“They’re playing great basketball. You just got to give them credit. They’re playing on a heater. They’re in a groove,” Cleveland Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said after his team’s season ended with a 130-93 loss to the New York Knicks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday night at Rocket Arena.
The Cavaliers were swept 4-0 as New York advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, finishing off a dominant series in which every Knicks win came by double digits and the average margin of victory reached 23.7 points. Cleveland, meanwhile, reached the conference finals after consecutive seven-game series wins over Toronto and Detroit.
Atkinson did not search for excuses after the loss. Instead, he repeatedly credited New York and coach Mike Brown for the way the series unfolded.
“Just got to give them a ton of credit. Congrats to Mike and their staff,” Atkinson said. “I don’t want to detract from what we’ve done this postseason. I just think sometimes you got to give the other team credit for playing great basketball.”
The Knicks controlled Game 4 in nearly every category. They outscored Cleveland 32-5 in second-chance points and 33-9 in fast-break points, while six players scored at least 15 points. Karl-Anthony Towns posted 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Donovan Mitchell scored 31 for Cleveland after opening the game with the Cavaliers’ first eight points.
When asked why Cleveland ultimately fell short of the Finals, Atkinson pointed toward missed opportunities earlier in the postseason, particularly the Game 6 losses against Toronto and Detroit.
“I’ll tell you what didn’t help was losing those two game sixes,” he said. “I think we have to take advantage of those opportunities.”
Atkinson also referenced the demanding playoff calendar after Cleveland repeatedly played with little recovery time.
“The density of the frequency of the games, never had two days rest, the whole deal played a part in it,” Atkinson said. “Definitely not going to say that’s the reason we lost, but we would have had a better chance.”
Despite the lopsided ending, Atkinson described the season as progress for a Cavaliers team that entered the year trying to move beyond repeated second-round exits.
“Yes, absolutely,” Atkinson said when asked if the season was a success. “That was the task, right? Take another step. We jumped a barrier that we were stuck on. Second round, second round, second round.”
Cleveland finished the regular season 52-30 and reached the Eastern Conference finals despite integrating a reshaped roster during the season, with Atkinson repeatedly noting the group had only “two and a half months” together before the playoffs.
The coach also praised Mitchell’s leadership after the star guard finished Game 4 with 31 points on 9-of-18 shooting.
“He’s our leader at the end of the day,” Atkinson said. “He was the number one reason we went to the conference finals. That’s a big step. I think there was mental toughness growth there.”
Atkinson added that Mitchell entered the postseason “generally banged up” and fatigued, but said there was no specific injury concern requiring further evaluation.
Looking toward the offseason, Atkinson acknowledged change is possible but stressed confidence in Cleveland’s direction.
“We are going in a positive direction,” he said. “There’s no bigger motivator to get to the next level.”
