Charles Barkley Trashes Cavs After 'Choke Job' Loss to Knicks
NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley trashed the Cleveland Cavaliers after their "choke job" loss to the New York Knicks on Tuesday night.
The Cavs had a 22-point lead over the Knicks in the fourth quarter, but wound up losing the game 115-104 in overtime as New York anchored an incredible comeback to take Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinal.
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It was a shocking defeat for a Cavs team that looked like they were cruising to a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Instead, they ended up losing shockingly, to the point that Barkley called it a historic "choke job."
Charles Barkley Trashes Cavs for 'Choke Job'
Speaking on "Inside the NBA" after the game was over, Barkley was asked by host Ernie Johnson what he thought about the Cavs losing Game 1, and he didn't hold back in his criticisms.
I don't like to get on TV and say people choked. But that was a damn choke job."
"You know, Ernie, I take my job very seriously, and I don't like to get on TV and say people choked. But that was a damn choke job," Barkley said. "I'm going to say it now. I'm very selective when I've said it. Okay, so they had a 22-point lead, and they just started milking the clock like a prevent offense. (Coach Kenny Atkinson) let the lead go from like 20 to six, Ernie, and he never called a timeout.
"But my problem was, if you go back and look at those highlights from the beginning, the ball was moving. Everyone was getting wide-open shots. You go back and look at the first six or eight minutes of that fourth quarter, they were just going one-on-one, the shot clock was on their back every single time, and Kenny should have called a timeout sooner. I give (Jalen) Brunson a lot of credit. He was fantastic, and the other guys chipped in. But that was a damn gag job right there."
Donovan Mitchell Perplexed by Loss
Speaking to reporters after the game, Cavs superstar Donovan Mitchell said he was perplexed by how his team blew such a big lead and lost the game. When asked what the message in the locker room was after the game, Mitchell didn't mince words.
"We lost. We (expletive) blew it, all right? Let's respond for Game 2, simple as that," Mitchell said.
That being said, the Cavs' leader also realizes that this is a best-of-seven series, and there will be chances for Cleveland to bounce back and get a win. To that end, he is trying his best to keep things in perspective and make sure his teammates know that this is only one game and that the series has not been lost just yet.
"We didn't close it out. We gotta clean up on film and go from there. It's one loss. It's a bad loss, but all you can do is go back and watch the film and fix it," Mitchell said. "It's one game. We could have lost by 40, but it still would have been 1-0. We played pretty solid for three quarters or so. We'll make adjustments and go from there."
According to Kalshi, the Knicks now have a 79% chance of winning this series. Had they won the game, the Cavs would have been the ones who were favored to win the series. But they lost, and now they have to rebound after what can only be considered an epic "choke job" for the ages.
Cavaliers vs. Knicks Schedule
Here is the schedule for the rest of the series between Cleveland and New York:
- Game 2: Thursday, May 21 at 8 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY
- Game 3: Saturday, May 23 at 8 p.m. ET at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, OH
- Game 4: Monday, May 25 at 8 p.m. ET at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, OH
- Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, May 27 at 8 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY
- Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, May 29 at 8 p.m. ET at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, OH
- Game 7 (if necessary): Sunday, May 31 at 8 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY
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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 7:19 PM.