Winners and Losers: Cavs vs Knicks Game 1 – James Harden crumbles defensively

The Cleveland Cavaliers fumbled a prime opportunity to steal Game 1 on the road. They crumbled at the end, blowing a 22-point lead in history fashion.

Let’s go over today’s winners and losers.

LOSER – Big Jim Harden

James Harden just had perhaps the worst individual defensive performance in NBA Playoff history. Seriously, it was historically bad. Harden was targeted eight times in isolation during the fourth quarter, something that has only happened 30 times in the history of the NBA’s tracking data (including regular-season games since 2013).

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Harden gave up more points per possession in those situations than anyone, ever.

The Knicks had an absolute feast courtesy of Harden.

Jalen Brunson hunted him in a switch that came far too easily from the Cavs. I can blame Kenny Atkinson for that. It’s inexplicable that the Cavs allowed this to happen as many times as it did without an adjustment.

Still, you have to do more than swipe at the ball and get torched any time you turn your hips.

Harden had no chance in these isolations. He’s an upright defender who can only hold his own when someone tries to outmuscle him. A game that’s predicated on craft and shiftiness is going to beat him every time. Brunson took advantage of that and delivered on a massive comeback.

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That wasn’t all, however. Harden finished with more turnovers than made field goals for the sixth time this postseason. An unimaginable stat that has contributed to some of Cleveland’s ugliest losses. The margin for error is too tight for Harden to play like this.

Even a 22-point cushion wasn’t enough to cover it up.

LOSER – Prevent Offense

The Cavs, as I’m sure you’ve heard, had a 22-point lead with 7 minutes remaining. That’s bordering on garbage time. But this is the Eastern Conference Finals. And… we’re in an era of parity and three-point variance. You can’t take your foot off the gas.

Those days are gone. You have to sprint through the finish line or risk a collapse. You saw what happened when the Cavs tried to jog.

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As much as we crushed Harden for his defense — an equally bad thing occurred on…

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Publish date : 2026-05-20 05:54:00

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