New York Knicks' Miles McBride, left, and Jalen Brunson celebrate during the first half of Game 4 against the Philadelphia 76ers in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series Sunday, May 10, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers were sent to face Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks in a nationally televised season opener and again to kick off Christmas, NBA schedule makers clearly viewing that as the Eastern Conference’s marquee matchup.

Good guess, it turns out.

The Cavaliers and Knicks will be back tonight under the same bright lights of Madison Square Garden where they began the season, this time for Game 1 of the conference finals.

“It’s go-time now,” Brunson said Monday.

The Knicks have been on a record-setting playoff rampage. The Cavaliers, bolstered by the acquisition of James Harden, surged late in the season and powerfully ousted Detroit, the East’s No. 1 seed, in the second round.

That sent Mitchell into the conference finals for the first time and also sent him home. He’s a native of Elmsford, New York, just down the road from where the Knicks practice.

“Yeah it’s great I get to play at home, woo, but it doesn’t matter,” Mitchell said. “We’ve got to be locked in and ready to go.”

The Knicks finished third in the East and the Cavs fourth, well behind not only Detroit but also Boston. But seven months after the Knicks beat the Cavaliers in Mike Brown’s first game as their coach, the teams have become who people thought they would be.

Cleveland began the season as the East’s betting favorite, a spot it later reclaimed after acquiring Harden from the Los Angeles Clippers. The Knicks were the second choice entering the season but ascended to the top earlier in the postseason, and the way they’re playing it’s clear why.

New York has won seven straight games and outscored Atlanta and Philadelphia by a combined 194 points, the largest margin ever through a team’s first 10 postseason games. The Knicks reached 140 points in both series clinchers and appear likely to get a boost Tuesday as they are listing OG Anunoby as probable to play after he missed two games with a strained right hamstring.

“They’re rested and they’re a juggernaut right now,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I mean, it’s just what it is. It’s hard to blow out teams in the playoffs like they’ve been blowing out. Point differential means something in this league.”

The Cavs were just good enough rather than great for most of this postseason, needing seven games to get by both Toronto and Detroit. But they won their final two road games against the 60-win Pistons, including a 125-94 rout in Game 7.

Jarrett Allen scored 23 points and Evan Mobley had 21 points and 12 rebounds, a reminder that the Cavs are way more than just their high-scoring backcourt.

“I remember back in the day when I was with Pop, Pop said you need three All-Stars to win a championship. Well, they’ve got four,” Brown said, referring to his time as an assistant to Gregg Popovich in San Antonio.

Pelicans get their guy

NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Pelicans hired Jamahl Mosley as their next coach, ending interim coach James Borrego’s candidacy to retain his job on a permanent basis.

Mosley spent the past five seasons with Orlando, which fired him this month after the Magic’s seven-game, first-round playoff loss to the Detroit Pistons. Mosley went 189-221 with Orlando. His teams qualified for the NBA playoffs in each of the past three seasons and won the Southeast Division twice, but were eliminated in the first round each time. Borrego went 24-46 as Pelicans interim coach.

Learning moment

The stunning turnaround season for the Detroit Pistons ended Sunday night with a harsh reminder of how difficult the final step can be.

After winning 60 games and earning the top seed in the Eastern Conference, the Pistons were overwhelmed at home by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who won 125-94 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Detroit shot just 35.3% from the floor in the loss.