Knicks punch NBA Finals ticket; Jalen Brunson named ECF MVP - ESPN

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 on Monday night to complete a 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.

All but one of the Knicks' wins have been by double digits, with an average margin of victory of 23.7 points.

Brunson, who sparked a furious comeback in the fourth quarter of Game 1 to set the tone for the series, was unanimously voted the Eastern Conference finals' MVP. He finished the series averaging 25.5 points and 7.8 assists while shooting 49% from the field.

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 diehard celebrity fans, director Spike Lee, comedian Tracy Morgan and actor Timothée Chalamet and his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, made the trip.

«Our guys played great. You're in the conference finals and score 65 points off of offensive rebounds and fast break points. I don't know if I've seen that at this point of the year. We wanted to push the pace,» coach Mike Brown said.

New York will play the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals. The Western Conference finals are tied at 2-2 with Game 5 to be played in Oklahoma City on Tuesday. The Thunder or Spurs