Cleveland Cavaliers @ New York Knicks
Thursday, December 25, 2025 at 12:00 PM ET
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY | Game ID: 22500009
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NYK 23 37 24 42 126CLE 38 20 38 28 124
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Brunson and the reserves lead a Christmas comeback as the Knicks beat the Cavaliers 126-124
NEW YORK -- — Jalen Brunson scored 34 points, reserve Jordan Clarkson had 25 and the New York Knicks came from 17 down in the fourth quarter to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 126-124 on Thursday and win on Christmas Day for the third straight year.
Reserves Tyler Kolek and Mitchell Robinson sparked the comeback after the Cavaliers led 103-86 early in the final period. Kolek had 16 points and nine assists, and had fans chanting his name after a late block on Donovan Mitchell that originally was called a foul but was overturned on review. Robinson hustled after offensive rebounds to keep possessions alive and finished with 13 boards.
Brunson made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:05 remaining, after he, Kolek and Clarkson all hit from behind the arc in a 13-2 run that cut Cleveland's 12-point lead to 111-110.
Mitchell had 34 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Darius Garland added 20 points and 10 assists, but the Cavaliers blew their chance at a third straight win.
Evan Mobley finished with 14 points and nine rebounds after missing five games with a strained left calf .
The Cavs raced to an 18-3 lead behind 10 points from Mitchell and led 38-23 after one quarter. But Clarkson opened the second with consecutive 3-pointers, and after a Cavs 3-pointer, the Knicks ripped off an 18-0 burst to take a 47-41 lead.
The Knicks made 12 of their first 14 shots in the second, before Mobley had Cleveland's final four baskets as New York took a 60-58 edge into the break.
Cleveland quickly regained control in the third. Mitchell slammed down a lob pass that Garland threw from beyond halfcourt to cap a 10-3 burst to open the period, and Mitchell later hit a 3-pointer to cap an 18-4 spurt that turned a 71-all tie into an 89-75 advantage for the Cavs.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NYKAH A. Hukporti
JB J. Brunson
JC J. Clarkson
JH J. Hart
KT K. Towns
MB M. Bridges
MD M. Diawara
MR M. Robinson
OA O. Anunoby
TK T. Kolek
CLEDG D. Garland
DH D. Hunter
DM D. Mitchell
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
JA J. Allen
JT J. Tyson
LB L. Ball
SM S. Merrill
TB T. Bryant
NYK/CLE 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
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