Game Recap: 2026 NBA Eastern Conference Finals, Game 4 – NYK at CLE; W; NYK: 130, CLE: 93
Many a story has been told about the famous New York teams we all know and love. Teams like the 1973 Knicks, the 1994 Rangers, and the 1998 Yankees. These groups wrote stories that will continue to be told for generations.
The 2026 Knicks have joined that list.
An 11-game win streak has produced the Knicks’ first NBA Finals berth in 27 years. In closeout games, including last night’s 130-93 annihilation in Cleveland, the Knicks have a +118 point differential. They beat Atlanta by 51 points, Philadelphia by 30, and Cleveland by 37.
During their 11-game win streak, the Knicks have outscored opponents by a combined 262 points. That is the most dominant showing in any 11-game span in NBA history, regular season or playoffs. The Knicks also became the first team in NBA history to achieve six straight double-digit playoff road wins, and they are the seventh playoff team to sweep both their second and third-round opponents.
Image Courtesy: New York Knicks
Revenge is a dish best served cold. I’m not talking about the Knicks erasing last year’s Eastern Conference Finals nightmares, or Karl-Anthony Towns surviving the third round after two straight failures. I’m talking about Mike Brown, whom the Cavaliers fired twice. The Knicks’ head coach, in his first season in New York, avenged himself.
“I truly felt these Knicks were an NBA Finals team [when I took the job]. I felt we had a true opportunity,” Brown said. “Some jobs you take, you say, ‘Okay, we’ll get better, and we have to make the playoffs right now.’ But this one, I felt we legitimately had a chance if we could help [the players] figure it out and stay together during the process, especially when we hit adversity.”
Brown is undoubtedly better than Tom Thibodeau. The Knicks fired Thibs last season because they believed their team had more potential. Brown was instructed to use his bench more and help Karl-Anthony Towns fit the mold. As soon as he came to New York, Brown taught his team how to dictate the pace of play while staying connected, but Towns couldn’t adjust to his coach’s strategy.
Once the calendar flipped to March, Towns elevated his game to new heights. Kitten Towns was no more. Instead, Lion Towns avoided foul trouble and consistently drove to the basket. It all led to adopting a new role as the Knicks’ secondary offensive hub, a strategy Brown turned to when his team was trailing 2-1 to Atlanta in the opening round.
Since activating Towns, the Knicks have won 11 straight games and are Finals-bound. In the conference finals, Towns averaged 15.8 points and 12 rebounds per game. His 19 points yesterday were the most he scored in this series, and the most by any Knicks player in Game 4. Towns has seven double-doubles and two triple-doubles in 14 contests this postseason.
“It means the world,” Towns said about reaching the NBA Finals. “I grew up a Knicks fan, as was documented. What’s more of an honor is growing up in the area. I feel like the word ‘hope’ has been gone from the New York Knicks name for a long time. To be part of this team that revives the word ‘hope’ in this city, it’s something special, and it’s an honor.”
Consider that in a 130-point effort, no player posted more than 19. Like this entire magical run, yesterday’s series-clinching win was a full-team effort, including Landry Shamet. Off the bench, he scored 16 points, nailing each of his four shots from downtown. During his time on the court, the Knicks outscored the Cavs by 28 points.
Shamet initially rose during part of the Knicks’ NBA Cup run when Jalen Brunson was injured. After that, he largely fell off the radar, especially because he got hurt. But throughout the season, Brown regularly referred to Shamet as one of his best on-ball defenders.
In addition to shooting 17-for-21 from three-point range since Game 3 of the conference semifinals, Shamet demonstrated defensive excellence, especially against Donovan Mitchell whenever Hart was resting. Shamet didn’t silence Mitchell, but he held him steady. In the process, he became another force about whom the Knicks’ next opponent will have to worry.
The truest testament to this team’s greatness is how I have almost written an entire article about how they earned their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999, but I haven’t discussed their best player. Jalen Brunson, who averaged 25.5 points and 7.8 assists per game in this series, took home an extra piece of hardware last night.
Along with the Bob Cousy Trophy that Clyde Frazier and Patrick Ewing passed to the 2025-26 Knicks, Brunson received the Larry Bird Trophy as the Eastern Conference Finals MVP. He keyed the Knicks’ record-setting fourth-quarter comeback in Game 1, netted 14 assists in Game 2, scored 30 points in Game 3, and never turned the ball over in Game 4.
“The belief that the organization has in me has been amazing, and something I don’t take for granted,” Brunson said with misty eyes after yesterday’s win. “It’s something not a lot of people get the opportunity to do. So, I’m very thankful. It’s an honor to be here in this city, for this organization, with my teammates.”
When the Knicks inked Brunson in 2022, he insisted he wasn’t the franchise’s savior. So far, he has been incorrect. Brunson has had a sensational postseason, averaging 26.9 points per game, yet he hasn’t played a single fourth-quarter minute in any of the Knicks’ closeout games. He is Captain for a reason.
“It’s how hard he works,” Brown said of Brunson. “Most superstars work extremely hard, but his work ethic is off the charts. And his teammates see that. It’s hard to tune each other out, especially when it comes from your leader, your best player.”
Brunson helped the Knicks outscore Cleveland by at least eight points in every quarter of Game 4. They went 19-for-43 from downtown and forced 22 turnovers. They outscored Cleveland 50-36 in the paint, 32-5 on second-chance opportunities, and 33-9 in fastbreak situations. Not to mention their 60-33 rebound advantage, including 20-6 on the offensive glass.
Utter. Dominance.
As Clyde Frazier said, “The way we’re playing now, I don’t think it matters who we play [next].” For now, the Knicks can celebrate. Worrying about San Antonio or Oklahoma City can wait. But the Knicks have also expressed that they plan to limit their celebrations; they will get right back to work.
“Their suffocating defense, the ball movement,” Frazier continued. “Coach Brown came in wanting to run pace and space, but that was one thing they didn’t do. Now, the last 11 games, the way they’re getting up and down the court — Bridges, Hart — they’re just moving and grooving.”
Cover Image Courtesy: New York Knicks
