After nearly three decades of waiting, the New York Knicks have officially secured their spot in the NBA Finals, capping off a dominant 130-93 Game 4 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers to complete a 4-0 sweep of the Eastern Conference Finals. The historic win extends the franchise’s all-time playoff winning streak to 11 consecutive games, marking one of the most impressive post-season runs in modern Knicks history.
In a balanced offensive performance, Karl-Anthony Towns led all New York scorers with a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Jalen Brunson, named the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, added 15 points to the final tally. For the 29-year-old Brunson, this milestone carries unique personal weight: he was just two years old when the Knicks last made the Finals in 1999, a run that ended with a 4-1 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. That 1999 squad included his father Rick Brunson, who now serves as an assistant coach for the current Knicks roster.
Reflecting on the breakthrough, Brunson credited his team for the collective success: “It means a lot, but I wouldn’t be here without my team-mates, the belief they had in me. They give me the confidence. They let me be me. Most importantly, we all believe in each other from top to bottom. It’s an honour to play with them.”
Sharpshooter Landry Shamet, who turned in a perfect shooting performance off the bench with 16 points on 4-for-4 three-point shooting, emphasized that the squad has no intention of celebrating early. “We are remaining focused on the larger goal rather than dwelling on our victory over the Cavaliers,” he said. “We’ve got four more wins to try and go get and we know it’s going to be even harder. Being in this position with this team, it’s pretty special.”
The Knicks’ next challenge will wait for the outcome of the Western Conference Finals, where defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs are deadlocked at two games apiece. Game 5 of that series is scheduled to tip off Tuesday, with tipoff set for 01:30 BST on Wednesday.
From the opening moments of Game 4 against Cleveland, New York controlled the tempo. The squad closed the first quarter on an 8-0 run, then opened the second quarter with 12 straight unanswered points to build a commanding 50-26 halftime lead. Shamet’s third three-pointer of the night pushed the Knicks advantage to 61-32, and the team never surrendered its momentum, forcing 22 Cleveland turnovers throughout the contest to keep the Cavaliers from mounting a comeback. Donovan Mitchell finished as Cleveland’s top scorer with 31 points in the losing effort.
If New York can keep its win streak alive and claim the championship, a sweep of the Finals would see the Knicks tie the NBA’s all-time record for consecutive playoff wins: 15 straight victories, a mark set by the 2017 Golden State Warriors. The franchise, which has not claimed an NBA title since 1973, is now just four wins away from lifting its third championship banner.