CLEVELAND — It’s been a New York minute since the Knicks last went to the NBA Finals.A perfect May changed all that.The Knicks are headed to the big dance for the first time since 1999 after they completed a sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals. New York destroyed the “home” Cavs, 130-93, in Game 4 — and it felt like all five boroughs took over Rocket Arena.Jalen Brunson, MVP for the conference finals, scored 15 points with five assists in the blowout. Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 points and 14 boards on 8-of-11 shooting. OG Anunoby, the lone Knick who has already won a finals with the 2019 Raptors, finished with 17 points. The Knicks have won 11 in a row and swept both the 76ers and Cavs. They were up by 40 on Cleveland through three games and just about doubled that Sunday night. It was total dominance, no matter what Kenny Atkinson said about the analytics.The “Let’s Go Knicks” chants were startling, borderline deafening. Knick fan celebrities like Timothée Chalamet, Spike Lee, Tracy Morgan and Fat Joe showed out, even if they were kicked to the second row for violating rules cheering against the Cavs in floor seats. This is the Knicks’ ninth finals berth — they haven’t won a title since 1973. They’ll once again have ample rest ahead of the next round, getting to put their legs up while the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs bash each other out West.One of those teams will host Game 1 of the NBA Finals on June 3.Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 31 points. James Harden had a bad series, and in the finale scored 12 points and missed all six of his 3s. Evan Mobley contributed 15 points and seven boards. Cleveland reserve guard Dennis Schröder missed Game 4 with what the Cavs simply called an “illness.” He likely wouldn’t have made much of a difference.The Cavs’ Rocket Arena is always loud. Some of it is the fans, but the music is cranked up to higher levels and two adults with microphones are allowed to scream into them at all times. But that combination was no match for the thousands of New York fans who flooded the arena, chanting “Let’s Go Knicks” and booing when Harden scored or a foul was called on the Knicks.Sure, the Knicks shot 50 percent from 3-point range in the first quarter and built a 38-26 lead, but the tone was set just as much by their substantially large traveling fan base. The 20-0 run the Knicks launched near the end of the first quarter that ran into the second and turned this into a total blowout — well, that’s more of a player thing.
New York Knicks punch ticket to NBA Finals for first time in 27 years
The Knicks are heading to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.










