Landry Shamet’s fourth-quarter defense inspires Knicks in Game 1 victory: ‘He was the difference in the ballgame’

It was a quarter to remember for Landry Shamet and the Knicks.

Down 22 points to the Cavaliers with less than eight minutes to go in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Shamet helped New York orchestrate their largest comeback victory in franchise playoff history.

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While Jalen Brunson exploded for 15 points to lead the comeback, Shamet’s defense and clutch shot-making gave the Knicks captain some help in the team’s improbable 115-104 victory in overtime on Tuesday night.

“Landry Shamet was great. He was great on both ends of the floor. He came up big,” head coach Mike Brown said after the win. “You’re not going to stop a guy like Donovan Mitchell. Landry tried like heck to make him work. He was fantastic. He was the difference in the ballgame tonight on both ends of the floor.”

“He played big time,” Brunson said of Shamet. “He’s up to any task that you put in front of him. He’s been that player for us, and we have the utmost faith in him.”

The Cavaliers star went for a team-high 29 points, but in the final frame, he scored just three on 1 of 4 shooting thanks to Shamet.

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“He didn’t just change the game with the clutch shots, but defensively bringing energy,” Miles McBride said of Shamet. “Getting hands on deflections and picking up full court. Things like that inspires the whole team.”

For Shamet, he credited Game 1’s defense on Mitchell on the Knicks’ depth. Shamet played just three minutes through the first three quarters — all in the first half — so he had the energy to stay with Mitchell in the fourth.

“One of the luxuries of our team is we got a lot of really good primary on-ball, primary off-the-ball defenders. Team defenders,” Shamet explained. “I didn’t really play the first three quarters and then you throw fresh legs at someone whose got it going. Just come in try to compete, be physical, take advantage that I didn’t play. Use the energy that I had. That’s really it. Compete, communicate, make it hard on him. He’s a helluva player.

“We expect him to have a good game against us. Gotta give him his credit, he really hurt us. We have to make adjustments. We were connected,…

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Publish date : 2026-05-20 04:38:00

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