Kolek, Brunson & Mitch Lead Amazing Comeback Christmas Win! NY 126 Cleveland 124

December 26, 2025 LouV 2025-26 0
Tyler Kolek saved Christmas. Photo courtesy NY Knicks.

Tyler Kolek and Jalen Brunson formed a Batman & Robin tandem with Mitchell Robinson as Alfred — to pull the Knicks out of a 16-pt hole with 8 minutes left in the game, and carry the Knicks to an exhilarating 126-124 win over the Cavs on Christmas day at a rocking Madison Square Garden.

Kolek was at the point, making heady plays on both offense and defense, penetrating the lane, distributing, or hitting 3’s, while Jalen Brunson played off of him as the shooting guard, hitting big 3’s down the stretch. Mitchell Robinson was ripping down offensive rebound after offensive rebound to give NY 2nd chances, Jordan Clarkson was nailing 3’s from the corner, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby were playing heady D and making big shots, and KAT, also playing solid D, came up with a Huge offensive rebound and tip-in in the final minute. Coach Mike Brown used his manpower expertly down the stretch.

The main story was Kolek, who was sensational — again — finishing the night with 16 pts on 5-9 shooting (4-5 from 3) with 9 assists and a game-saving swat of a Donovan Mitchell slam attempt in the final minutes. Afterwards, Josh Hart tweeted “It’s a white Christmas 1-3!”

Mitchell Robinson was the sub-story — with his magnificent offensive rebounding performance igniting the Knick rally in the 4th. Robinson had 13 rebounds (8 offensive) in 17 minutes with a block.

Brunson was having a so-so night until he put his cape on in the final 8 minutes — finishing with 34 pts on 10-25 shooting (6-12 from 3).  Clarkson finished with a season-best 25 pts on 9-17 shooting (5-10 from 3).

“Tyler Kolek was big by controlling the tempo,” noted NBA Analyst Ross Kreines, “Making the game easier for others whether finding a shooter in rhythm, making an entry pass or just finding the open man with his ability to create along with hitting big shots, competing hard, not quitting on plays while valuing the ball.”

“Playing at The Garden on Christmas, it doesn’t get much better than that,” said Kolek afterwards. “I’m grateful for the fans.”

NY improves to 21-9, 3 games back of Detroit for the lead in the East. Cleveland falls to 17-15.

1. Cleveland Jumps Out to 15-Pt Lead in 1st Quarter

It was Christmas Day at Madison Square Garden — 12 noon start — and all the ‘celebrities’ were on hand courtside for the nationally televised game on ESPN.

Native New Yorker Donovan Mitchell could be seen greeting several celebrities on the sideline before the game started, and the Spider came out looking to showcase his game as so many stars have done at MSG in the past.

And he did — hitting 4 of his first 5 shots to start the game — including two 3 pointers — as Cleveland raced out to a 20-5 lead.

The Knicks kept missing shots — going 2-15 to start the game, and Cleveland extended their lead to 15 pts at 38-23 to end the quarter.

2. Kolek & Clarkson Ignite Knick 28-3 Run in 2nd to Gain 47-41 Lead

But Tyler Kolek and Jordan Clarkson came off the bench to ignite a Knick comeback to start the 2nd quarter — Kolek commanding the offense, orchestrating, and hitting teammates for scores — and Jordan Clarkson getting red hot from 3 and all over.

OG Anunoby joined in, as did KAT and Mikal Bridges — as NY went on a 24-3 run to take a 47-41 lead.

Cleveland pushed back to pull within 60-58 at the half.

3. Cleveland 15-2 Run in 3rd Puts them up 14

And Cleveland continued to counter-punch in the 3rd — Donavan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Sam Merrill starting off the quarter by each hitting a 3, and Mitchell slamming off a Garland assist for a 68-63 Cavs lead.

Cleveland kept coming, with Jaylon Tyson coming off the bench to provide firepower with a floater, a drive, and a jumper late in the period for 6 straight points and a 13-pt Cav lead. A Donovan Mitchell 3 put Cleveland up 14.

4. Cleveland Extends Lead to 17 Pts with 10:26 Left in 4th

Cleveland entered the 4th up by 12 at 96-84 and extended the lead to 17 pts early in the quarter off 4 consecutive free throws by Donovan Mitchell off drives.

Clarkson and Kolek hit consecutive 3’s but Evan Mobley free throws and a Jaylon Tyson drive still had Cleveland up 16 at 107-91 with 8:11 left. It was looking bad for NY.

5. Mitch & Kolek Ignite 26-6 Knicks Run to Tie Game at 113-113

And then — a drive by Josh Hart cut it to 14. Next time down Hart drove to the basket but went down hard spraining his ankle. He was able to stand and get to the free throw line where he made both free throws, but NY had to foul Cleveland to get him off the court.

Mitch Dominates Offensive Glass

And that is when Mitchell Robinson started to Dominate the offensive glass to trigger the Knick comeback.

  • Mitch grabbed an offensive rebound off a Bridges miss and fed Brunson for a 3.
  • Mitch grabbed an offensive rebound off a Brunson missed drive the next time down, and fed Tyler Kolek for a Huge 3 and NY was down 109-103.
  • Donovan Mitchell hit a 3 — but Jordan Clarkson answered with a 3 off a Kolek assist.
  • Mitch grabbed Another offensive rebound off a Clarkson missed 3, and fed Kolek for Another 3 for a 111-108 game.

An electric Madison Square Garden erupted. Cleveland timeout.

Brunson Clutch 3’s

After the timeout, Sam Merrill missed a 3 and Brunson came down and made a 9-foot baseline stepback for a 1-pt game; Donovan Mitchell countered with a drive — but Brunson countered that with a step-back 3 for a tie game at 113-113!

6. Knicks Go On Another 12-4 Run to Close It

Cleveland pushed back — Mitchell free throws and an Evan Mobley offensive rebound and tip-in put them up 117-113 with 2:27 left.

Kolek with Huge 3, then a Block on Spider Slam

But again Kolek came up big with a 3 to make it 117-116 Cleveland.

Mitchell then stole the ball from Jalen Brunson and went ahead of the field for a slam — but Tyler Kolek came out of nowhere to slap the ball away from him as he was gathering — initially called a foul but on Knick challenge — called a fair block.

After the game, Kolek would say “Honestly if he ran and just did a regular lay-up, I wouldn’t have caught up to him. But he wanted to do some windmill shit… he was trying to do something crazy.”

Kolek Comes Up Big

Donovan Mitchell then missed a 3, and Tyler Kolek leaped up to snare the long rebound away from Mitchell — then raced the other way and fed Mikal Bridges for a pullup and 118-117 Knick lead.

Brunson 3 for the Lead Again

Darius Garland drove for a bucket to give Cleveland a 119-118 lead, but one more time it was Mr. Clutch Jalen Brunson with a step-back 3 for a 121-119 Knick lead.

KAT Tip-In, Spider Slam, Kolek-Lead Fastbreak

And then came the sequence of the game:

NY defended, causing a Garland miss; down the other end Kolek missed a jumper — but KAT came out of nowhere for an offensive rebound and tip in for a 123-119 Knick lead.

Donovan Mitchell immediately attacked the other way for a powerhouse SLAM.

But Kolek — receiving the ball from Brunson who was getting blitzed, then hounded himself by a double-team — made a perfect up-court pass to KAT who fed Bridges who fed OG Anunoby for a slam underneath — NY 125 Cleveland 121 with 12 seconds left.

Donovan Mitchell missed a 3 out of a timeout, and Cleveland was forced to foul — fouling Mitchell Robinson. Robinson had hit his prior 10 free throws in a row the prior 2 games — but missed both — even a 3rd one he got due to a lane violation.

Donovan Mitchell then hit a 3 from the parking lot with 2.7 seconds left to pull the Cavs within a point with 2.7 seconds left — but Tyler Kolek was able to get the ball in to KAT under pressure with 1.1 second left.

KAT — fouled — hit the first of 2 free throws, but missed the 2nd — and Lonzo Ball‘s heave at the buzzer was way short as the Knicks had the Christmas Day win!

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401809238

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