yahoo - 5/20/2026 3:28:49 PM - GMT (+2 )
The logic in sports, when it comes to timeouts, is that they are for you to take them, and they don't carry over to the next game.
Some coaches adhere to that simple logic, especially when their team is scuffling or when they need to stop a significant run by their opponents.
But not Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson
Atkinson attempted to defend why he didn't call a timeout when his team was blowing a 22-point fourth-quarter lead Tuesday, May 19, to the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Knicks went on to win 115-104 in overtime.
"I like to hold my timeouts," Atkinson said after the game. "I didn't want to have one timeout at the end of the game, one- or two-point game. I tried to hold them.
"They hit some really tough shots in that fourth quarter. We got a little unlucky, quite honestly.
"My only regret, and this can happen when you get a little fatigued, I think it just stopped moving. We were pinging the ball all over the place, great ball movement, and then it just got a little stagnant."
The Cavaliers led 93-71 with 7:50 left in the fourth quarter. During the next 12 minutes of action, Cleveland scored a grand total of 11 points.
Even with a near-historic collapse, Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell doesn't seem to be worried about it and insists the team will be ready for Game 2 on Thursday, May 21.
"It's the same. It's one loss," Mitchell said. "We've had some tough ones, but it's one loss. It's not like that loss gives them two or three games, right? It's one. So we have an opportunity to come back here in two days and steal one here, and that's really all it is.
"If you allow yourself to go down that path, you won't be ready for Game 2. So that's pretty much the mindset."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cavs' Kenny Atkinson defends not calling timeout vs Knicks in Game 1
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