Knicks Totally Annihilate Cavs for Sweep. NY 130 Cleveland 93

May 26, 2026 LouV 2025-26 0
Landry Shamet slams it home. Photo courtesy NY Knicks.

Pick your verb:

The Knicks BLITZED the Cavs. The Knicks CRUSHED the Cavs. The Knicks Totally Annihilated the Cavs.

NY led by 12 pts after 1 quarter, went on a 20-0 run to lead by 29 in the 2nd, were up by 19 at the half, led by 27 after 3 quarters, and were up by 40+ pts in the 4th in winning 130-93 on a Monday night in Cleveland.

Knick pressure Defense caused steal after steal and fast break after fast break, with rhythm 3’s, and slam dunks. All night. The Knick starters didn’t play the 4th quarter, and the 3rd team took the court with 7:58 left.

NY sweeps the Eastern Conference Finals 4 games to 0, and head to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, where they will play either San Antonio or Oklahoma City — currently tied 2-2 in their series.

Just like they had done to a very hot Atlanta team, and a very hot Philadelphia team, the Knicks beat the red-hot Cavs so badly in an elimination game on the road it left Cleveland looking like they had given up, and their fans wondering what to do next with their team.

Distributed NY Offense

Karl-Anthony Towns led the charge with 19 pts on 8-11 shooting, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and excellent Defense. Landry Shamet was an assassin again off the bench with 16 pts on 5-6 shooting (4-4 from 3). So was Miles McBride with 11 pts (3-5 from 3). Mitchell Robinson dominated as well with 8 pts on 4-6 shooting and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes — at times playing with KAT.

Jalen Brunson was named MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals — the Larry Bird Award. Brunson didn’t need to do much in this game — scoring 15 pts in 31 minutes. OG Anunoby had 17 pts; Mikal Bridges had 15 pts; and Josh Hart had 6 pts with 11 rebounds and 6 assists. And lots of steals and defense by all.

NY’s scoring was so distributed that they scored 130 pts and no one on the team had as many as 20 pts.

Knick Fans Owned the Arena

Knick fans owned Cleveland’s Rocket Arena — taking up 50 percent of the seats — it was Madison Square Garden West. In NYC, they took the Watch Party inside into Radio City Music Hall, which was electric — Madison Square Garden North.

Not Done Yet — On a Mission

“It feels good. We’re excited. We’re happy we won, but we’re also not satisfied,” said OG Anunoby afterwards. “We’ll celebrate tonite, but once tomorrow comes we’ll start resting and preparing for the next round.”

“Our guys played great. My staff has been unbelievable. The players, they were unbelievable,” said coach Mike Brown afterwards. “You’re in the playoffs — you’re in the conference finals and you score 65 pts off offensive rebounds and fast-break points. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that at this time of year. I give our guys a lot of credit for sticking to the game plan and really trying to push the pace because that’s what we wanted to do coming into this series. Coaching staff came up with a fantastic game plan, and our players went out and executed it.”

1. Mitchell and Cavs Take 8-2 Lead

With their backs to the wall down 3-0 in games and facing elimination, Cleveland came out firing their best shot. Donovan Mitchell — who was heroic on the night with 31 pts — hit two 3’s in the early minutes to give Cleveland an 8-2 lead.

2. Knicks Outscore Cavs by 16 in 1st Quarter After That

The Knicks pushed back — Josh Hart hit a 3, then fed Mikal Bridges for a drive. Donovan Mitchell scored on a drive, but Brunson matched it. The teams banged back and forth for several minutes — Cleveland took a 17-14 lead.

But then NY started to pull away. NY used intense defense, offensive rebounding, and shot making to take charge.

KAT hit a 3 to give NY a 19-17 lead. Brunson scored on a drive, and a KAT rebound and quarterback pass to OG for a slam put NY up 23-17.

“OG Anunoby plays with a purpose, moves with a purpose, defends with a purpose,” pointed out NBA Analyst Ross Kreines,” And here he runs the floor hard, catches, gathers himself use of pivot foot along with utilizing his strength then punishes both Strus and the rim.”

NY was just getting started.

Mitchell Robinson was too big to handle inside — grabbing rebounds and scoring on alley oop slams — 2 of them at the end of the 1st quarter — one off a pass from Bridges, another off a pass from Brunson to put NY up 30-24.

Then Shamet hit a 3. Then Brunson hit a 3. Then Mitchell Robinson put back an offensive rebound and NY was up 38-26 to end the 1st quarter.

3. Knicks Go On 20-0 Run to Go Up 29 Pts in 2nd

The 2nd team came in and they pushed the attack and the lead. Jose Alvarado was all over the place, disrupting Cleveland’s ball handlers. Alvarado scored a bucket, then Miles McBride hit a 3.

Then Shamet hit a 3. NY was on a 20-0 run that gave them a 50-26 lead.

Shamet ON FIRE

“Landry Shamet wasn’t promised a roster spot or minutes,” noted NBA Analyst Ross Kreines. “And what did he do he earned his spot then minutes with not just his ability to shoot the ball and move without the ball but his willingness to defend hard the entire possession, not cheat you while taking no play for granted.”

4. Cleveland Pulls within 19 at the Half

NY pulled out to a 29 pt lead at 61-32 off a Shamet 3 with 6:08 left in the half.

Cleveland gave everything they had to still the Knick attack. In a turning point play, Mitchell Robinson was hacked and pushed while grabbing offensive rebound with 5:24 left — no foul was called — the ball going out of bounds off Robinson.

Cleveland went on a 15-3 run on buckets by Max Strus, Evan Mobley, and James Harden to cut the Knick lead to 17 pts with 1:53 left in the half, at 64-47.

But NY pushed back — Mikal Bridges made a spectacular shot from the left side with the shot clock expiring — and that stilled the Cleveland run. NY went back up by over 20 pts and led by 19 at the half.

5. Cavs Pulls within 16 in 3rd, then Knicks Take Off Behind KAT

A bucket by Jarrett Allen and 3 free throws by Donovan Mitchell after being fouled taking a 3 cut the NY lead to 16 — 72-56 — early in the 3rd quarter.

But Karl-Anthony Towns took over and the Knick defensive pressure intensified and NY was back to the races with a 10-0 run to take a 26 pt lead.

KAT blocked a shot by Strus, then down the other end hit a 3.

Bridges hit a 3, OG stole the ball and fed Brunson who fed it back to OG for a slam.

KAT drove for a bucket; OG tipped in an offensive rebound.

It was NY steal after steal; slam dunk after slam dunk. 3 after 3. Total Annihilation.

6. Knicks Pull Starters for 4th; Put in 3rd Team with 7 Min Left

NY was up by 35 pts at 111-76 with 7:58 left when they put in the 3rd team. Cleveland did the same, waving the white flag.

Tyler Kolek led the 3rd team and they pushed the lead. Ariel Hukporti dominated inside. Jordan Clarkson and Mohamed Diawara and Pacome Dadiet were scoring at will. An absolute romp.

7. Watch Party at Radio City Music Hall was Lit

Knick fans owned the arena in Cleveland, and meanwhile back in NY at Radio City Music Hall the Watch Party was rocking too.

 

The Boxscore

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401873344

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