{"id":1463,"date":"2026-05-26T05:05:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T05:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1463"},"modified":"2026-05-26T05:05:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T05:05:38","slug":"cavaliers-overwhelmed-in-game-4-by-knicks-who-sweep-series-and-send-cleveland-into-uncertain-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1463","title":{"rendered":"Cavaliers overwhelmed in Game 4 by Knicks, who sweep series and send Cleveland into uncertain summer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

CLEVELAND (AP) \u2014 Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers finally got past the second round and face-planted in the Eastern Conference finals.<\/p>\n

Read more New York back in NBA Finals for first time since 1999 after beating Cleveland 130-93 to finish sweep<\/a><\/p>\n

They weren\u2019t ready for the Knicks or the big stage.<\/p>\n

The lights were too bright again.<\/p>\n

Cleveland\u2019s season ended with a resounding, demoralizing and embarrassing 130-93 loss on Monday night in Game 4 to the New York Knicks, who swept the series and advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.<\/p>\n

Playing on tired and wobbly legs after failing to put Toronto and Detroit away before seven games in the earlier rounds, the Cavs, whose fate was sealed when they blew a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter and lost Game 1 at Madison Square Garden, had no answer for anything the Knicks threw at them.<\/p>\n

They got out-played, out-shot, out-rebounded and out-coached.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did this to ourselves,\u201d said Mitchell, who scored 31 in the close-out loss. \u201cWe didn\u2019t give our team a chance because we didn\u2019t take care of business. You can\u2019t play with your food. We had an opportunity in Game 1 and we blew that.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had an opportunity, but give credit where credit is due.\u201d<\/p>\n

And now that they\u2019ve fallen short, the Cavs head into what will likely be a tumultuous summer that will trigger a major roster overhaul and perhaps other moves.<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t the plan. Cleveland made a blockbuster trade at the deadline in February, sending guard Darius Garland, part of its \u201cCore Four\u201d to the Los Angeles Clippers for James Harden, who was supposed to take pressure off Mitchell.<\/p>\n

It never happened.<\/p>\n

Cleveland\u2019s top player approved the Garland swap, but other than a few games here and there, he and Harden never truly meshed as intended. The Cavs, who shot just 28.9% (48 of 166) on 3-pointers in the series, never outgrew their growing pains.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was the first time going through what we were going to go through,\u201d said Harden. \u201cNow we have to take another two steps and get even better. \u2026 I feel like we didn\u2019t have a fair chance. We did play one quarter of Cavs basketball offensively. If you\u2019re not making shots, you\u2019re not going to beat anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harden has a $42.3 million player option for next season that he\u2019s expected to decline to re-sign with the Cavs as a free agent. But the 36-year-old didn\u2019t perform up to offensive expectations and was a virtual turnstile on defense.<\/p>\n

Mitchell\u2019s future is more complicated. He can be offered a five-year, $350 million super-max extension by the Cavs as early as this offseason, but the team will likely wait due to several financial factors, and still must decide if the seven-time All-Star is worth the investment.<\/p>\n

With the Knicks up by 33 in the fourth, Mitchell and Cleveland\u2019s other starters were mercifully replaced. The 29-year-old went to the bench and watched a team he once cheered for as a kid win its 11th straight playoff game.<\/p>\n

Mitchell feels the Cavs took a significant step this season, and he\u2019s determined to get Cleveland a title.<\/p>\n

Read more Exchange between suspect, victim before shooting in Raleigh caught on camera<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI love it here,\u201d he said when asked about the extension. \u201cI don\u2019t know how else to say it. I have no doubt these guys can get there. We have unfinished business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cleveland\u2019s stunning flame-out in the conference finals is only going to fuel more speculation about coach Kenny Atkinson\u2019s future. He guided the team to a No. 1 seed in his first season a year ago before a disappointing, second-round exit against Indiana.<\/p>\n

Atkinson helped the Cavs take a step deeper into the postseason, but it\u2019s not certain that will be enough to satisfy demanding owner Dan Gilbert, who has dropped more than $400 million on a team that hasn\u2019t delivered him a second title.<\/p>\n

Not long after the game, Gilbert went on social media to give a brief assessment of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took a step ahead this spring, but we are nowhere near where we need to be,\u201d he posted. \u201cI can\u2019t thank the fans enough for the support this year. We will dig in all summer and do everything we possibly can to take the next step. We will grind until we get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harden and Mitchell staunchly defended Atkinson.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did something we haven\u2019t done since 2018,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cI love Kenny. We love Kenny. We ride with Kenny. That\u2019s all that matters. We\u2019re in this together.\u201d<\/p>\n

New York exposed all of Cleveland\u2019s on-court flaws and may have set the stage for Gilbert to make even bolder moves. There\u2019s little doubt that seeing his team get completely overwhelmed in Game 4 \u2014 with thousands of New York fans chanting \u201cKnicks in 4!\u201d \u2014 stung badly.<\/p>\n

The Cavs will closely monitor superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo\u2019s unsettled situation in Milwaukee. The Bucks have reportedly had past interest in 24-year-old Cleveland forward Evan Mobley.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s LeBron James and the possibility the NBA\u2019s all-time scoring leader could bring his storied career full circle by coming back home a second time. He\u2019s a free agent, currently at odds with the Los Angeles Lakers and surveying the landscape.<\/p>\n

At the moment, Cleveland appears to need him again.<\/p>\n

When asked, Mitchell wouldn\u2019t even entertain the possibility of joining forces with James. His primary concern was what went wrong against the Knicks.<\/p>\n

Read more Wawrinka and Monfils bid farewell to the French Open after losing in first round<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe got swept,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to own it.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/nba<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CLEVELAND (AP) \u2014 Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers finally got past the second round and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCavaliers overwhelmed in Game 4 by Knicks, who sweep series and send Cleveland into uncertain summer - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1463\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cavaliers overwhelmed in Game 4 by Knicks, who sweep series and send Cleveland into uncertain summer - 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