New York back in NBA Finals for first time since 1999 after sweeping Cleveland

The Knicks routed the Cavs to complete a sweep of the Eastern Conference finals.

CLEVELAND -- 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.

Landry Shamet scored 16 off the bench while Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson had 15 apiece for the Knicks, who became the fourth team to have an 11-game winning streak during their postseason run. The last to do it was Golden State, which had a 15-game run en route to its second title in three seasons in 2017.

The Knicks pulled their starters with 7:47 remaining and a 35-point lead as their large contingent of fans loudly chanted “Knicks in four!” New York fans easily outnumbered Cleveland fans as die-hard celebrity fans director Spike Lee, comedian Tracy Morgan and actor Timothée Chalamet and his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, made the trip.

New York will play the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs in the Finals. The Western Conference finals is tied at two games apiece with Game 5 to be played in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. The Thunder or Spurs will have homecourt advantage when the Finals start on June 3 because of a better regular-season record.

This will be the Knicks third appearance in the Finals since winning their last title in 1973. They lost in seven games to Houston in 1994 and in five to San Antonio in 1999.

It is the 15th time since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976 that a coach has reached the finals in his first year with a team. The Knicks hired Mike Brown after parting ways with Tom Thibodeau after they reached the Eastern Conference finals last year, but lost in six games to Indiana.

It will be Brown's second trip to the Finals as a coach. His last trip was with Cleveland in 2007.

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.

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. It was the fourth time this postseason the Knicks were up by at least 19 after 24 minutes.

Knicks already had four players in double figures in the first half. Towns had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

New York's largest lead was 45 points in the fourth quarter.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA