The New York Knicks outlasted the Cleveland Cavaliers 130-93 on Monday night to complete a four-game sweep of the Eastern Conference finals and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
Karl Anthony-Towns led the Knicks with 19 points, and 14 rebounds, OG Anunoby 17, Landry Shamet scored 16, while Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson added 15 each.
New York became the fourth team to have an 11-game winning streak during their postseason run. The last to do it was Golden State, which had a 15-game run en route to its second title in three seasons in 2017.
With the Knicks establishing a 35-point lead, they pulled their starters and a large contingent of fans loudly chanted “Knicks in four!”, where it was told that New York fans outnumbered Cavs fans.
Meanwhile, it will be New York’s third appearance in the Finals since winning their last title in 1973. They lost in seven games to Houston in 1994 and in five to San Antonio in 1999.
The Knicks hired Mike Brown after parting ways with Tom Thibodeau after they reached the Eastern Conference finals last year, but lost in six games to Indiana.
It is the 15th time since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976 that a coach has reached the finals in his first year with a team. It will be Brown’s second trip to the Finals as a head coach, as his last trip was with the Cavaliers in 2007.
On the other hand, Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 31 points, but not enough to stop the aggressive Knicks.
It was the first postseason series swept for the Cavaliers since 2018 NBA Finals Golden State.
Mitchell had Cleveland within 30-26 with 2:12 remaining in the first when the Knicks went on a 20-0 run over a five-minute span.
New York was 8 of 14 from the field, including four triples, and the bench scored 15 points, while Cleveland was 0 for 9 from the field during the burst, and committed four turnovers.
The Cavaliers were trailing by 29 in the first half, and got outscored by the Knicks’ four players who were already in double figures.
The Knicks took control until the fourth and produced their largest lead of 45 points.
New York will play the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs in the Finals. The Western Conference finals is tied at two games apiece with Game 5 to be played in Oklahoma City on Tuesday.
The Thunder or Spurs will have homecourt advantage when the Finals start on June 3 because of a better regular-season record.
