The Knicks defeat the Cavaliers 109-93 to take a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.
NEW YORK — There were 10 winning streaks of at least nine games in the regular season. You probably don’t remember them all.
The New York Knicks didn’t have any of those 10. Their longest winning streak of the season was eight games long, and it included wins over the Brooklyn Nets, Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards.
Those teams did not come close to making the 2026 NBA Playoffs, when every opponent is tougher and every possession matters more. To win three straight games in the postseason is significant.
Nine straight? Incredible.
The Knicks’ ninth straight playoff victory, a 109-93 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, wasn’t as dramatic as the last one. But it was just as important, and it gave them a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals
A starting lineup that struggled in Game 1 two nights earlier was terrific in Game 2. All five Knicks starters scored at least 18 points, and they were led, amazingly, but Josh Hart. His 26 points were the most of his playoff career (55 games).
Josh Hart finishes with a playoff career-high 26 points in a Game 2 win over the Cavaliers.
The game was tied early in the third quarter, but the Knicks then went on an 18-0 run, with Cleveland going scoreless on nine straight possessions. The Cavs were able to cut the deficit to seven early in the fourth, but the Knicks then scored 14 points on their next seven trips to regain some separation.
Here are some notes, quotes, numbers and film from Game 2, with the Knicks now two wins away from a trip to the Finals:
1. Josh Hart is wide open
For much of this game, the Cavs player assigned to guard Josh Hart was nowhere near Josh Hart. Cleveland used that defender to help on the ball, leaving Hart alone on the perimeter. That was generally the strategy in Game 1, but the Cavs were more aggressive in helping off Hart on Thursday.
Late in the second quarter, the Knicks got the switch that fueled much of their comeback on Game 1: James Harden guarding Jalen Brunson. And when Brunson drove, Max Strus came with a double-team, leaving Hart alone in the right corner, from where he missed a wide-open 3:
Four possessions later, the Knicks got Donovan Mitchell switched onto Brunson. Jarrett Allen (Hart’s primary defender for most of the game) basically played a one-man zone to prevent a Brunson drive into the paint. That left Hart wide open again, and this time, he made a 3 from near the top of the arc:
The Cavs strategy looked pretty smart when Hart was 0-for-3 from 3-point range in the first quarter. But he was 5-for-8 thereafter, including 2-for-2 during the 18-0, third-quarter run that, basically, determined the game.
Hart didn’t let those first three misses from deep deter him. If he starts hesitating, the Knicks’ offense will get bogged down and the Knicks might need to replace him with a better offensive threat.
That was the case at the end of Game 1, when Landry Shamet was on the floor instead of Hart, who shot 1-for-5 from deep. There was one possession (during that 18-0) run where he passed up a couple of open looks and handed Brunson a late-clock grenade, but otherwise, he was shooting. More importantly, the shots went in.
Hart finished a *usage rate of 31.9%, the highest mark of his career (650 games). And that doesn’t take his seven assists into account.
* Usage rate = the percentage of a team’s possessions a player finishes (via field goal attempt, turnover or trip to the line) while he’s on the floor.
Including regular season and playoffs, Hart is now shooting 39.3% from 3-point range this season, up from 34.3% over his previous eight years in the league. He’s the guy in the Knicks’ lineup you most want to help off of, but he’s able to make you pay a lot more than he has in the past.
“If they continue to leave him open,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said afterward, “he’s gotta continue to let it fly.”
2. Brunson doesn’t force things
The biggest reason that Hart got so many shots is that Brunson got so few. Brunson’s usage rate of 24.1% was his fourth-lowest in his 54 playoff games with the Knicks; his 14 assists, a career playoff-high.
When Brunson got a matchup he wanted (vs. Harden or Donovan Mitchell), the Cavs often sent a double-team. If they didn’t double aggressively, they zoned up to prevent Brunson from driving.
And Brunson didn’t force anything. He trusted his teammates and willingly gave up the ball.
“That’s what great players do,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said of Brunson. “They read the game.
“Credit to him. We took away some of his scoring options, blitzed him, gave him different looks. He made the right reads, right plays.”
3. Cavs’ offense has told the story
The difference between the Cavs’ eight wins (120.7 points scored per 100 possessions) and their eight losses (102.7 scored per 100) has been almost entirely about their offense. They’ve scored 115 on 99 (116 per 100) in their least efficient win and just 104 on 96 (108 per 100) in their most efficient loss.
According to tracking data, the Cavs’ shot quality on Thursday wasn’t nearly as good as it was in Game 1. It was their fourth-lowest of their 16 playoff games.
But they still got some great looks, taking advantage of the Knicks’ aggressive defense by getting the ball to the weak side of the floor:
“I loved everything about the looks that we got,” Mitchell said. “And some days, you just miss the open ones.”
The Cavs shot 9-for-35 (26%) from beyond the arc, including just just 6-for-19 on wide-open 3s.
“I thought we had a lot of good looks,” Atkinson said. “Good looks from 3, good looks at the rim. I thought our process was right. We took care of the ball, offensive rebounded. It wasn’t a great shooting night. At the end of the day, you gotta put the ball in the hole. Tonight, we didn’t.”
If this was the regular season, the Cavs probably wouldn’t stress over a night where they missed a bunch of open shots. But this is the Playoffs, and a night like that puts your season close to the brink.
That doesn’t mean the Knicks want to treat Sam Merrill and Max Strus (combined 40.3% from deep this season) like the Cavs are treating Hart.
“We have to do a better job getting to those shooters,” Brown said. “[Merrill and Strus] 1-for-11 from the 3. That’s not going to happen again. So we have to do a better job of getting to their bodies.”
4. Knicks close off the paint
But the Knicks’ defense is prioritizing the paint. And that’s worked out for them so far. Over the two games, the Cavs have shot just 39-for-75 (52.0%) in the paint, down from 58.5% through the first two rounds.
Evan Mobley needs to play big, but he’s taken just 10 (42%) of his 24 shots in the paint in this series, down from 65% through the first two rounds and 70% in the regular season.
The Cavs’ screeners are getting clean catches on the short roll, but when they get near the basket, there are bodies there to meet them:
The Cavs’ hope is that better shooting for the perimeter will loosen up the paint. And if that doesn’t happen in Game 3 on Saturday (8 ET, ABC), they will really be on the brink.
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John Schuhmann has covered the NBA for more than 20 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Bluesky.
