The NBA’s five-game Christmas slate opened with a classic matchup between the East’s two preseason favorites that lived up to the hype.
Led by superstar Jalen Brunson and several standout performances from backups, the New York Knicks rallied from a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit to stun the Cleveland Cavaliers, 126-124, at Madison Square Garden.
The Cavaliers led by 17 points with 10 minutes, 26 seconds left and appeared poised to pull off a crucial victory to restart their uneven season. Instead, three players from the Knicks bench — Jordan Clarkson, Tyler Kolek and Mitchell Robinson — sparked a comeback reminiscent of the one that secured the Knicks’ NBA Cup championship earlier this month. Clarkson finished with 25 points, while Kolek added 16 to go along with nine assists. Robinson pulled down 13 rebounds – including eight on the offensive glass – in less than 17 minutes.
That opened the door for Brunson, last season’s clutch player of the year, to close things out. He scored 13 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, including a pull-up 3 with a minute remaining that gave New York the lead for good.
There’s a reason his nickname is CAPTAIN CLUTCH.
JALEN BRUNSON PUT NYK UP 2 WITH 1:05 LEFT.
WATCH HERE: https://t.co/nu1j9ysj0u pic.twitter.com/2pRvIudXnB
-NBA (@NBA) December 25, 2025
Donovan Mitchell scored 34 points to lead Cleveland, while Darius Garland added 20. Evan Mobley, playing in his first game since suffering a calf injury five games ago, had 14 points in 25 minutes off the bench.
After Cleveland took a 17-point advantage early in the fourth quarter, the Knicks bench, which had been a spark in the second quarter, led a comeback again. Robinson’s eighth offensive rebound led to a Kolek 3 that cut Cleveland’s lead to three with 4:31 to play. A minute later, Brunson nailed a stepback 3 to tie the score at 113.
The two teams went back and forth from there. It looked like Mitchell would have a breakaway layup with just under two minutes left, but Kolek sprinted from the backcourt to pick off the Cavaliers star at the basket on a play that was initially ruled a foul before New York successfully contested it. On the ensuing possession, Kolek spotted a long rebound and hit Mikal Bridges on an outlet pass for a pull-up to give New York the lead with 1:29 left. After Garland responded with a layup to give Cleveland the lead again, Brunson sank his pull-up 3 and Karl-Anthony Towns put the game away with an acrobatic layup with 27 seconds left.
The five-match Christmas slate continues with a rematch between two budding rivals when the San Antonio Spurs visit the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs have won two straight against the defending champion Thunder, including a 20-point victory in San Antonio on Monday. Later, the Dallas Mavericks will visit the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers will host the Houston Rockets in LeBron James’ 20th Christmas Game, and the Minnesota Timberwolves will visit the Denver Nuggets.
Here are our takeaways from the day’s action.
These Knicks win with depth
The Knicks have too many weapons, as evidenced by the Christmas win over the Cavaliers.
New York found itself trailing 18-3 to start the game. The Knicks were outscored by 15 in the first quarter. They followed that up by outscoring the Cavaliers by 17 in the second quarter behind Clarkson’s 14 points in the first half.
New York took the lead into halftime, but was just as bad in the third quarter as it was early in the game. The Cavaliers outscored the Knicks by 14 in the third quarter.
However, behind a billion offensive rebounds from Robinson in the fourth quarter, all of which led to Knicks baskets, and 3-point shooting from Kolek and Brunson, the Knicks managed to pull out the victory when they seemed dead in the water. The Knicks are 21-9 through Christmas Day, which is one game better than this time last year.
The contributions of bench players like Robinson, Clarkson, Kolek, Landry Shamet and Miles McBride have been a big factor in why New York ends up with the second seed in the East. All of these players have won a game or two for the Knicks this season with big performances.
New York appears to be more than just a top team. He has the depth to win in multiple ways. —James L. Edwards III, Knicks senior writer
This story will be updated.
