Landry Shamet caught fire with the game still in the balance. Three 3-pointers in 99 seconds. The lead stretched from 11 to 24 points. New York Knicks, unstoppable again.
Jalen Brunson (30 points, 7 assists) controlled the pace from the opening tip, but it was the fourth quarter – balanced, surgical, relentless – that put Cleveland away for good. The Knicks beat the Cavaliers 121-108 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday night, taking a 3-0 series lead. New York is one win from its first NBA Finals appearance since 1999.
Everyone showed up
This was not a one-man performance. Mikal Bridges (22 points, 11-of-15 from the field) found his rhythm after a quieter Game 2. OG Anunoby (21 points) attacked the baseline all night. Karl-Anthony Towns (13 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals) was a constant problem from the elbow. Josh Hart (12 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists) did the dirty work without fanfare, same as always.
As a team, New York shot 55.8% from the field, knocked down 11 three-pointers, and converted 24 of 27 free throws. Cleveland had no answer. Evan Mobley (24 points) and Donovan Mitchell (23 points) kept the score from getting worse. James Harden added 19. But the Cavaliers trailed wire to wire and never looked close to a comeback.
A historic run
Ten consecutive playoff wins. The Knicks are the 10th team in NBA history to accomplish that in a single postseason. The last franchise to reach that mark was the 2024 Boston Celtics – who went on to win the championship.
New York has not played an NBA Finals game since 2000. Twenty-seven years of near-misses and rebuilds. Game 4 is Monday night in Cleveland, where the Cavaliers will play in front of a desperate crowd. No team in league history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit.
“We trust each other,” Brunson said after the game, per ESPN. “Everybody knows their role and everybody buys in.”
Shamet’s statement
Shamet finished with 14 points, going 4-of-5 from behind the arc. He now has seven 3-pointers in this series against Cleveland – six of them in the fourth quarter or overtime. For a player who spent years bouncing around as a rotation piece, this playoff run fits him surprisingly well.
Bottom line
- Brunson controls everything. Thirty points, steady, no wasted possessions. Cleveland has found no answer through three games.
- Shamet rewrites the script. Seven 3s in the series, six in crunch time. The bench is winning playoff games.
- History is one win away. Game 4 is Monday in Cleveland. The Knicks have not been to the Finals in 27 years.
