Fans in the Big Apple will get to experience an NBA Finals for the first time this century.
The New York Knicks made sure of it, eliminating the Cavaliers with a 130-93 Game 4 win on Monday, and punching their ticket to the final round of the playoffs.
Leading New York in the series-sweeping victory was Karl-Anthony Towns, who racked up 19 points, 14 rebounds, two steals and two blocks on 8-of-11 shooting in just 26 minutes. Towns was one of six double-digit scorers for the Knicks on Monday — OG Anunoby chipped in 17 points, while Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson added 15 points each. Landry Shamet and Miles McBride poured in 16 and 11 points off the bench.
While it wasn’t a wire-to-wire win, New York led by as many as 45 points after rattling off a 20-0 run in the opening frame. The Knicks spent the rest of the game nursing a double-digit lead before what ended up as their 11th consecutive victory of the playoffs.
Their last loss came over a month ago against the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 of the first round.
As for the Cavaliers, Donovan Mitchell led the charge with 31 points on 9-of-18 shooting to go with one assist and four turnovers. His running mate James Harden struggled all night, finishing with 12 points on 2-of-8 shooting to go with five turnovers of his own. Ball security was a team-wide problem for Cleveland, which racked up 22 giveaways for 34 points by the end of the game.
The Knicks are now just four wins away from the franchise’s third NBA championship and first since 1973. New York’s last Finals appearance in 1999 ended in defeat after seven games against the Houston Rockets.
Now, the Knicks await the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs, who are currently tied 2-2 in the Western Conference Finals. The NBA Finals begin on June 3.