With a blast of 119 points, the Knicks overturned the Cavaliers! Brown activated the 11-man rotation, and the Eastern Conference ushered in the finale

In the opening game of the NBA 25-26 season, there were two peak battles in the Western Conference. The Thunder defeated the Rockets and the Warriors won the Lakers. Then, the Eastern Conference also ushered in the peak battle, Cavaliers VS Knicks!

With Tatum suffering a serious injury, the Green Army's strength declining, and the Pacers losing Haliburton in the new season, the entire Eastern Conference has become dominated by the Cavaliers and Knicks. This is also the team most likely to enter the finals in the Eastern Conference. In the opening game of the two teams, these two championship favorites also meet on a narrow road!

The Knicks unfortunately stopped in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. The team also made changes. They replaced Thibodeau and chose Brown as the team's new head coach. At the same time, they got Clarkson to improve the offensive strength of his substitute. With their lineup and foundation, they definitely have the possibility of hitting the championship!

The Cavaliers ushered in a rise last season and successfully won the first place in the Eastern Conference. However, they performed poorly in the playoffs and eventually ended up in the Eastern Conference semifinals! In the new season, the Cavaliers retain their main lineup and make further reinforcements. They also want to achieve a breakthrough in the new season and win the championship!

Both teams are very strong, but in this matchup, the lineups of both teams are not uniform! The Cavaliers' three generals, Garland, Hunter, and Struss, are absent. The Knicks are also missing Hart and Robinson, which has a lot of impact on the second team, especially the Cavaliers, who have lost half of their strength on the offensive end!

As expected, without three powerful offensive arrows, the Cavaliers struggled very much on offense. Their outside shooting was weak, and Mitchell was under critical care. The team could only rely on Mobley's personal ability to score points, while the Knicks' Anu, Towns, and Brunson flourished and quickly took the initiative in the game, gaining a 10-point advantage in the first quarter! The Knicks' bench continued to work hard in the second quarter, with McDermott and Shamet continuing to score points. However, the Cavaliers' lack of rotation led to a weak offense and the point difference was further widened! Mobley and Mitchell stopped the bleeding for the Cavaliers, but they were still beaten by the Knicks. After halftime, the Cavaliers fell behind by 15 points!

Trailing by 15 points at halftime, the game was a bit beaten. Fortunately, entering the second half, Mitchell, who was lost in form, finally found his touch, scoring 3-pointers from the outside and a mid-range shot. Breakthroughs, individuals continued to score points, Meryl and Mobley also made contributions, the Cavaliers' offense improved significantly, while the Knicks fell into a vicious circle, only scoring 22 points in a single quarter, the Cavaliers won by 15 points, tied the score in the 3rd quarter, and saw hope of a comeback!

But entering the final quarter, the Cavaliers once again experienced the dilemma of insufficient personnel. McDermott and Shamet continued to score points, and the Knicks regained the lead. Although Mitchell continued to catch up after his appearance, the team's offensive shortage problem could not be solved, making it unable to catch up. The Knicks always maintained an advantage of about 10 points, and the game gradually lost suspense. In the end, the Knicks defeated the Cavaliers 119:111 and got off to a good start!

119:111, the final score difference is not big, but in terms of the content of the game, the situation is quite one-sided. The Cavaliers do not have much resistance in front of the Knicks. Although there is a reason for the players to be unorganized, the dominance of the Knicks can also be seen!

The Knicks played really well in this game. Five of the team's players scored in double figures. The offensive end was flourishing, especially head coach Brown, who activated the team's lineup and rotated 11 players, making the Knicks play even more smoothly!

The Knicks, under Thibodeau's hands, relied too much on their main players. Although the team was guaranteed to be strong, it also limited the team's further improvement! The arrival of Brown solved this problem very well! Brown is a defensive coach, and he has greatly improved his offensive coaching in the Warriors. He is very comprehensive. He also boldly used substitutes in this game, giving the main players a long rest time and allowing the players to perform. This greatly increased the team's upper limit and gave the Knicks more capital to compete for the championship!

The Knicks continue to improve, and the entire Eastern Conference is dominated by the Knicks! The Celtics have lost Tatum and are no longer competitive this season; the Pacers have lost Haliburton. Although the Bucks and Cavaliers are good, the former's lineup lacks depth, the latter's performance is unstable, and the defensive deficiencies in the backcourt are obvious. The Knicks have a great initiative in the East. They are very likely to reach the finals this season, and the East is also ushering in the finale!