Josh Hart scored a playoff career-high 26 points, making five 3-pointers in New York's 109-93 win.The Athletic Live TeamMay 22, 2026 at 12:50 PM EDTJosh Hart scored a playoff career-high 26 points in the Knicks' Game 2 victory. Getty ImagesNew York beats Cleveland convincingly in Game 2The New York Knicks have taken a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-93 Madison Square Garden tonight.All five Knicks starters scored in double figures, led by Josh Hart with 26 points, seven assists, four rebounds and five made 3s. Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges each added 19 points. Brunson scored 17 of those points in the second half.Donovan Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 26 points on 8-of-18 shooting while James Harden scored 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting. As a team, Cleveland shot 39 percent from the field and missed 10 free throws.The series shifts to Cleveland for Game 3 on Saturday. Share your views: live@theathletic.comHow do you celebrate a new career high in playoff points?With a full pizza, of course. Well-deserved for Josh Hart.He was still munching on a slice when sitting down for his postgame news conference, asking Karl-Anthony Towns, “are you a crust guy?”Knicks need to limit open shots When asked if he was content with the shots the Cavaliers got in Game 2, Mike Brown answered candidly:💬 “No, we have to do a better job getting to their shooters, especially Sam Merrill and Max Strus. Those guys, they were 1-for-11 from three. That's not going to happen again so we have to do a better job getting to their bodies. They had a couple open looks tonight, and we'll go back and watch the film to see what we can do that's a little bit better to keep them from beating us from behind that arc.”Let's hear from Jarrett Allen Imagn ImagesHere's Jarrett Allen's perspective on tonight's Game 2 loss for the Cleveland Cavaliers, beginning with his perspective on Josh Hart's big game:💬“Obviously he's an NBA player, he's going to make three pointers. We just have to follow the statistics, have to follow the coach's trust and intuition. Sometimes the plan doesn't go to plan. He got hot, not even at the three-point line. He did everything on offense for them, and just kudos to him for changing the game and having an impact in different ways.”He also shared perspective on Cleveland being down 0-2 again after being in a similar position against Detroit:💬“That's just how our whole playoffs has been - back against the wall. We like to keep things interesting. We like to keep everybody stressing about what the next game is going to be like. This is no different from what we're doing now. We've got to take care of home court now.”Allen was also asked if fatigue was a factor in tonight's game as the Cavaliers played in their 16th playoff game:💬“Was it a factor, probably? But I hate saying that's the reason why the outcome was the way it was. I do think guys are mentally and physically fatigued.”Gilbert to Cavs fans: 'Feel familiar?'The bad news for the Cavaliers — they’re down 0-2 on the series.The good news — they’ve been here before during several of their most memorable playoff series wins, including just last round. Cleveland lost the first two games at Eastern Conference No. 1 seed Detroit then rattled off three wins in a row before eventually winning in seven. The Cavaliers may be 8-8 in this postseason but they’re 6-1 on their home court, where Games 3 and 4 of this series will be played.And then, of course, this is the 10-year anniversary of Cleveland’s famous comeback from down 3-1 to the 73-win Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. Yes, the Cavaliers dropped the first two games on the road in that series, too.But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert said in his message aiming to boost fan morale after another tough loss on X:Ok @cavs fans, feel familiar? Clearly it’s not ideal, but we have done this twice already. We go home, win 2, and then it’s a 3-game series and we win it in 6 or 7. Keep believing. Let Em **C**** Know!— Dan Gilbert (@cavsdan) May 22, 2026