is on the floor — and that is something Brown and Co. can hang their hat on for the rest of this series.
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