The New York Knicks are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, and head coach Mike Brown made one thing clear after Monday night’s 130-93 rout of the Cleveland Cavaliers: the path to this moment was built on pace, defense and leadership.
Following the Eastern Conference finals sweep at Rocket Arena, Brown praised his roster after New York dominated Cleveland in nearly every category, particularly in transition and on second chances. The Knicks outscored the Cavaliers 33-9 in fast-break points and 32-5 in second-chance points while forcing Cleveland into 22 turnovers.
“You’re in the playoffs here in the conference finals and you score 65 points off of offensive rebounds and fast break points,” Brown said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that before at this point in the year.”
The Knicks completed the sweep with their 11th straight playoff win, becoming the fourth team in NBA history to post an 11-game postseason winning streak. New York has won all but one playoff game by double digits and is advancing to the Finals after dismantling Cleveland in four games.
Brown repeatedly pointed to execution rather than star power when discussing the victory.
“I give our guys a lot of credit for sticking to the game plan and really trying to push the pace because that’s what we wanted to do coming into this series,” he said. “Forty-one percent, 42%, 93 points against a team of their offensive caliber is just amazing.”
The Knicks held Cleveland to 42% shooting and 28% from 3-point range while controlling the glass 60-33. Brown highlighted contributions throughout the rotation, including the bench.
“Our bench was fantastic,” Brown said. “Jose was really good. Mitch, his vertical threat at the rim offensively was massive. Ten rebounds, five offensive, five defensive was amazing. Deuce was just spectacular.”
He also singled out Landry Shamet, who scored 16 points off the bench and shot 4-for-4 from deep in Game 4 after going 11-for-12 from 3-point range during the series.
“A lot of people are going to talk about his shooting, which they should,” Brown said. “But when Josh wasn’t guarding Donovan, Landry had to guard him. You’re not stopping Donovan Mitchell. He’s just too good of a player, but Landry did his best to make him work.”
Brown’s most revealing comments came when discussing Finals MVP candidate Jalen Brunson, who averaged 25.5 points and 7.8 assists in the series and earned Eastern Conference finals MVP honors.
“How hard he works,” Brown said when asked what stood out about Brunson’s leadership. “His work ethic, man, it’s off the charts.”
Brown then offered a glimpse into Brunson’s daily routine.
“He goes and shoots. We have shootaround usually at 10 a.m., and he goes whether we’re at home or on the road every day,” Brown said. “I’m a late-night guy and I had to adjust because he makes me tired because I got to get up now at 7:30 and meet with my coaches because we’re having early shootaround.”
The Knicks coach compared Brunson’s temperament to former stars he coached, saying the guard’s “quiet strength” reminds him of Tim Duncan and Stephen Curry because he “never gets too high, never gets too low.”
Brown also reflected on taking the Knicks job after being dismissed by the Sacramento Kings, saying he believed from the start that New York had championship potential.
“I truly felt that this team was an NBA Finals team,” Brown said. “I thought we had a true opportunity.”
New York will now await the winner of the Western Conference finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs as the franchise seeks its first NBA championship since 1973.
