Josh Hart scored a playoff career-high 26 points, Jalen Brunson had 19 points and 14 assists, and the New York Knicks moved halfway to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999 by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-93 on Thursday night.

Mikal Bridges also scored 19 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Knicks, who won their ninth straight game. That's the NBA's longest postseason winning streak since the Boston Celtics won 10 straight on their way to the 2024 championship.

Two nights after rallying from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter, the Knicks made sure they would be in control late with an 18-0 run in the third quarter that gave them a 71-53 lead. Fans chanted “Knicks in four! Knicks in four!” in the final minute, long after the starters had gone to the benches.

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points and James Harden had 18 for the Cavaliers, who will have to climb out of a 2-0 deficit for the second straight round. They host Game 3 on Saturday.

The Knicks are in the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year but haven’t played for the championship since losing to the San Antonio Spurs in 1999.

Brunson, who scored 38 points and led the Game 1 comeback, had only two points in the first half Thursday before making the first basket of the run that broke open the game.

Hart burned a Cavaliers defensive strategy that seemed built around leaving him open from long range after he was benched for the rally in Game 1, playing just three minutes combined in the fourth quarter and overtime.

9 straight playoff wins.

how are we feeling, knicks fam? pic.twitter.com/IHzy8Yw9Wg

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) May 22, 2026