Knicks move 2 wins from the NBA
Finals with a 109-93 victory over the Cavs
[May 22, 2026]
By BRIAN MAHONEY
NEW YORK (AP) — 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.
Mikal Bridges also scored 19 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 18
points and 13 rebounds to help the Knicks win their ninth straight
game. That's the NBA's longest postseason winning streak since the
Boston Celtics won 10 straight on their way to the 2024
championship.
Hart went 5 from 11 from 3-point range, burning a defensive strategy
that seemed built around leaving him open from long range, and also
had seven assists.
“Just a whale of a game from Josh,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said.
Two nights after rallying from a 22-point deficit in the fourth
quarter, the Knicks made sure they would be in control late with an
18-0 run in the third quarter that gave them a 71-53 lead. Fans
chanted “Knicks in four! Knicks in four!” in the final minute, long
after the starters had gone to the benches.
“In our mind it’s 0-0. We’ve got to win the next game. It’s the most
important game of the year and that’s how we treat it,” Towns said.
Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points and James Harden had 18 for the
Cavaliers, who will have to climb out of a 2-0 deficit for the
second straight round. They host Game 3 on Saturday.
“Nothing to hang our head about," Mitchell said. "They protected
home court, and we’ve seen this before so we’re going to go to Game
3.”
The Knicks are in the Eastern Conference finals for the second
straight year but haven’t played for the championship since losing
to the San Antonio Spurs in 1999.
Brunson scored 38 points and led the Game 1 comeback. He had only
two points in the first half Thursday before making the first basket
of the run that broke open the game and finished with the highest
assist total of his playoff career.
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New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) shoots during the second
half of Game 2 in the Eastern Conference finals NBA basketball
playoffs series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Thursday, May 21,
2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Hart was benched for the rally in Game 1, playing just three minutes
combined in the fourth quarter and overtime. The forward had been
shooting just 26.7% from 3-point range and after a third straight
miss from long range early Thursday, he put his jersey in his mouth
and bit it, bouncing the ball down hard in frustration three times.
But he kept firing.
“I knew I had to just keep shooting and if I did that I’d be good,”
Hart said.
Mitchell got off to a slow start with just seven points in the first
half, triggering more of the questions that followed Game 1 about
whether he was injured. His 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left gave
Cleveland a 27-24 lead after one.
The Knicks led 53-49 at halftime. The Cavs got the first two baskets
of the third to tie it, but Brunson answered with a 3-pointer to
start the 18-0 run. He had two more buckets in the burst and Hart
hit a pair of 3-pointers, the latter capping it to make it 71-53
with 5:36 remaining in the third. After the Cavs scored five
straight, Hart made another 3 and Towns scored to restore the
18-point advantage.
Cleveland cut it to single digits with just under eight minutes left
but ruined any chance of getting closer with poor free-throw
shooting, missing 10 in the game and finishing at 68.8%. The Knicks
eventually pushed their lead to 19 points.
“It’s difficult when you’re not making shots,” Harden said. “It puts
twice as much pressure on you defensively to get stops.”
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