New York Knicks advance to first NBA Finals since 1999

BREAKING NEWSMay. 26, 2026, 2:37 AM UTCNBANBANew York Knicks advance to first NBA Finals since 1999The Knicks dominated the Cavaliers all series, punctuated by Monday night’s 130-93 win in Cleveland. New York was led by Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 19 points. Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Landry Shamet of the New York Knicks celebrates during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers during Game Four of the 2026 NBA Eastern Conference Finals on May 25, 2026 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. David L. Nemec / NBAE via Getty ImagesShareAdd NBC News to GoogleBy Andrew GreifSeventeen different teams — more than half of the NBA — have made it to the NBA Finals this century, a level of parity never before seen in the league’s history. Yet one notable franchise remained watching the championship round from home every spring.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The New York Knicks.That drought emphatically ended Monday. Behind a 130-93 blowout Game 4 victory over Cleveland, New York swept its way through the Eastern Conference Finals to advance to the Finals for the first time since 1999, where it will await the winner of a Western Conference slugfest between Oklahoma City and San Antonio that is tied 2-2. Game 1 of the NBA Finals is June 3.This could be a repeat of the 1999 Finals, when the Knicks lost to San Antonio in five games.During this postseason the Knicks have authored one of the most dominant runs in NBA history, winning 11 consecutive games by an average of 23.8 points per game.There were only five lead changes in Monday’s closeout game that clinched the Knicks the Eastern Conference title, and the last came with six minutes to go in the first quarter when New York took the lead for good en route to a landslide win. The Knicks made 19 3-points to just 11 for Cleveland, including Landry Shamet’s perfect 4-for-4 night off the bench. Karl-Anthony Towns scored a team-high 19 point...