The Cleveland Cavaliers have their backs against the wall and are facing a 3-0 deficit in the Eastern Conference finals. The New York Knicks have a chance to clinch the series in Game 4 on Monday night. It would be the first time the Knicks have made the NBA Finals since 1999.
Cleveland was at home for Game 3, but it wasn’t enough to pick up a much-needed win. New York secured the 121-108 victory to take a commanding lead in the series.
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Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell went to the locker room in the second quarter but was able to return to the game. It wasn’t clear exactly what Mitchell was dealing with, but many have thought that he hasn’t looked right throughout the series. He finished the game with 23 points on 9 of 21 shooting. Evan Mobley led Cleveland with 24 points, while James Harden had 19 points.
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New York has been led by the trio of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby, who combined for 73 of the team’s 121 points in Game 3. All five Knicks starters finished in double-digit scoring on Saturday, while Landry Shamet added 14 points off the bench.
If Cleveland wins Game 4, the series will continue back in New York on Wednesday If the Knicks win, they will await the winner of the Western Conference finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder, which is currently tied 2-2.
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Cavs-Knicks start time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Rocket Arena | Cleveland
TV channel: ESPN
Live stream: ESPN Unlimited, DirecTV and more
Follow along with Yahoo Sports as the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers tip off in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Live18 updatesMon, May 25, 2026 at 5:15 PM PDT
Ryan Young
Mon, May 25, 2026 at 7:20 PM PDT
Kari Anderson
Knicks starters are out as Mike Brown brings on New York’s bench to close this out. The Knicks are a little over six minutes away from their second straight sweep.
Mon, May 25, 2026 at 7:16 PM PDT
Kari Anderson
Mon, May 25, 2026 at 7:11 PM PDT
Kari Anderson
Mon, May 25, 2026 at 7:01 PM PDT
Ryan Young
We’re just about done here. The Knicks are 12 minutes away from reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
Landry Shamet is up to a team-high 16 points off the bench, too, and is a perfect 4-of-4 from behind the arc.
Mon, May 25, 2026 at 6:54 PM PDT
Ryan Young
The Knicks are piling it on, and pushed their lead to 30 briefly before Mike Brown called a timeout late in the third. The Cleveland comeback just isn’t materalizing.
Mon, May 25, 2026 at 6:42 PM PDT
Ryan Young
Welp, that’s back-to-back 3s from Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges now to force a Cleveland timeout. The Knicks are back up by 22
Mon, May 25, 2026 at 6:39 PM PDT
Ryan Young
The Cavs are hanging in there to start the second half, but they’ll need to make a real move here to climb back into the game. The 7-4 start they’ve opened the third with
Mon, May 25, 2026 at 6:16 PM PDT
Ryan Young
Donovan Mitchell is up to 20 for Cleveland, and doing his best to keep them in it. He’s shot 6-of-13 from the field, too, and has four of the team’s seven 3-pointers.
Mon, May 25, 2026 at 6:15 PM PDT
Ryan Young
Cleveland pulled out a 15-3 run of its own there late, but the Knicks’ lead is still 19 at halftime.
The Cavaliers will have to come of halftime hot to even stand a chance here, at the rate this is going.
Mon, May 25, 2026 at 5:58 PM PDT
Ryan Young
Make that a 23-6 run to start the second quarter for the Knicks. The lead is up to 25, and Jalen Brunson is getting MVP chants at Rocket Arena.
Mon, May 25, 2026 at 5:48 PM PDT
Ryan Young
Well, the Knicks aren’t slowing down. That’s an 8-0 run that Landry Shamet just capped with a huge 3, and the Knicks fans in Cleveland are erupting.
The lead is suddenly 20.
Mon, May 25, 2026 at 5:40 PM PDT
Ryan Young
The Knicks took off in the final few minutes, and now hold a 12-point lead after one. They’ve shot 56% from the field and 6-of-12 from behind the arc, and look more than ready to end this series tonight.
Donovan Mitchell did everything he could to keep Cleveland in it with 12 points in the period. But it’s looked very easy for the Knicks so far…
Mon, May 25, 2026 at 5:30 PM PDT
Ryan Young
The Knicks just came out of that timeout on a 9-0 run, and beat the Cavs easily down the court in transition several times in a row there.
OG Anunoby and Max Strus got into it a bit at midcourt, too, but the two were separated without much issue.
Mon, May 25, 2026 at 5:23 PM PDT
Ryan Young
Donovan Mitchell has 10 of the Cavaliers’ first 15 points of the night, and he’s keeping them in it. The Knicks have a ton of fans at Rocket Arena, too, which could be a problem later on…
Mon, May 25, 2026 at 5:15 PM PDT
Ryan Young
The Cavaliers have won the tip, and Game 4 is officially underway in Cleveland. We’ll see if the Knicks can pull off the sweep and earn a spot in the Finals.
Mon, May 25, 2026 at 4:39 PM PDT
Jason Owens
With their season on the line, the Cavaliers are making a change to their starting lineup.
Out is Dean Wade. In is Max Strus, who’s been a spark plug off the bench for most of the postseason while shooting 36.3% from 3. The Cavs are in a 3-0 hole and hoping the lineup change can spark them to their first win of the series in an elimination game.
Mon, May 25, 2026 at 3:00 PM PDT
Teddy Ricketson
Game 4 will be played at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on Monday night.
The Knicks hold a 3-0 lead. New York has been riding the momentum it sustained in a comeback win in Game 1. The Knicks were down 22 points in the fourth quarter, battled back to force OT, and then secured the 115-104 win.
The Cavaliers must win Game 4 in order to keep the series alive. Cleveland is trying to become the first team in NBA history to ever come back from being down 3-0 in a seven-game series.