The New York Knicks ripped off 18 unanswered points across the third and fourth quarters to subdue the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-93 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night, seizing a commanding 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals. Jalen Brunson posted 29 points and eight assists, OG Anunoby added 22 with four steals, and Karl-Anthony Towns recorded a 17-point, 13-rebound double-double to anchor a frontcourt that bullied Cleveland on both ends of the floor.
Trailing 71-66 with 4:38 left in the third, the Knicks held the Cavaliers without a field goal for a stretch of seven minutes and 41 seconds, transforming a one-possession game into a 19-point chasm before Donovan Mitchell ended the drought with a step-back jumper early in the fourth. By then, the Garden was deafening and the series had tilted decisively toward the home side.
The run that broke Cleveland
The 18-0 stretch was a clinic in compounding pressure. It began with an Anunoby corner three off a Brunson drive-and-kick, continued through three consecutive Cavalier turnovers — two of them live-ball strips by Mikal Bridges — and ended with Towns finishing through contact for a three-point play. New York scored 11 of those 18 points in transition, exposing Cleveland’s half-court reliance and lack of secondary creation behind Mitchell.
Mitchell finished with 27 points but shot 9-of-24 from the field and 2-of-9 from beyond the arc. Darius Garland, hampered by a left foot issue he aggravated in Game 1, managed just 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting and committed five turnovers. The Cavaliers’ starting backcourt, which combined to average 47.5 points per game during the regular season, was held under 40 for the second consecutive contest.
Coach Kenny Atkinson made adjustments at halftime, going small with Dean Wade alongside Evan Mobley and pulling Jarrett Allen for stretches. The shift created spacing but cost Cleveland on the boards: New York outrebounded the Cavaliers 17-9 in the second half and posted a 22-9 edge in second-chance points for the game.
Brunson’s playoff coronation continues
Brunson, the reigning Clutch Player of the Year, is averaging 32.4 points per game in these playoffs — the highest mark of any guard remaining in either conference. He has now scored 25 or more points in 14 consecutive postseason outings, the longest such streak by a Knick since Carmelo Anthony in 2013, and his fourth-quarter scoring (10.1 per game) leads all players in the bracket.
What separated his Game 2 performance was efficiency: 11-of-19 from the field, six free-throw attempts, and only one turnover across 38 minutes. He repeatedly hunted the Mobley switch in the third quarter, drawing fouls and forcing Cleveland to commit a second defender, which opened the kick-out reads that fed the Anunoby and Bridges threes.
- Knicks shooting from three: 14-of-32 (43.8%), led by Anunoby (4-of-7) and Bridges (3-of-5)
- Cleveland turnovers: 18, converted into 26 New York points
- Bench production: Knicks 21, Cavaliers 14
- Garden record: New York is now 6-1 at home this postseason
What happens now
The series shifts to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday, where Cleveland went 32-9 during the regular season and has not lost a playoff game this spring. The Cavaliers have not, however, faced a deficit of this magnitude under Atkinson, who took over from J.B. Bickerstaff last summer. Cleveland is 0-12 all-time in best-of-seven series when trailing 2-0, and no team has come back from such a deficit against a Knicks side in franchise history.
For New York, the calculus is straightforward: steal one in Ohio and the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance since 1999 becomes a formality. Tom Thibodeau’s group has now won six of its last seven playoff games against Cleveland dating back to 2023, a head-to-head dominance built on physical perimeter defense and Brunson’s ability to manufacture late-clock offence against any coverage the Cavaliers deploy.
The injury report will shape Game 3 preparation. Garland is expected to undergo further imaging on his foot, and Cleveland forward Isaac Okoro, who exited Thursday in the second quarter with a left ankle sprain, is doubtful. New York, by contrast, listed no new concerns. Mitchell Robinson, working back from his March ankle surgery, played 18 minutes off the bench and recorded three blocks.
Tip-off for Game 3 is set for 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT. The Knicks have not won a playoff series in Cleveland since 1995. They have rarely looked more equipped to end that drought.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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