Knicks Take Game Four at Rocket Arena

*** It only took one quarter of basketball to see that the Cavaliers were a team running low on fumes in Game 4. 

After two grueling seven-game series though the first two rounds of the 2026 playoffs, the physical and emotional fatigue finally caught up to the Cavaliers, who fell behind by double-figures late in the first quarter and saw the Knicks expand their lead to 29 points midway through the second. 

The Cavs cut New York’s advantage to 16 points early in the third period, but the Knicks answered with a 12-0 run and the rout was on.  

When the smoke cleared, the red-hot Knicks – who came into the series after an eight-day respite – had notched their 11^th straight victory in the postseason had completely overwhelmed the Wine & Gold, running away with the 130-90 decision on Monday night at Rocket Arena and advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. 

Having played every other day since April 29, the Cavaliers didn’t have their legs on Monday night, and the numbers told that story. New York outdid Cleveland on the break, 33-9 and in second chance scoring, 32-5, while converting 22 Cleveland turnovers into 34 points. The Knicks outscored the Cavs in the paint, 50-36, dominated on the boards, 60-33, and handed out 33 assists in the win. 

In many ways, the Wine & Gold never fully recovered from the devastating loss in Game 1 when New York rallied from 22 points down in the final eight minutes before pulling away in overtime. The Knicks used an 18-0 third quarter run to seal Game 2 and kept Cleveland at bay through the final three quarters in Game 3 before blowing Cleveland out of the water on Monday night. 

After running into a buzzsaw during last year’s postseason, the Cavs met another juggernaut this season. During their 11-game playoff win streak, New York is beating teams by an average of 23.8 points per. Cleveland was no different. All four Knicks wins in the series came by double-digits, with an average margin of victory of 19.3 points per game. 

“We took a step, you know – and this is kind of how this works, you have to keep climbing,” said Coach Kenny Atkinson. “We are going in a positive direction. We fell short, and there's no bigger motivator to get to the next level. To give this all season and no know the sacrifices we’re gonna need to make to get to the next level. But I'm proud of this group in terms of how they fought through adversity, they won two Game 7s. I think we took a step, mentally, from a mental standpoint. So, I'm gonna kind of lean on that.”

Only three Cavs starters registered double-digit scoring on Monday night – led by Donovan Mitchell, who posted his sixth postseason game this year of at least 30 points, leading both teams with 31 points on 9-of-18 shooting, including 5-for-9 from long-range and 8-of-10 from the stripe, adding four boards and a steal. 

“We took a major step, mentally, like I’d hoped, as a group,” said Mitchell. “I think playing this long, the one thing I've learned is, it's as much mental as it is physical. I think physically, yeah, we're all beat up; everybody's beat up. But I want to keep hammering to the point, if we’d put teams away on those first two series (against Toronto and Detroit). I give my respect to (New York) for sweeping us, but we didn't do that, and I think that's the biggest thing, and that comes down to mental focus.” 

Evan Mobley followed up with 15 points, going 7-for-15 from the floor, adding a team-high seven boards, four assists and a steal. 

James Harden rounded out the starters in double-figures with 12 points, going 2-for-8 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the stripe, adding four boards, a pair of assists, a steal and a block. Harden also committed five of Cleveland’s 22 turnovers in the loss. 

“If you look at the film, we had unlimited open looks, and we just didn't make them – and (New York) made them,” said Harden. “Like, (if) we make shots, and this is a completely different series. They miss shots, it's a completely different series. But they made them, and this is a miss-or-make league. You make shots and it makes it a little bit easier. It's just a little frustrating, that aspect that we did get some really good looks.”

Thomas Bryant added 10 points off the bench, but it came after Kenny Atkinson emptied his bench with the Cavs down 35 points with just under eight minutes to play in regulation. 

Four Knicks starters tallied double-figure scoring, and the one who didn’t – Josh Hart – still chipped in with 11 boards, six assists and a pair of steals. 

Karl-Anthony Towns paced New York with 19 points and a game-high 14 boards, adding three dimes, two steals and a pair of blocked shots. OG Anunoby added 17 points and seven rebounds and Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson pitched in with 15 points apiece. 

Landry Shamet was absolutely scorching in the four-game set against Cleveland – going 11-for-12 from three-point range, including all four bombs he attempted on Monday – finishing with 16 points to lead all reserves. Mitchell Robsinson led both second units with 10 rebounds. 

*** After falling in four games to New York, the Wine & Gold head into the offseason. The next big date on the Cavs calendar rolls around on June 23, when Cleveland holds the 29^th overall pick in the NBA Draft.