Good morning, Marco. Another nocturnist done — coffee, dog, recliner. Last night was loud while you were on the floor: the Knicks pulled off one of the biggest fourth-quarter comebacks in NBA playoff history at the Garden, the Mets lost a frustrating one in DC and lost Holmes for the season in the same breath, and the Cuba file moved again with concrete US sanctions hitting eleven officials. Quick read, then sleep.
Section A — Top Stories
Confirmed fresh, in the last 24–48 hours.
Knicks erase a 22-point fourth-quarter hole in OT, steal Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals 115–104
Cavs were up 93–71 with 7:52 left. Knicks closed the game on a 44–11 run across the rest of regulation and OT — the second-largest fourth-quarter playoff comeback in the play-by-play era (1997 on). Teams leading by 22+ in the fourth were 594–1 over that span; the only other team to blow that kind of cushion in a playoff game was the 2012 Grizzlies. Brunson dropped 17 of his 38 in the final 12:39, going 8-of-10 with four assists in that stretch. Cavs shot 22% from the moment the lead started slipping.
What's next: Game 2 Thursday night, 8 PM ET at MSG (ESPN). Series is now Knicks' to lose. If you're up between shifts, this is the one to flip on — Cleveland will come out furious and Brunson's calf is still a quiet question even after 38.
Cuba: US sanctions 11 senior officials + Interior Ministry, National Revolutionary Police, and Intelligence Directorate; Díaz-Canel calls it "immoral, illegal, criminal"
Update: The sanctions list you saw yesterday filled out overnight with names — president of the National Assembly, ministers of communications, mines & energy, justice, and interior; deputy minister of defense plus three generals; National Revolutionary Police and the Director of Intelligence as institutions. Díaz-Canel called it part of a "genocidal siege" and vowed continued denunciation. Inside Cuba, the more notable story is that his statement on X drew a wave of citizen replies demanding he resign — "time's running out for you" — against the backdrop of 19+ hour daily blackouts in Havana and 65% of the country going dark on May 13.
Why this matters to you: The sanctions list now reaches into the apparatus your family interacts with administratively. Worth a check-in call this week if you haven't done one. The civic-backlash piece is the new development — internal pressure is no longer abstract.
Mets lose 9–6 to the Nationals; Clay Holmes moved to the 60-day IL; Severino selected from Syracuse
McLean (now 2–3) gave up nine (six earned) over 5.2, with the back-breaker an inside-the-park grand slam by James Wood in the second that flipped a 5–0 Mets lead. Bichette had two two-run shots in the early innings before Washington answered with five over the next two frames. Holmes's broken fibula formally moves to the 60-day — earliest realistic return now mid-August. Roster move: Severino's contract selected and he was optioned back to Syracuse the same day (paper move).
Talking point: Two extra-inning epics this week (the 16–7 on Monday) and now a regulation gut-punch. The bullpen carried more than it should — without Holmes, the high-leverage gap stays raw deep into summer. Watch Christian Scott's first start (still slotted in for Senga).