Game ID: 42500302
Cleveland Cavaliers @ New York Knicks
Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 8:00 PM ET
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NYK 24 29 32 24 109CLE 27 22 21 23 93
CLE @ NYK ScoutingCLE @ 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.
NYK availability going into 5/06 · 1 day's restBACK Kolek back 4/25 after 7, 7 min since (66% of 11)
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)
CLE availability going into 5/13 · 1 day's restOUT Nance Jr. missed 8 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)
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)
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 122 a night and allowing 102, shooting 53 percent and 42 from three, 27 free throws a game; Brunson at 31 and Anunoby at 18 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 108, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 34 free throws a game; Mitchell at 27 and Harden at 20 a game. One day's rest.
So: New York wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-10 a night and Cleveland minus-0 and the arc, New York at 42 percent from three to Cleveland's 34. Call it New York 117, Cleveland 108.
5/06 vs PHI 108-102 — NYK notes
NYK won 108-102. NYK shot 51% (40 of 79) to PHI's 45%, 7 of 26 from three. NYK turned it over 13 times to PHI's 18. Brunson led with 26 (9 of 21, 1 of 5 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Anunoby added 24, Towns 20. The hinge was Q4, 19-12: NYK came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 6. NYK trailed 61-62 at the half and won the second half 47-40. Anunoby was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
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 — 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.
5/25 @ 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.
5/13 @ DET 117-113 — CLE notes
CLE won 117-113 in 1 overtime. CLE shot 45% (36 of 80) to DET's 44%, 14 of 35 from three, and went to the line 38 times to DET's 20 — 31 points from the stripe to their 18. CLE turned it over 16 times to DET's 10, and DET turned those into 10 steals. Harden led with 30 (8 of 21, 3 of 10 from three, 11 of 14 at the line); Mitchell added 21, Strus 20. The hinge was Q3, 32-20: CLE came in trailing by 8 and left it ahead by 4. CLE trailed 52-60 at the half and won the second half 65-53. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
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 — 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.
5/25 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.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NYKJA J. Alvarado
JB J. Brunson
JC J. Clarkson
JH J. Hart
KT K. Towns
LS L. Shamet
MB M. Bridges
MM M. McBride
MR M. Robinson
OA O. Anunoby
PD P. Dadiet
CLEDM D. Mitchell
DS D. Schröder
DW D. Wade
EM E. Mobley
JA J. Allen
JH J. Harden
JT J. Tyson
MS M. Strus
NT N. Tomlin
SM S. Merrill
SC Schroder
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
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 2 wins from the NBA Finals with a 109-93 victory over the Cavs
NEW YORK -- — Josh Hart scored a playoff career-high 26 points, Jalen Brunson had 19 points and 14 assists, and the New York Knicks moved halfway to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999 by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-93 on Thursday night.
Mikal Bridges also scored 19 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and 13 rebounds to help the Knicks win their ninth straight game. That's the NBA's longest postseason winning streak since the Boston Celtics won 10 straight on their way to the 2024 championship.
Hart went 5 from 11 from 3-point range, burning a defensive strategy that seemed built around leaving him open from long range, and also had seven assists.
“Just a whale of a game from Josh,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said.
Two nights after rallying from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter, the Knicks made sure they would be in control late with an 18-0 run in the third quarter that gave them a 71-53 lead. Fans chanted “Knicks in four! Knicks in four!” in the final minute, long after the starters had gone to the benches.
“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,” Towns said.
Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points and James Harden had 18 for the Cavaliers, who will have to climb out of a 2-0 deficit for the second straight round. They host Game 3 on Saturday.
“Nothing to hang our head about," Mitchell said. "They protected home court, and we’ve seen this before so we’re going to go to Game 3.”
The Knicks are in the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year but haven’t played for the championship since losing to the San Antonio Spurs in 1999.
Brunson scored 38 points and led the Game 1 comeback. He had only two points in the first half Thursday before making the first basket of the run that broke open the game and finished with the highest assist total of his playoff career.
Hart was benched for the rally in Game 1, playing just three minutes combined in the fourth quarter and overtime. The forward had been shooting just 26.7% from 3-point range and after a third straight miss from long range early Thursday, he put his jersey in his mouth and bit it, bouncing the ball down hard in frustration three times. But he kept firing.
“I knew I had to just keep shooting and if I did that I’d be good,” Hart said.
Mitchell got off to a slow start with just seven points in the first half, triggering more of the questions that followed Game 1 about whether he was injured. His 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left gave Cleveland a 27-24 lead after one.
The Knicks led 53-49 at halftime. The Cavs got the first two baskets of the third to tie it, but Brunson answered with a 3-pointer to start the 18-0 run. He had two more buckets in the burst and Hart hit a pair of 3-pointers, the latter capping it to make it 71-53 with 5:36 remaining in the third. After the Cavs scored five straight, Hart made another 3 and Towns scored to restore the 18-point advantage.
Cleveland cut it to single digits with just under eight minutes left but ruined any chance of getting closer with poor free-throw shooting, missing 10 in the game and finishing at 68.8%. The Knicks eventually pushed their lead to 19 points.
“It’s difficult when you’re not making shots,” Harden said. “It puts twice as much pressure on you defensively to get stops.”