Kenny Atkinson sounded like a man who had accepted his losing fate on Tuesday after his Cleveland Cavaliers blew a late lead to the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Cavaliers led by as many as 22 points midway through the fourth quarter of what was at that point a completely one-sided series opener at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, N.Y. The Knicks then proceeded to go on a 30-8 run in the final 7:39 of regulation to force overtime and eventually run away with a 115-104 win.
Cleveland called just one timeout during that entire stretch despite Atkinson having multiple in his pocket in the fourth quarter. He gave a puzzling response during his postgame press conference when asked about not calling any more timeouts.
“Yeah, I like to hold my timeouts,” Atkinson told reporters. “I didn’t want to have one timeout at the end of the game. One or two-point game, I try to hold them.”
Most coaches view timeouts as a tool to halt an opposing team’s momentum. Atkinson claimed he wanted to save them for close late-game situations his Cavaliers could have avoided had he settled his team down before it was too late. Several fans and media members felt that same way.
Have we ever seen a coach get fired after game 1 of a conference finals? Because Kenny Atkinson should be the first…
— Josh Reynolds (@JoshReynolds24) May 20, 2026
WHY ON EARTH did he not do anything about them head hunting Harden all 4th & OT? No double? Nothing? This entire comeback is on him. WTF are we watching lmao
The Cavaliers called a grand total of one timeout during that 30-8 run by the Knicks.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) May 20, 2026
This has been an inexcusable coaching display by Kenny Atkinson down the stretch.
— Erik Slater (@ErikSlater_) May 20, 2026
Fireable loss.
Atkinson also opted not to call a timeout when the Cavaliers had the final shot with the game tied at 101 to end regulation. Sam Merrill’s potential dagger three-point attempt rolled halfway down the hoop and out, prompting Mike Breen to cancel his signature “bang” call mid-sentence.
Atkinson also attributed some of the loss to the Cavaliers just not being as lucky down the stretch as the Knicks, who “dominated us in the fourth quarter.”
“We got a little unlucky, quite honestly. … But I’m super proud of the way our group played. We played great basketball tonight for three quarters,” Atkinson said.
It’s probably hard for any Cavaliers fans to feel as proud as Atkinson was after choking away what looked like a Game 1 win for 40 minutes of play.
