Game ID: 42500303
New York Knicks @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Saturday, May 23, 2026 at 8:00 PM ET
Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CLE 27 27 28 26 108NYK 37 23 31 30 121
CLE vs NYK ScoutingCLE vs NYK Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
CLE availability going into 5/15 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 9 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Ellis back 5/05 after 3, 6 min since (29% of 20)
BACK Porter Jr. back 5/11 after 7, 0 min since (2% of 16)
BACK Tomlin back 5/11 after 7, 0 min since (2% of 14)
BACK Bryant back 5/11 after 2, 0 min since (3% of 11)
BACK Proctor back 5/11 after 7, 0 min since (3% of 10)
NEW Mobley 33 to 38 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 5/17 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 10 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 2 since 5/13, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 5/11 after 7, 1 min since (8% of 16)
BACK Tomlin back 5/11 after 7, 1 min since (9% of 14)
BACK Bryant back 5/11 after 2, 1 min since (12% of 11)
NEW Mobley 33 to 38 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 5/19 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 11 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 3 since 5/13, out tonight
BACK Porter Jr. back 5/11 after 7, 2 min since (14% of 16)
BACK Tomlin back 5/11 after 7, 2 min since (16% of 14)
BACK Bryant back 5/11 after 2, 2 min since (20% of 11)
NEW Mobley 33 to 38 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 5/21 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 12 since 4/26, out tonight
OUT Proctor missed 4 since 5/13, returns tonight: 1 min (12% of 10)
BACK Porter Jr. back 5/11 after 7, 2 min since (14% of 16)
BACK Tomlin back 5/11 after 7, 2 min since (16% of 14)
BACK Bryant back 5/11 after 2, 2 min since (20% of 11)
NEW Mobley 33 to 39 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 5/23 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 13 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Proctor back 5/21 after 4, 1 min since (12% of 10)
NEW Mobley 33 to 38 min over the last 5
CLE availability going into 5/25 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 14 since 4/26, out tonight
BACK Proctor back 5/21 after 4, 1 min since (12% of 10)
NYK availability going into 5/08 · 1 day's restBACK Kolek back 4/25 after 7, 7 min since (66% of 11)
NYK availability going into 5/10 · 1 day's rest
full strength
NYK availability going into 5/19 · 8 days' restOUT Anunoby missed 2 since 5/08, returns tonight: 34 min (103% of 33)
NYK availability going into 5/21 · 1 day's restBACK Anunoby back 5/19 after 2, 34 min since (103% of 33)
NYK availability going into 5/23 · 1 day's restBACK Anunoby back 5/19 after 2, 33 min since (99% of 33)
NYK availability going into 5/25 · 1 day's restBACK Anunoby back 5/19 after 2, 32 min since (97% of 33)
NYK availability going into 6/03 · 8 days' restBACK Anunoby back 5/19 after 2, 31 min since (93% of 33)
NYK availability going into 6/05 · 1 day's restBACK Anunoby back 5/19 after 2, 31 min since (93% of 33)
NYK availability going into 6/08 · 2 days' restOUT Kolek missed 2 since 6/03, out tonight
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 109, shooting 43 percent and 33 from three, 33 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Harden at 19 a game. One day's rest. New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 101, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 26 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Bridges at 18 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and Cleveland plus-1 and the arc, New York at 39 percent from three to Cleveland's 33. Call it New York 113, Cleveland 110, Cleveland keeping it close.
5/15 vs DET 94-115 — CLE notes
CLE lost 94-115. CLE shot 39% (30 of 77) to DET's 52%, 12 of 35 from three, and went to the line 30 times to DET's 19 — 22 points from the stripe to their 13. Harden led with 23 (6 of 13, 3 of 8 from three, 8 of 10 at the line); Mitchell added 18, Mobley 18. Q2 was theirs, 26-27, but the other 3 periods went 88-68 against them. Mitchell's -25 in 37 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/17 @ DET 125-94 — CLE notes
CLE won 125-94. CLE shot 51% (43 of 85) to DET's 35%, 11 of 34 from three, and went to the line 44 times to DET's 29 — 28 points from the stripe to their 22. Mitchell led with 26 (10 of 22, 2 of 6 from three, 4 of 6 at the line); Merrill added 23, Allen 23. The hinge was Q1, 31-22: from level to 9 ahead, and the lead reached 35. Mobley was the night's best plus/minus at +31.
5/19 @ NYK 104-115 — CLE notes
CLE lost 104-115 in 1 overtime. CLE shot 40% (36 of 90) to NYK's 48%, 16 of 50 from three, and got to the line 23 times to NYK's 32. Mitchell led with 29 (12 of 23, 4 of 11 from three); Harden added 15, Mobley 15. Q3 was theirs, 35-23, but the other 4 periods went 92-69 against them. They led by as many as 22.
5/21 @ NYK 93-109 — CLE notes
CLE lost 93-109. CLE shot 39% (31 of 80) to NYK's 52%, 9 of 35 from three, and went to the line 32 times to NYK's 14 — 22 points from the stripe to their 8. Mitchell led with 26 (8 of 18, 2 of 7 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Harden added 18, Mobley 14. Q1 was theirs, 27-24, but the other 3 periods went 85-66 against them. Harden's -22 in 32 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/23 vs NYK 108-121 — CLE notes
CLE lost 108-121. CLE shot 50% (42 of 84) to NYK's 56%, 12 of 41 from three, and got to the line 19 times to NYK's 27. Mobley led with 24 (10 of 18, 1 of 6 from three); Mitchell added 23, Harden 19. Q2 was theirs, 27-23, the deficit cut from 10 to 6, but the other 3 periods went 98-81 against them. Mitchell's -22 in 38 minutes was the worst on the floor.
5/25 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 111, shooting 44 percent and 31 from three, 30 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Mobley at 18 a game. That is 3 straight losses. One day's rest. New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 103, shooting 52 percent and 41 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Bridges at 19 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, New York at 41 percent from three to Cleveland's 31 and the glass, where New York has been plus-9 a night and Cleveland minus-1. Call it New York 114, Cleveland 110, Cleveland keeping it close.
5/08 @ PHI 108-94 — NYK notes
NYK won 108-94. NYK shot 50% (38 of 76) to PHI's 43%, 9 of 27 from three, and went to the line 32 times to PHI's 16 — 23 points from the stripe to their 13. The glass went 49-33 for them. Brunson led with 33 (11 of 22, 3 of 8 from three, 8 of 9 at the line); Bridges added 23, Shamet 15. The hinge was Q2, 33-21: NYK came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 8, and the lead reached 16. Shamet was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
5/10 @ PHI 144-114 — NYK notes
NYK won 144-114. NYK shot 54% (49 of 91) to PHI's 50%, 25 of 44 from three. The glass went 47-30 for them. McBride led with 25 (7 of 10, 7 of 9 from three); Brunson added 22, Hart 17. The hinge was Q1, 43-24: from level to 19 ahead, and the lead reached 44. McBride was the night's best plus/minus at +33.
5/19 vs CLE 115-104 — NYK notes
NYK won 115-104 in 1 overtime. NYK shot 48% (42 of 88) to CLE's 40%, 10 of 32 from three, and went to the line 32 times to CLE's 23 — 21 points from the stripe to their 16. Brunson led with 38 (15 of 29, 1 of 6 from three, 7 of 10 at the line); Bridges added 18, Towns 13. The hinge was Q4, 32-18: NYK came in trailing by 14 and left it level. NYK trailed 46-48 at the half and won the second half 69-56. Shamet was the night's best plus/minus at +25.
5/21 vs CLE 109-93 — NYK notes
NYK won 109-93. NYK shot 52% (44 of 85) to CLE's 39%, 13 of 36 from three, and got to the line 14 times to CLE's 32. Hart led with 26 (10 of 21, 5 of 11 from three); Brunson added 19, Bridges 19. The hinge was Q3, 32-21: a lead of 4 became 15, and the lead reached 19. Anunoby was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
5/23 @ CLE 121-108 — NYK notes
NYK won 121-108. NYK shot 56% (43 of 77) to CLE's 50%, 11 of 28 from three, and went to the line 27 times to CLE's 19 — 24 points from the stripe to their 12. Brunson led with 30 (10 of 19, 0 of 4 from three, 10 of 12 at the line); Bridges added 22, Anunoby 21. The hinge was Q1, 37-27: from level to 10 ahead, and the lead reached 17. Towns was the night's best plus/minus at +23.
5/25 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 111, shooting 44 percent and 31 from three, 30 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and Mobley at 18 a game. That is 3 straight losses. One day's rest. New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 103, shooting 52 percent and 41 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 28 and Bridges at 19 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, New York at 41 percent from three to Cleveland's 31 and the glass, where New York has been plus-9 a night and Cleveland minus-1. Call it New York 114, Cleveland 110, Cleveland keeping it close.
6/03 @ SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 105, shooting 43 percent and 34 from three, 28 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 26 and Castle at 17 a game. 3 days' rest. New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 102, shooting 51 percent and 43 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brunson at 25 and Bridges at 17 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 11 a night. 8 days' rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-11 a night and San Antonio plus-1 and the arc, New York at 43 percent from three to San Antonio's 34. Call it New York 113, San Antonio 111, San Antonio keeping it close.
6/05 @ SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 102, shooting 41 percent and 32 from three, 27 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 26 and Castle at 17 a game. One day's rest. New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 99, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; Brunson at 26 and Bridges at 17 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest.
So: San Antonio wins, and the game turns on the arc, New York at 37 percent from three to San Antonio's 32. Call it San Antonio 111, New York 110, New York keeping it close.
6/08 vs SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New York comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 99, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brunson at 23 and Towns at 18 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. 2 days' rest. San Antonio comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 106, shooting 43 percent and 34 from three, 26 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 25 and Castle at 18 a game. 2 days' rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the defense, New York allowing 99 a night to San Antonio's 106 and the line, where San Antonio takes 26 free throws a game to New York's 20. Call it New York 113, San Antonio 107.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CLEDM D. Mitchell
DS D. Schröder
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
JA J. Allen
JH J. Harden
JT J. Tyson
MS M. Strus
SM S. Merrill
SC Schroder
NYKJA J. Alvarado
JB J. Brunson
JH J. Hart
KT K. Towns
LS L. Shamet
MB M. Bridges
MM M. McBride
MR M. Robinson
OA O. Anunoby
CLE/NYK the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Knicks move within one win of NBA Finals with 121-108 victory over Cavaliers
CLEVELAND -- — Jalen Brunson scored 30 points, Mikal Bridges added 22 and the New York Knicks moved within one game of their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999 with a 121-108 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night.
The Knicks can wrap up the Eastern Conference Finals and sweep their second straight series with a win on Monday night. Knicks fans — who were boisterous throughout the night — were chanting “Knicks in four!” as the final seconds of Game 3 ticked away.
New York is the seventh team in NBA history to win at least 10 straight during a postseason run. The last team to do it was the Boston Celtics , who went on a 10-game run on their way to the 2024 title. Cleveland, San Antonio and the Los Angeles Lakers have done it twice.
All but one of the Knicks' wins have been by double digits, with an average margin of victory of 22.5 points.
“We've just have to keep our mind on the task at hand. The game is over and we found a way to win. We have to execute at a high level in Game 4,” said Karl Anthony-Towns, who had 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
OG Anunoby had 21 points as New York led the entire game. The Knicks not only made 55.8% of their shots from the field, they also had 11 3-pointers and were 24 of 27 from the foul line.
Evan Mobley scored 24 points, Donovan Mitchell had 23 points and James Harden added 19 for Cleveland. The Cavaliers were 12 of 41 on 3-pointers and 12 of 19 from the foul line.
Not even an appearance by the superstar couple of Taylor Swift and Cleveland Heights native Travis Kelce could spur the Cavs to beat the Knicks.
“I think their physicality and energy, we couldn’t get to that level to combat it,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “They’re on a hell of a run. We haven’t been able to stop the momentum. We had one chance in that first game I thought to stop it, but they haven’t been able to halt their momentum.”
New York led 91-82 at the end of the third quarter but put it out reach in the fourth when Landry Shamet made three 3-pointers in a 99-second span to make it 105-94.
“Our guys were locked in from the beginning of the game and it showed from the first few minutes of the game. We got a lot of great contributions,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “I thought throughout the whole game we did a good job trying to play fast. We don’t want to go against their set defense all the time, so we’ve got to keep trying to play fast. And then our guys did a better job in the second half trying to defend without fouling.”
The Knicks made their first four shots en route to a 9-1 lead less than two minutes into the game. New York was 12 of 17 from the field in the quarter and was up 37-27 after 12 minutes.
Cleveland rallied to tie it at 50-all on a jumper by Harden before the Knicks countered with a 10-1 run. They went into halftime with a 60-54 advantage.
Brunson had six of his 12 points during an 8-1 run midway through the third quarter as the Knicks extended their lead to 83-70 with 3:41 remaining.
“It’s the next-man-up mentality and the guys found me a few times," Shamet said. We knew we were going to get a real good punch from that team, and we weathered their best punches tonight.
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This story has been updated to reflect that Evan Mobley led the Cavaliers with 24 points and James Harden scored 19.