Knicks One Win Away from NBA Finals After Stunning 3-0 Series Lead Over Cavaliers
If you've been sleeping on the New York Knicks this postseason, it's time to wake up — because something genuinely historic is happening in Madison Square Garden's orbit.
The Al Jazeera article covers Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, played May 23 in Cleveland, where the Knicks beat the Cavaliers 121-108 to go up 3-0 in the best-of-seven series. And here's the kicker: no team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series. So at the time the piece was written, New York was essentially one win away from the NBA Finals.
(Quick update: they've since closed it out. The Knicks swept the Cavaliers in Game 4, winning 130-93 on May 25 and are officially headed to the NBA Finals — their first trip since 1999.)
So how did they get here? It started with one of the most jaw-dropping comebacks in recent playoff memory. In Game 1, the Knicks trailed by 22 points in the fourth quarter. Most teams fold there. New York didn't. Jalen Brunson — their 6-foot-1 point guard who plays like he has something to prove every single night — dropped 38 points and spearheaded an 18-1 run to tie the game and eventually win it in overtime.
From there, New York never looked back. In Game 3, the article's focus, Brunson led all scorers with 30 points. Mikal Bridges added 22 on a scorching 11-of-15 shooting night, and OG Anunoby chipped in 21. Even the supporting cast showed up: Karl-Anthony Towns had 13 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals, while Josh Hart — the team's blue-collar engine — stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
For Cleveland, Evan Mobley had 24 points and Donovan Mitchell added 23, but it wasn't enough. The Cavaliers, who blew a 22-point lead in the very first game of this series, couldn't find their footing and never led in Game 3. The psychological damage from that Game 1 collapse seemed to linger, with Anunoby noting, "I guess you could say momentum carried over."
Why does this matter to you personally? If you're a New York sports fan, this is the moment you've been waiting 27 years for. The last time the Knicks went to the NBA Finals was 1999 — a lockout-shortened season where they lost to the San Antonio Spurs. An entire generation of fans has grown up without seeing this team on the sport's biggest stage. That wait is now officially over. And even if you don't follow basketball closely, it's hard not to appreciate a team that went on an 11-game winning streak during the postseason and hasn't lost in over a month.
Key Takeaways
- 🏀 The Knicks beat the Cavaliers 121-108 in Game 3 to go up 3-0 — and have since completed a sweep, advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. No team has ever come back from 3-0 in NBA playoff history.
- ⭐ Jalen Brunson is the engine driving this run. He scored a game-high 30 points in Game 3, after dropping 38 in the overtime comeback win in Game 1. He was later named series MVP, averaging 25.5 points and 7.8 assists for the series.
- 💪 This is a deep, balanced team — not a one-man show. Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Karl-Anthony Towns all made major contributions across the series, and the Knicks' bench has been a factor too.
- 📉 Cleveland's collapse started in Game 1 when they threw away a 22-point lead. That psychological blow seemed to follow the Cavaliers for the rest of the series — they never led in Game 3 and were swept for the first time since the 2018 NBA Finals.
- 🗓️ The Knicks will face either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, starting June 3. The Western Conference Finals was still undecided at the time of the sweep, tied 2-2 heading into Game 5.
My Notes
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