Josh Hart scored a playoff career-high 26 points, Jalen Brunson had 19 points and 14 assists, and the New York Knicks moved halfway to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999 by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-93 on Thursday night.
It’s gonna be a wild night in MSG “if” the Knicks are able to advance to the 2026 NBA Finals!
Here’s a recap of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals between Cavs and the Knicks.
Games 3 and 4 will now shift to Cleveland as they try to turn this into a series.
The Cleveland Cavaliers held a commanding 22-point lead over the New York Knicks with just 7:52 remaining in regulation. What followed was pure madness. The Knicks unleashed a furious 30-8 run to close out the fourth quarter and force overtime.
Momentum completely shifted in the extra period. The Cavs ran out of gas, scoring just 3 points, while the Knicks poured in 14 to cap off the largest playoff comeback in franchise history with a 115-104 victory.
Jalen Brunson led the charge for New York, dropping 38 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists, while making his presence felt on the defensive end with 3 steals. He got plenty of help, as every Knicks starter scored in double digits. Mikal Bridges netted 18 points, while OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Josh Hart all contributed 13 points apiece.
For the Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell did everything he could, leading the team with 29 points, 5 rebounds, and a monstrous 6 steals. James Harden and Evan Mobley added 15 points each, but the offense stalled late; Max Strus was the only Cavalier to find the bottom of the net in overtime.
Watch the Knicks end Game 1 with their historic 22 – 11 run.
Cleveland will have just a day to review film and figure out what went wrong before the series resumes for Game 2 on Thursday evening at Madison Square Garden.