Knicks take – Josh Hart’s playoff career-high 26 points, Jalen Brunson’s 19 points and 14 assists, and an 18-0 run in the third quarter helped the Knicks beat the Cavaliers 109-93 on Thursday. New York now leads the series 2-0 as Cleveland prepares for Game 3 on Saturday.
NEW YORK — Josh Hart had the kind of night that turns a defensive plan into a punchline. The Cleveland Cavaliers seemed prepared to live with him shooting from deep. leaving space behind the arc after a third straight miss early. Hart didn’t argue with the strategy for long. He kept firing. finished with playoff career highs across the board. and watched New York turn a competitive start into a rout.
Hart scored a playoff career-high 26 points for the Knicks. who beat the Cavaliers 109-93 on Thursday night to move halfway to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999. Jalen Brunson added 19 points and 14 assists, while Mikal Bridges scored 19 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and 13 rebounds. The win extended New York’s post-season winning streak to nine straight games. the longest such run in the NBA since the Boston Celtics won 10 straight on their way to the 2024 championship.
The swing came in the third quarter. after two nights earlier when New York had to rally from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Thursday was different. The Knicks used an 18-0 run to flip the tempo for good. taking control with a 71-53 lead at the end of it. When the Cavs finally faced the reality of a nearly impossible chase. the crowd got loud—fans chanting “Knicks in four!. Knicks in four!” during the final minute even after the starters went to the benches.
Towns insisted on the same mindset that has carried the Knicks through multiple tight moments. “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,” he said.
The coach noticed the way Hart’s shooting changed the spacing for Cleveland’s defense. “Just a whale of a game from Josh,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said.
Cleveland. led by Donovan Mitchell’s 26 points and James Harden’s 18. now faces a familiar uphill climb—one it has already seen before. The Cavaliers will have to recover from a 2-0 deficit for the second straight round. They host Game 3 on Saturday, knowing that the Knicks have protected their home-court advantage so far.
Mitchell, who finished with 26 points, addressed the work ahead. “Nothing to hang our head about,” he said. “They protected home court, and we’ve seen this before so we’re going to go to Game 3.”
Brunson’s performance carried its own weight. He scored 38 points in Game 1 to lead the comeback. and on Thursday he had only two points in the first half. But he turned it when New York needed it most—making the first basket of the run that broke open the game. By the time it was over. Brunson had the highest assist total of his playoff career. finishing Thursday with 19 points and 14 assists.
Hart’s story had its own emotional arc. After being benched for the rally in Game 1—playing just three minutes combined in the fourth quarter and overtime—he entered Thursday with his three-point shooting at 26.7 percent in the playoffs. The early misses hit hard. After a third straight miss from long range. he put his jersey in his mouth and bit it. bouncing the ball down hard in frustration three times. Then he kept shooting. “I knew I had to just keep shooting and if I did that I’d be good,” Hart said.
The Knicks’ control began before the third quarter even fully settled. They led 53-49 at halftime. Cleveland got the first two baskets of the third to tie things up. but Brunson answered with a three-pointer to start the 18-0 run. During the burst, he added two more buckets. Hart hit a pair of 3-pointers—his second one capping the run to make it 71-53 with 5:36 remaining in the third.
Cleveland did get a response after that. After the Cavaliers scored five straight, Hart made another three and Towns scored to restore the 18-point advantage. When Cleveland cut the deficit to single digits with just under eight minutes left. the late comeback never had a path forward. Free throws were the problem: the Cavaliers missed 10 free throws. finished at 68.8 percent from the line. and never closed the gap.
Harden pointed to the defensive pressure created by Cleveland’s misses. “It’s difficult when you’re not making shots,” he said. “It puts twice as much pressure on you defensively to get stops.”
For New York. the victory keeps its place on a rare path: the Knicks are in the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year. but they haven’t played for the championship since losing to the San Antonio Spurs in 1999. Thursday’s performance didn’t just win a game—it pulled the series into New York’s reach. with the momentum. the scoring. and the confidence that tends to show up when a team decides the moment is bigger than the opponent.
Knicks Cavaliers Josh Hart 26 points Jalen Brunson 14 assists Mikal Bridges 19 points Karl-Anthony Towns 18 rebounds 13 Donovan Mitchell 26 points James Harden 18 points NBA playoffs Game 2
Knicks in four lol. I didn’t even read the whole thing but that 18-0 run is wild.
Cleveland really just let Hart keep shooting?? Like okay, I get the game plan but 26 points is not “strategy” anymore. Also 14 assists?? Brunson was basically running the whole thing.
Wait so they were up like 22 in the 4th last time but still lost? I’m confused. Sounds like refs or something had to change between games, because Cavs can’t just fall apart twice. Either way, 109-93… that’s not even close, sad.
Bridges and Towns and all that but the big thing was Brunson’s “14 assists” like how is that even possible. I feel like Hart’s going off from the arc and Cleveland kept acting surprised every time. Knicks fans chanting already… too early, but hey it’s the playoffs so whatever.