The New York Knicks are on the brink of their first NBA Finals since 1999 after a 121-108 victory at Cleveland on Saturday stretched their playoff win streak to 10 games.
Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 30 points, O.G. Anunoby added 21 and Mikal Bridges contributed 22 on 11-of-15 shooting as New York pushed the Cavaliers to the edge of elimination.
“I’m at a loss for words,” Brunson said. “I thought we fought, most importantly.”
Photo: David Richard-Imagn Images
The Knicks seized a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals and could complete a sweep in Game 4 today in Cleveland.
No team in NBA history has recovered from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series.
“The series isn’t over,” Anunoby said. “Just keep our foot on their necks and just try to win the game.”
The Knicks must continue to concentrate, Brunson said.
“Just focus on one possession at a time,” he said. “The way we’ve been having that mindset these past couple weeks, we have to continue it, if not actually better.”
The Knicks last reached the NBA Finals 27 years ago when they lost to the San Antonio Spurs. They have not won the NBA championship since 1973.
New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns had 13 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals, while Josh Hart added 12 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals for a Knicks team that has not been beaten in a month.
“Our mindset hasn’t changed,” Brunson said. “We’re trying to get better every single day. We’re trying to learn from winning. There’s a lot of things we can get better at.”
Evan Mobley led Cleveland with 24 points while Donovan Mitchell added 23 and James Harden scored 19 points.
The Cavaliers, who squandered a 22-point lead to lose the series opener, never led as New York seized command early and dominated.
“I guess you could say momentum carried over” from Game 1, Anunoby said. “We try to play the right way every game, but maybe that momentum carried over a little bit.”