The New York Knicks are headed to the 2026 NBA Finals after eliminating the Cleveland Cavaliers with a dominant 130-93 win at the Rocket Arena in Cleveland. Outside of Game 1, the Knicks have had complete control over this series and didn’t look to be in any danger of losing to the Cavaliers. This win caps off one of the greatest runs through the East, as the Knicks have won their last 11 games straight.
A team-effort with nobody scoring over 20 points led to this result, with Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Jalen Brunson all playing their part in this 37-point win. Towns ended the night with 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Anunoby had 17 points and seven rebounds. Brunson had 15 points, while Landry Shamet came off the bench for a huge 16 points (5-6 FG).
The Cavaliers were led by Donovan Mitchell‘s 31 points (9-18 FG), with no other Cavaliers even coming close to being impactful. Evan Mobley had 15 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, while James Harden had an inefficient 12 points (2-8 FG). The only other Cavalier to reach double-digits was Thomas Bryant with 10 points in garbage time.
Let’s analyze the five reasons why Game 4 and the series went in the Knicks’ favor before the franchise starts preparing to face either the OKC Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA Finals.
1. Complete Statistical Dominance
The Knicks outclassed the Cavaliers in every single counting stat category during this game, outside blocks, which the Cavs won 4-2.
The Knicks shot 48-98 from the field compared to Cleveland’s 32-77, while New York went 19-43 from three as the Cavs struggled with 11-40 from three. The Knicks won battles for turnovers (13-22), rebounds (60-33), assists (33-21), points off turnovers (34-18), points-in-paint (50-36), fastbreak points (33-9), second-chance points (32-5), and steals (15-9). That’s a comprehensive beatdown by New York, and the Cavaliers never stood a chance in Game 4.
The Knicks have been a statistical marvel for most of the postseason with their 12-2 record. Both their losses were one-point outliers, as the rest of their run has been very convincing. Game 4’s performance was a message to whoever comes out of the West, as the Knicks won’t just roll over for one of the two 60-win franchises from this season.
2. Jalen Brunson Eliminates Donovan Mitchell Once Again
Brunson and Mitchell might not have intended to be career rivals, but that’s just the reality of their careers. This is a pretty one-sided rivalry as Brunson has now eliminated Mitchell from the postseason for the third time in his career. Jalen has a 12-3 record over Mitchell in the Playoffs going back to 2022.
Brunson led a Luka Doncic-less Mavericks squad to a first-round 4-2 series win over the higher-seeded Utah Jazz, led by Mitchell. After both players joined the Eastern Conference that offseason, they met again in the 2023 NBA Playoffs but in the first round in the East, where the Knicks handed the Cavaliers a 4-1 gentleman’s sweep loss. The wins are getting harder for Mitchell, who got swept in 2026 after winning one game in their last matchup, and two the first time they met.
Brunson averaged 25.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 7.8 assists this series and won Eastern Conference Finals MVP, while Mitchell got swept while averaging 27.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.5 steals, and led Game 4 with a game-high 31 points.
3. Fatigue Matters
The Cavaliers just didn’t have the energy needed to be competitive in this series. They had to get through two grueling seven-game series against the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons just to make it this far, with both series being extremely physical. The Knicks had played six fewer games at the start of the series, and the way the Cavaliers blew a 22-point lead in seven minutes in Game 1 shows how low on energy the team was by the end of that game.
The one rest day schedule of the Conference Finals was too brutal for the Cavaliers to cope with, as they looked exhausted all series long. They didn’t even try hard in Game 4, as there was no way they could match the pace and efficiency the Knicks were playing with.
The Knicks will head to the Finals with ample rest, as the Western Finals are tied at 2-2, with at least two more games guaranteed. Even if the Knicks are underdogs in the Finals, their fatigue advantage can’t be counted out after how the Cavaliers just got eliminated.
4. Karl-Anthony Towns Was The Perfect Center
Karl-Anthony Towns completely changed his style of play in the middle of the 2026 Playoffs. After struggling to fit into coach Mike Brown’s system for most of the season, Towns came up with ideas to make himself more impactful within the flow of Coach Brown’s game plan and had the coach help him implement that into his game. Since then, the Knicks haven’t lost a game, and Towns has been one of the best two-way centers in the NBA.
Towns has accepted the pressure of being New York’s primary playmaker as Brunson focuses on scoring. This has led to a huge bump in Towns’ assists, while his shot attempts keep falling as others are scoring more. He’s also had a lot more energy to expend on defense, with his 7’1″ frame overwhelming most paint defenses.
Towns was the perfect version of himself this series, and was the best Knicks player in Game 4.
5. Another James Harden Playoff Meltdown
It’s a shame this has happened again, but James Harden put up another poor shooting performance in an elimination Playoff game. Harden averaged 16.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists on 38.9% shooting from the field, 17.9% shooting from three, with 4.3 turnovers over this series, with the 36-year-old point guard one of the many Cavaliers who looked particularly run down by the end of this Playoff run.
While fatigue played a huge role, Harden could not find any consistent way to attack the Knicks’ defense and create the scoring opportunities he’s known for. Most of Mitchell’s scoring was self-created in the postseason, while center Jarrett Allen had a quiet series with Harden not being able to give him the service he needed.
Harden heads into the offseason with a $42.3 million player option, which he might be better-off accepting at this point because it’s hard to see how any other contender can feasibly believe Harden can be a leading option on a championship team after his 16th season in the Playoffs.
