Demonstration of power — New York Knicks swept Cleveland and reached the Finals after 27 years

A historic night for the New York Knicks — one of the biggest franchises in American sports will play in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. Mike Brown’s squad conquered the Eastern Conference in spectacular fashion, sweeping the series 4-0 after crushing Cleveland 130-93 in the decisive game.

One look at the team statistics tells the whole story. The Cavaliers fell short in all the key categories. The visitors dominated both rebounds and assists (60-33; 33-21), while also shooting far better from the field (49% compared to 41%). The Knicks were nearly 50 percent from beyond the arc (19/43), whereas the Cavaliers shot below 30 percent (11/40).

The game was effectively decided late in the first quarter and early in the second, when New York went on a devastating 20-0 run, shutting down every path to the basket. Cleveland went five minutes without scoring, allowing the Knicks to build a massive 50-26 lead.

During that stretch, New York thrived in transition, recording four steals and converting every one of them into points on the other end. By halftime, the home team trailed by as many as 29 points. Cleveland managed to cut the deficit to 16 in the third quarter, only to quickly find themselves back in a huge hole at 89-59.

At that point, it became clear the Cavs had no way back into the contest and would have to congratulate the better team.

Over the final 12 minutes, New York pushed the lead to a game-high 45 points. Donovan Mitchell led all scorers and was the standout performer for the losing side, finishing with 31 points. Evan Mobley added 15, while James Harden scored 12 on poor shooting (2/8 from the field) and committed five turnovers. Thomas Bryant chipped in 10 points during garbage time. Jarrett Allen also struggled badly, managing just six points and three rebounds.

For the winners, Karl-Anthony Towns was outstanding with 19 points and 14 rebounds. OG Anunoby added 17, Landry Shamet scored 16, while Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges contributed 15 points each.

The Knicks’ last Finals appearance came against San Antonio, who could once again be their opponent this year. Back in 1999, the Spurs defeated New York 4-1 in the series. San Antonio are currently battling Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals, with the series tied at 2-2. The Knicks hold a perfect 2-0 record against the Spurs this season, while they went 0-2 against the Thunder.

New York have been waiting more than half a century for another NBA title — their last championship came in 1973.