The New York Knicks routed the Cleveland Cavaliers 130-93 at Rocket Arena on Monday night to complete a four-game sweep of the Eastern Conference Finals and clinch the franchise's first trip to the NBA Finals since 1999. Karl-Anthony Towns went for 19 points and 14 rebounds in the closer, OG Anunoby added 17, and Jalen Brunson was named series MVP after averaging 25.5 points and 7.8 assists across the four games.
A 27-year wait, ended in eleven days
The last time New York reached the Finals was June 1999, when Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston dragged an eighth-seeded team past Indiana and into a five-game loss to the Tim Duncan and David Robinson Spurs. Brunson was two years old when those Finals tipped off.
The sweep itself was a beating. The four wins came by 11, 16, 13, and 37 — an average margin of 19.3 — with Game 1 a Knicks overtime comeback after Cleveland led by 22 in the fourth quarter. By the time Mike Brown pulled his starters in the fourth quarter of Game 4, New York was up 35.
Brunson's MVP case, in the numbers
Brunson scored 15 in the clinching game — his lowest output of the series, in a game New York led by 35 in the fourth. His series line — 25.5/3.3/7.8 on 49% shooting — was the work of a player who did not need to score 30 a night for his team to win. The Knicks built their offense around him in Games 1 and 2, then let Towns and Anunoby take over once the series tilted. Brunson is the first Knick to win the Larry Bird Trophy, which has been awarded as Eastern Conference Finals MVP since 2022.
The Cavaliers' season ends with the same question
Kenny Atkinson's Cleveland team finished 52-30 as the four-seed in the East, then ran into a higher-seeded Knicks team that owned home court through the conference finals. Donovan Mitchell averaged 27.3 points in the series on 48% shooting, Darius Garland struggled on defense against Brunson, and the bench was outscored 191-118 across four games. Atkinson — signed to a five-year deal in 2024 that runs through 2028-29 — now has to answer for a Mitchell-Garland-Mobley-Allen core that has gone 4-4 in playoff series across four postseasons together with zero Finals appearances.
What's waiting in the Finals
The Knicks get the winner of Oklahoma City and San Antonio, with the Thunder one win away after taking Game 5 in OKC, 127-114. If it ends in OKC, New York opens on the road against the defending champions. If San Antonio forces seven, the Finals starts later — and Wembanyama, who logged a career-high 48 minutes in the double-OT Game 1, gets two more days off his legs.
Game 1 tips June 3 at 8:30 PM ET on ABC. Whatever happens in OKC tonight, the cultural center of the playoffs just moved back to 7th Avenue.
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