Karl Anthony-Towns had 19 points and 14 rebounds, OG Anunoby scored 17 and the New York Knicks routed the Cleveland Cavaliers 130-93 Monday night to complete a four-game sweep of the Eastern Conference finals and advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
Donovan Mitchell had 31 points for Cleveland, which was swept in a postseason series for the first time since the 2018 NBA Finals against Golden State.
“They’re playing better basketball. You got to give them credit. They’re on a heater. I don’t want to detract from what we’ve done, but sometimes you’ve got to give the other team credit,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said.
Mitchell scored the Cavaliers first eight points as they jumped out to an 8-2 lead. Cleveland led for most of the first six minutes before New York took control.
Evan Mobley‘s putback dunk gave the Cavaliers a 17-14 advantage before the Knicks scored nine straight points.
A floater by Mitchell got Cleveland within 30-26 with 2:12 remaining in the first quarter when New York went on a 20-0 run over a five-minute span. The Knicks were 8 of 14 from the field, including four 3-pointers. The bench scored 15 points, including a pair of 3-pointers by Shamet. The seventh-year guard was 11 of 12 from beyond the arc during the series.
Cleveland was 0 for 9 from the field during its drought, including missing all three shots from beyond the arc, and committed four turnovers.
The Knicks led by as many as 29 in the first half and were up 68-49 at halftime.
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