Just a month ago, the New York Knicks were staring at adversity after falling behind 2-1, against the Atlanta Hawks in the opening round of the playoffs. Now, they are only one win away from reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
New York has completely flipped the script behind a blistering 11-game winning streak, capped by a commanding 3-0 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2026 Eastern Conference finals.
As the Knicks aim to finish the job in Game 4 on May 26 at 8 a.m. PHT, streaming live on Disney+ Philippines, here's a closer look at what has fueled their dominant run, and what the Cavaliers must improve to climb out of a daunting deficit.
Brunson is unstoppable in the fourth quarter
After winning the NBA Clutch Player of the Year award during the 2024-25 season, Jalen Brunson continues to prove why he remains one of the league's most dangerous closers and has elevated his game even further in the playoffs, constantly delivering whenever winning time arrives.
The 2025-26 All-NBA Second Team guard is once again putting up an impressive postseason run with averages of 27.8 points and 6.7 assists on an efficient 59.5 TS%, but his fourth-quarter production has been on another level.
Through 13 playoff games, Brunson is putting up 9.2 points per game in the final period -- his highest-scoring quarter by far -- while shooting a scorching 59.6% from the field.
What has made Brunson nearly impossible to contain is the variety in his offensive attack. He has consistently punished defenders with his pull-up jumper, while also exploding off the dribble to get downhill and collapse the defense.
Most importantly, Cleveland has struggled to contain him in isolation situations, especially when Brunson targets weaker perimeter defenders like Donovan Mitchell and James Harden on guard-to-guard ball screens to create advantages and force them to expend energy defensively.
And unless the Cavaliers find a better scheme to funnel Brunson toward the rim protection of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen more effectively, New York could be on its way to wrapping up the series sooner rather than later.
Bridges as the difference-maker for the Knicks
While Brunson continues to orchestrate New York's offense and Karl-Anthony Towns has embraced arguably the most disciplined and unselfish basketball of his career, championship-level teams still need role players capable of swinging games.
For the Knicks, that player has increasingly become Mikal Bridges.
After facing criticism for not consistently living up to expectations during the regular season, the 29-year-old has quietly turned into one of New York's most efficient and impactful playoff performers.
Bridges is averaging 14.5 points on an outstanding 62.8% shooting from the field and an elite 70.1 TS% this postseason. And in the Eastern Conference finals, his production has jumped even higher to 19.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and two steals per game on an excellent 75.9 TS%.
The aspect that has fueled Bridges' breakout in this series is his growing aggressiveness as a scorer. Instead of simply settling into a complementary role, Bridges has consistently looked for his own offense, especially whenever Cleveland's defense sends extra attention toward Brunson and Towns.
The Cavaliers have frequently shaded help toward Brunson's drives and Towns' post touches, and Bridges has punished those late rotations and closeouts all series long.
Whether it's attacking tilted defenses off the catch, cutting into open space, or quickly rising into his midrange jumper before the defense recovers, Bridges has thrived by staying decisive.
Cleveland's tendency to help off him in order to contain Brunson's pick-and-roll creation has only opened more opportunities for him to attack scrambling defenders. And once Bridges gets downhill with momentum, his length and smooth footwork make him difficult to contest without compromising the rest of the defense.
Cavaliers' turnover issues
For all the shot-making New York has displayed throughout this series, one of the biggest reasons behind its commanding 3-0 lead has simply been its ability to force mistakes and instantly convert them into offense.
The Knicks have dictated the tempo by turning Cleveland's turnovers into transition opportunities, and the Cavaliers have struggled to recover once games start speeding up.
That problem reached another level in Game 3.
Cleveland committed 17 turnovers overall, including 11 live-ball giveaways, with Harden (six), Mitchell (five) and Mobley (five) all struggling to handle New York's relentless perimeter pressure. And the Knicks made the Cavaliers pay almost every single time.
New York dominated Cleveland 30-10 in transition points in Game 3 -- a massive advantage that completely shifted the flow of the game. The turning point especially came in the third quarter, where the Knicks' defensive activity overwhelmed Cleveland's offense.
Five of the Cavaliers' live-ball turnovers came within their first ten possessions of the period alone, as Bridges, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby repeatedly blew up passing lanes and disrupted actions before they could even develop.
What makes those turnovers even more damaging is the personnel New York has surrounding Brunson.
Once the Knicks force a live-ball mistake, Brunson immediately pushes the pace into early offense, while Bridges and Anunoby sprint the wings for easy transition baskets before Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen can establish themselves defensively in the paint.
And unless Cleveland finds a way to clean up its execution and slow the game down offensively, this series may not last much longer.
Because right now, every careless pass and every loose handle is feeding directly into the Knicks' confidence, energy, and transition attack -- which has become one of the defining stories of this Eastern Conference finals.