Brunson drops 30 against Cavs as Knicks pull within one of another sweep
<p>Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 30 points, O.G. Anunoby added 21, and Mikal Bridges contributed 22 on 11-of-15 shooting as New York pushed the Cavaliers to the edge of elimination.</p><p><strong>"I'm at a loss for words,"</strong> Brunson said.<strong> "I thought we fought, most importantly."</strong></p><p>The Knicks seized a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals and could complete a sweep in game four on Monday in Cleveland.</p><p>No team in NBA history has recovered from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series.</p><p><strong>"The series isn't over,"</strong> Anunoby said. <strong>"Just keep our foot on their necks and just try to win the game."</strong></p><p>Brunson said the Knicks must continue to concentrate.</p><p><strong>"Just focus on one possession at a time,"</strong> Brunson said.</p><p><strong>"The way we've been having that mindset these past couple weeks, we have to continue it, if not actually better."</strong></p><p>The Knicks last reached the NBA Finals 27 years ago when they lost to San Antonio. They have not won the NBA championship since 1973.</p><p>New York's Karl-Anthony Towns had 13 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals while Josh Hart added 12 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and four steals for a Knicks team that has not been beaten in a month.</p><p><strong>"Our mindset hasn't changed,"</strong> Brunson said. <strong>"We're trying to get better every single day. We're trying to learn from winning."</strong></p><p><strong>"There's a lot of things we can get better at. There's a lot of things we can control, a lot of mental errors that we need to clean up, but we're always just looking for ways to try and get better."</strong></p><p>Evan Mobley led Cleveland with 24 points, while Donovan Mitchell added 23 and James Harden scored 19 points.</p><p>The Cavaliers, who squandered a 22-point lead to lose the series opener, never led as New York seized command early and dominated.</p><p><strong>"I guess you could say momentum carried over (from game one),"</strong> Anunoby said. <strong>"We try to play the right way every game, but maybe that momentum carried over a little bit."</strong></p><p>New York started the game 10-of-13 from the floor to seize a 29-19 lead after 8:29, with Towns delivering 11 points in the run and the Knicks leading 37-27 after the first quarter.</p><p>Cleveland trimmed New York's half-time edge to 60-54, but the Cavs committed six turnovers in the first six minutes of the third quarter.</p><p>The Knicks were ahead 91-82 entering the fourth quarter and stretched it to 110-93 in the closing minutes before completing their fifth road triumph in a row.</p><p><strong>"It's just executing the game plan on both sides of the floor, playing the right way, moving the ball, then getting stops on defense," </strong>Anunoby said of New York's secret to success.</p>