Knicks’ dominant Game 2 win over Cavs proves they’re on Thunder, Spurs level

The New York Knicks, for the entirety of the 2025-26 season, looked like they were yet to reach their full potential under new head coach Mike Brown. And for a second there during their first-round clash against the Atlanta Hawks, they seemed to be in genuine trouble — with CJ McCollum’s daggers giving the Hawks a 2-1 series lead.

Since then, however, the Knicks have ascended. They have now won nine straight games, including a dominant 109-93 victory in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Just to put in perspective just how much the Knicks have been steamrolling their opponents over the past nine games, their total margin of victory during that span is 211, which averages to around 23.4 points.

Again, it is worth mentioning: the Knicks have been beating quality, playoff-caliber opponents by an average margin of 23.4 points since Game 4 of the Hawks series.

The Knicks even won Game 1 of the ECF by double digits (115-104) even after going down by 22 points with 7:45 to go in the fourth quarter of that contest.

Suffice to say, this Knicks team is reaching its peak power, and at the best possible time, no less. While many will doubt the remaining East teams’ ability to match up against either the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs, here are a few reasons as to why New York deserves the same kind of respect as those teams.

The Knicks have answers for every matchup

What the playoffs have always shown is that it is important for teams with championship aspirations to have answers for every matchup. This is what made the Thunder so dangerous once they acquired Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein, as they had so much defensive versatility and they can shapeshift depending on the team they come up against in the playoffs.

Now, the Knicks don’t exactly have the same level of matchup versatility that the Thunder do. But they at least have so many answers for every matchup which should make them a fierce team to contend with should they finish off the job against the Cavs and make it to the NBA Finals.

Mitchell Robinson is around to bludgeon the glass and protect the paint if Karl-Anthony Towns is getting overrun. Towns’ improved playmaking gives the Knicks someone to run their offense through if Brunson gets overloaded. And the Knicks have an arsenal of stout defenders, from OG Anunoby to Mikal Bridges to Josh Hart to Miles McBride, that it becomes easier for New York to shield Brunson from exploitation.

Simply put, the Knicks have the personnel to match up with even the most elite teams in the NBA, and that should garner them the respect OKC and San Antonio have.

New York offense remains elite in the playoffs

Offense is typically the first to go for any team come playoff time. It becomes ridiculously difficult to score against set defenses in a playoff series where the opponents have so much time to put together a defensive scheme solely dedicated to slowing down a particular team. But for the Knicks, they have made mincemeat of every team they’ve come up against in this year’s playoffs.

Now, it’s not like the Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Cavs have shown themselves to be teams that have hard to break down defenses. But the Hawks did have a top-10 defense in the regular season, the 76ers have a glut of long-limbed wing defenders, and the Cavs do have the services of 2025 Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley.

The Knicks have managed to keep their turnovers down in this year’s playoffs, and that is nothing but good news, especially when staring at the face of a potential matchup against either the Thunder or Spurs. They finished with just six turnovers as a team in Game 2 against the Cavs against 32 assists, which is an elite ratio.

New York can live in the midrange, and their execution this postseason has been top-notch. And their ability to get buckets even in a slower postseason landscape (122.8 offensive rating) should translate even against the final boss of the Western Conference.

Jalen Brunson revealed NY’s true “advantage”

In Brunson’s postgame presser following the Knicks’ Game 2 win, he said that the team’s advantage is that they have been learning how to win in different ways. It sure does look as though Brown’s hiring is working wonders, with Brown showing his proactiveness in making adjustments from game to game to put New York in a position to succeed.

Tom Thibodeau was known to be way too stubborn and reluctant to trust his bench. Brown has been the opposite, and this may be exactly what the Knicks need to get over the hump for good.

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