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NEW YORK — There were 10 winning streaks of at least nine games in the regular season. You probably don’t remember them all.

The New York Knicks didn’t have any of those 10. Their longest winning streak of the season was eight games long, and it included wins over the Brooklyn Nets, Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards.

Those teams did not come close to making the 2026 NBA Playoffs, when every opponent is tougher and every possession matters more. To win three straight games in the postseason is significant.

Nine straight? Incredible.

The Knicks’ ninth straight playoff victory, a 109-93 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, wasn’t as dramatic as the last one. But it was just as important, and it gave them a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals

A starting lineup that struggled in Game 1 two nights earlier was terrific in Game 2. All five Knicks starters scored at least 18 points, and they were led, amazingly, but Josh Hart. His 26 points were the most of his playoff career (55 games).

The game was tied early in the third quarter, but the Knicks then went on an 18-0 run, with Cleveland going scoreless on nine straight possessions. The Cavs were able to cut the deficit to seven early in the fourth, but the Knicks then scored 14 points on their next seven trips to regain some separation.

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Here are some notes, quotes, numbers and film from Game 2, with the Knicks now two wins away from a trip to the Finals:

1. Josh Hart is wide open

For much of this game, the Cavs player assigned to guard Josh Hart was nowhere near Josh Hart. Cleveland used that defender to help on the ball, leaving Hart alone on the perimeter. That was generally the strategy in Game 1, but the Cavs were more aggressive in helping off Hart on Thursday.

Late in the second quarter, the Knicks got the switch that fueled much of their comeback on Game 1: James Harden guarding Jalen Brunson. And when Brunson drove, Max Strus came with a double-team, leaving Hart alone in the right corner, from where he missed a wide-open 3:

Four possessions later, the Knicks got Donovan Mitchell switched onto Brunson. Jarrett Allen (Hart’s primary defender for most of the game) basically played a one-man zone to prevent a Brunson drive into the paint. That left Hart wide open again, and this time, he made a 3 from near the top of the arc:

The Cavs strategy looked pretty smart when Hart was 0-for-3 from 3-point range in the first quarter. But he was 5-for-8 thereafter, including 2-for-2 during the 18-0, third-quarter run that, basically, determined the game.

Hart didn’t let those first three misses from deep deter him. If he starts hesitating, the Knicks’ offense will get bogged down and the Knicks might need to replace him with a better offensive threat.

That was the case at the end of Game 1, when Landry Shamet was on the floor instead of Hart, who shot 1-for-5 from deep. There was one possession (during that 18-0) run where he passed up a couple of open looks and handed Brunson a late-clock grenade, but otherwise, he was shooting. More importantly, the shots went in.

Hart finished a *usage rate of 31.9%, the highest mark of his career (650 games). And that doesn’t take his seven assists into account.

* Usage rate = the percentage of a team’s possessions a player finishes (via field goal attempt, turnover or trip to the line) while he’s on the floor.

Including regular season and playoffs, Hart is now shooting 39.3% from 3-point range this season, up from 34.3% over his previous eight years in the league. He’s the guy in the Knicks’ lineup you most want to help off of, but he’s able to make you pay a lot more than he has in the past.

“If they continue to leave him open,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said afterward, “he’s gotta continue to let it fly.”

2. Brunson doesn’t force things

The biggest reason that Hart got so many shots is that Brunson got so few. Brunson’s usage rate of 24.1% was his fourth-lowest in his 54 playoff games with the Knicks; his 14 assists, a career playoff-high.

When Brunson got a matchup he wanted (vs. Harden or Donovan Mitchell), the Cavs often sent a double-team. If they didn’t double aggressively, they zoned up to prevent Brunson from driving.

And Brunson didn’t force anything. He trusted his teammates and willingly gave up the ball.

“That’s what great players do,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said of Brunson. “They read the game.

“Credit to him. We took away some of his scoring options, blitzed him, gave him different looks. He made the right reads, right plays.”

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3. Cavs’ offense has told the story

The difference between the Cavs’ eight wins (120.7 points scored per 100 possessions) and their eight losses (102.7 scored per 100) has been almost entirely about their offense. They’ve scored 115 on 99 (116 per 100) in their least efficient win and just 104 on 96 (108 per 100) in their most efficient loss.

According to tracking data, the Cavs’ shot quality on Thursday wasn’t nearly as good as it was in Game 1. It was their fourth-lowest of their 16 playoff games.

But they still got some great looks, taking advantage of the Knicks’ aggressive defense by getting the ball to the weak side of the floor:

“I loved everything about the looks that we got,” Mitchell said. “And some days, you just miss the open ones.”

The Cavs shot 9-for-35 (26%) from beyond the arc, including just just 6-for-19 on wide-open 3s.

“I thought we had a lot of good looks,” Atkinson said. “Good looks from 3, good looks at the rim. I thought our process was right. We took care of the ball, offensive rebounded. It wasn’t a great shooting night. At the end of the day, you gotta put the ball in the hole. Tonight, we didn’t.”

If this was the regular season, the Cavs probably wouldn’t stress over a night where they missed a bunch of open shots. But this is the Playoffs, and a night like that puts your season close to the brink.

That doesn’t mean the Knicks want to treat Sam Merrill and Max Strus (combined 40.3% from deep this season) like the Cavs are treating Hart.

“We have to do a better job getting to those shooters,” Brown said. “[Merrill and Strus] 1-for-11 from the 3. That’s not going to happen again. So we have to do a better job of getting to their bodies.”

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4. Knicks close off the paint

But the Knicks’ defense is prioritizing the paint. And that’s worked out for them so far. Over the two games, the Cavs have shot just 39-for-75 (52.0%) in the paint, down from 58.5% through the first two rounds.

Evan Mobley needs to play big, but he’s taken just 10 (42%) of his 24 shots in the paint in this series, down from 65% through the first two rounds and 70% in the regular season.

The Cavs’ screeners are getting clean catches on the short roll, but when they get near the basket, there are bodies there to meet them:

The Cavs’ hope is that better shooting for the perimeter will loosen up the paint. And if that doesn’t happen in Game 3 on Saturday (8 ET, ABC), they will really be on the brink.

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John Schuhmann has covered the NBA for more than 20 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Bluesky.

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NEW YORK – This is a dream opportunity that was far-fetched as a kid, now possible as an adult. He has a chance to lead his team to the NBA Finals, by going through this fabled building specifically, Madison Square Garden, and it will be his crowning achievement to date should it happen. 

Except this isn’t about Jalen Brunson, or anyone with the New York Knicks. This is about a player who in a perfect Gotham world would be repping the Knicks and teammates with Brunson and together serving notice from Manhattan through Oklahoma City and all the way to San Antonio. 

The basketball Gods, however, had different homecoming plans for Donovan Mitchell, born and raised in the New York City suburbs and schooled on basketball in Harlem. If he wants to reach the Finals, he’ll need to plow through the local team he once worshiped, not escort them. 

And at this point, he’ll need nothing short of big nightly performances in this Eastern Conference Finals where he and the Cleveland Cavaliers, after a 109-93 loss Thursday, are suddenly down 2-0 and searching for solutions in this best-of-seven. 

The Cavs came to New York to open the series and couldn’t find their composure in Game 1, then their shots in Game 2. And now there’s a concern that something else is just as painful — Mitchell’s ankle. 

He twisted it last series against Detroit, then had a relapse Tuesday in the fourth quarter of Game 1. At best, it’s not 100%. At worst, Mitchell, who appeared stiff, will hop-scotch through Saturday’s crucial Game 3 (8 ET, ABC) and beyond. 

His coach, Kenny Atkinson, said Mitchell was trying “to work through it.” 

Mitchell dismissed any issue and with a smirk repeated: “I’m great. I’m great. I’m great.” 

Feeling great and looking great are often opposed to each other. That’s where Mitchell and the Cavs find themselves. The Knicks went on an 18-0 third-quarter run to rip away for good from a tied Game 2. Mitchell was on the bench at the time, wrestling with three fouls and a throbbing ankle. Atkinson had to hustle him back into the game, sooner than he wanted. 

He labored through 39 minutes, scored 26 points, was the best player on his team, all in vain. 

“We had great looks,” he said, “just couldn’t make shots. We did a lot of positive things. Our process is right; sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way and you don’t make shots.” 

More than anything, Mitchell didn’t have enough Game 2 support, not like Brunson, who was one of five Knicks in double-figure scoring. The Knicks have won nine straight playoff games now. 

Once upon a time, Mitchell was targeted to be by Brunson’s side in New York, a pair of dangerous playmakers to rival Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in Boston. 

There was always chatter about the romantic idea of Mitchell coming home, much like Carmelo Anthony (Brooklyn-born, though raised in Baltimore) did over a decade ago. And that kind of talk in this championship-desperate town, which hasn’t littered Broadway with blue-and-orange confetti in over 50 years, tends to mushroom and quicken pulses. 

Each side had a chance to make this happen. 

Neither side wanted each other badly enough. That’s just the bold and cold basketball truth. 

For the Knicks, getting Mitchell meant surrendering more assets than they thought he was worth in four years ago when the Utah Jazz slapped a for-sale price on him. 

For Mitchell, who could’ve allowed his contract to run out and entered free agency once being traded to Cleveland, joining the Knicks then meant he’d have to sacrifice, what else, money, and millions of it. 

So the answer, despite all the pillow talk between the two sides, was a non-negotiable no. 

The summer of 2022, when Mitchell was on the move from Utah, was a transformational one for the Knicks. They had missed the playoffs eight times in the previous nine years. They went through a stretch of eight head coaches, including interims, in eight years. The franchise was shook and searched for a savior. Make that two. 

One was destined to be a Knick. Brunson left the Dallas Mavericks to join his father, Rick, a Knicks assistant coach in perhaps the least-surprising free-agent decision in league history. 

Then the Knicks set their sights on Mitchell, except there was another team more desperate and upped the bidding. The Cavs were adrift after LeBron James left in 2018; they missed the playoffs the next four years and needed a centerpiece. 

Utah wanted two young starters — RJ Barrett and Quentin Grimes were the names tossed around — and three first-round picks from the Knicks, who stalled. 

Utah wanted Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, three first rounders and two swaps from Cleveland. The Cavs swallowed hard and delivered. 

Strangely enough, the Knicks a few years later sent five first-round picks and a swap to Brooklyn for Mikal Bridges, a less-accomplished player. 

Anyway, the Knicks became winners quickly with Brunson, who was better than expected, a second-round pick with the body of an accountant but the cold blood of a thief. 

There was one more chance at a marriage: Mitchell could’ve allowed his contract to expire in the summer of 2025 and joined the Knicks then, but in 2024 signed a three-year, $150 million extension with the Cavs instead and that was that. 

Mitchell is now trying to reach the Finals for the first time with 36-year-old James Harden as his wingman. Meanwhile, Brunson has Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby and a batch of rotational players who fit his skills. 

Would Brunson and Mitchell be a good fit together? Neither are instinctive ball-sharers but Brunson showed his passing skills Thursday with 14 assists. When the goal is a championship, star players tend, more often than not, to make it work. 

There was a telling moment between the two almost-teammates with four minutes left in Game 2, the Knicks up 13 points. Mitchell was closely guarding Brunson and turned aggressive, evidently hoping to make a play that might trigger the same improbable rally the Knicks executed two nights earlier when they erased a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit. 

Instead, all Mitchell did was earn his fifth foul, and moments later, his second defeat in this series. 

It must be stressed that the Cavs were wobbly twice before in this postseason, when they were forced into a Game 7 against Toronto in the first round, then fell behind 2-0 to the top-seeded Pistons in the semis and needed another Game 7 win. 

“Through these moments you keep trusting what you’ve been doing,” Mitchell said. “I like everything we’re doing. I’m not sitting here scrambling and trying to figure things out. It’s 2-0. They did their job. They protected home court. That simple. This isn’t our first time facing adversity … we’re ready to go for Game 3.” 

“I’m happy because we didn’t let the Game 1 (collapse) affect our mental.” 

Truth be told, Mitchell is now dreaming like the kid from the New York suburbs all over again, the kid whose mom drove him to Harlem on weekends to seek the top competition in AAU, a strategy that paid off. 

That teenaged Donovan Mitchell wanted to one day play in the Garden, home of the Knicks. 

This adult Donovan Mitchell wants that, too — for this series to return to the Garden for a Game 5. 

“It’s really as simple as this,” said Mitchell. “We have to protect home court.” 

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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at spowell@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.