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 substitutes, 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 and 26 seconds left in the game and seemed on the verge of a pivotal victory to jumpstart their uneven season. Instead, three Knicks bench players — Jordan Clarkson, Tyler Kolek and Mitchell Robinson — spurred 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 notched 13 rebounds — eight of which were 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 left that gave New York the lead for good.
THERE’S A REASON HIS NICKNAME IS CAPTAIN CLUTCH.
JALEN BRUNSON PUTS 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 his first game since injuring his calf five games ago, tallied 14 points in 25 minutes off the bench.
After Cleveland built its 17-point advantage early in the fourth quarter, the Knicks’ bench, which had been a spark in the second quarter, again led a comeback. Robinson’s eighth offensive rebound led to a Kolek 3 that cut Cleveland’s lead to three with 4:31 left. A minute later, Brunson nailed a stepback 3 to tie the game 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 remaining, but Kolek sprinted from the backcourt to strip the Cavaliers’ star at the basket on a play that was initially ruled a foul before New York successfully challenged it. On the ensuing possession, Kolek tracked down a long rebound and hit Mikal Bridges on an outlet pass for a pull-up jumper to give New York the lead with 1:29 left. After Garland answered 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 putback layup with 27 seconds left.
The five-game 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 visit the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers will host the Houston Rockets in LeBron James’ 20th Christmas appearance 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 made evident in the Christmas Day comeback victory over the Cavaliers.
New York found itself down 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 14 first-half points from Clarkson.
New York took a lead into halftime, but was equally as bad in the third quarter as it was to open 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 the 3-point shooting of Kolek and Brunson, the Knicks were able to pull out the win when they looked dead in the water. The Knicks are 21-9 through Christmas Day, which is one game better than they were this time last year.
The contributions of bench players like Robinson, Clarkson, Kolek, Landry Shamet and Miles McBride have been a huge factor as to why New York finds itself with the No. 2 seed in the East. All of those players have won a game or two for the Knicks this season with big performances.
New York appears to be more than a top-heavy team. It has the depth to win multiple ways. — James L. Edwards III, Knicks senior writer
This story will be updated.
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