Knicks vs. Cavaliers Game 4: New York Eyes First NBA Finals Since 1999

The Cleveland Cavaliers have their backs against the wall, facing a daunting 3-0 deficit in the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals. On Monday night, the New York Knicks have a golden opportunity to clinch the series in Game 4 and secure their first NBA Finals appearance since 1999.

🏀 Key Takeaways for Game 4

• Must-Win for Cleveland: No team in NBA history has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in a seven-game playoff series.

• Lineup Change: The Cavaliers are replacing Dean Wade with Max Strus in the starting lineup to spark their offense.

• Knicks' Dominance: All five Knicks starters scored in double digits in Game 3, extending a historic playoff win streak.

Game 3 Recap: Knicks Seize Commanding Lead

Despite returning home to Rocket Arena for Game 3, Cleveland couldn't secure a much-needed victory. New York pulled away with a decisive 121-108 win to take complete control of the series.

Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell briefly went to the locker room in the second quarter. While he returned to the floor, he hasn't looked 100% throughout the series. Mitchell finished Game 3 with 23 points on 9-of-21 shooting. Evan Mobley led Cleveland with 24 points, while James Harden chipped in 19 points.

 

The Knicks, meanwhile, were propelled by their dynamic trio of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby, who combined for 73 of the team's 121 points. New York's balanced attack saw all five starters reach double figures, supplemented by Landry Shamet's 14 points off the bench.

Mikal Bridges: The Unsung Hero of New York's Playoff Run

While star point guard Jalen Brunson and center Karl-Anthony Towns have commanded the spotlight combining for 131 points, 45 rebounds, and 38 assists in the first three games against Cleveland Mikal Bridges has been the quiet force driving the Knicks' success.

Over his last 10 playoff games, Bridges is putting up incredibly efficient numbers:

• 16.8 Points Per Game

• 68.2% Field Goal Percentage

• 45.8% 3-Point Percentage

• 100% Free-Throw Percentage

Historic Milestone: Bridges is the first player in NBA playoff history to average at least 15 points per game while shooting over 60% from the field, 40% from three, and 100% from the free-throw line over any 10-game span.

Cavaliers Make Desperate Lineup Change

With their season on the line, the Cavaliers are shaking things up. The team is moving Max Strus into the starting five in place of Dean Wade. Strus has been a vital spark plug off the bench this postseason, shooting 36.3% from beyond the arc. Cleveland is hoping this lineup change will generate enough offensive firepower to secure their first win of the series in an elimination game.

How to Watch Game 4 & Betting Odds

Game 4 is scheduled to tip off at 8:00 p.m. ET at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Fans can watch the game live on ESPN or stream it via ESPN Unlimited.

Heading into the matchup, the Knicks are favored to complete the sweep on the road. Here are the current Game 4 odds, courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook:

Betting Market	New York Knicks	Cleveland Cavaliers
Point Spread	-2.5	+2.5
Moneyline	-126	+108
Over/Under (Total)	-	218.5

Note: Down 0-3 in the series, the Cavaliers' odds to win the 2026 NBA Finals have plummeted to +20000, while the Knicks currently sit at +280.

What’s Next?

If the Cavaliers manage to stay alive, the series will head back to Madison Square Garden in New York for Game 5 on Wednesday.

If the Knicks complete the sweep, they will earn crucial rest days while awaiting the winner of the Western Conference Finals. The series between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder is currently tied at 2-2, setting the stage for a dramatic finish out West.

One Piece Episode 1163 Delivers Robin’s Long-Awaited Emotional Payoff

If recent episodes spent their time painting Elbaph as a living, breathing fantasy world full of lush panoramics and Rainbow Bridge spectacle, Episode 1163 is where we finally sit down for the meal. Titled “I Want You to Praise Me The Reunion of Robin and Saul,” this is Nico Robin’s episode through and through.

Toei Animation treats this chapter with the reverence it deserves, resulting in the most emotionally devastating stretch of the Elbaph arc so far and arguably the strongest Robin-focused episode One Piece has produced since Enies Lobby.

The Cage of Childhood

The episode opens not with the highly anticipated reunion itself, but by reminding us exactly why it matters. A flashback drops us 22 years into the past, where Spandine Spandam’s father and then-chief of CP9 stands before reporters and actively rewrites history. He pins the destruction of Ohara’s civilian evacuation ship on Robin, an innocent eight-year-old girl, completely burying the fact that Vice Admiral Sakazuki ordered it sunk.

 

We’ve seen fragments of this sequence before, but the framing here shifts the weight entirely. We are watching Spandine build the cage that Robin would spend her entire childhood trapped inside. The mobs that chased her, the bounty hunters who saw a payday instead of a terrified kid all of it traces back to this one man standing in front of a camera. The episode lingers on this brutal cause-and-effect, refusing to let the audience look away.

A Suffocating Contrast

What follows is a stark montage of young Robin surviving in the ugliest sense of the word. She is hunted. She is hated. Civilians recoil from her, dubbing her the "enemy of the world."

Yet, scattered throughout the trauma are quiet, heartbreaking moments of defiance:

• Sneaking Ohara back onto a map in a local bookstore.

• Crying and laughing simultaneously, exactly the way Saul taught her.

• Standing at the edge of a cliff, staring at the ocean, and choosing to step back because Olvia told her to live and Saul promised she’d find friends.

Note: Rendering this survival sequence in stark black-and-white is a brilliant directorial choice. When contrasted against the vibrant, full-color sequences of present-day Elbaph, Robin's historical isolation feels genuinely suffocating.

The Reunion at the Owl Library

When the episode shifts back to the present, the mood lifts without erasing the heavy context of what we just watched. The Straw Hats arrive at Western Village, and Robin makes her priority clear to Luffy: she wants to find Saul. Without hesitation, Luffy and the entire crew tag along.

Guided by Gerd, they arrive at the Owl Library at Warrior Springs, only to be met with panic Saul has collapsed and isn't moving. The rest of the crew freaks out, but Robin doesn't flinch.

She knows this routine. Sure enough, Saul is faking it. Terrified and unsure of what to say to the little girl he hasn't seen in 22 years, he tries to break the tension with a clumsy joke, mirroring their very first meeting on the shores of Ohara. The joke doesn't land, and Robin sees right through it, but that is precisely what makes the scene work. Saul is still Saul terrible at being serious when it counts.

"I Want You to Praise Me"

The emotional dam finally breaks when Saul picks her up and tells her she looks just like her mother, Olvia.

Robin asks Saul to praise her. She asks him to acknowledge that she survived, that she found the friends he promised she would, and that she kept pushing forward when the entire world demanded she stop existing. It’s just one line, but it serves as the emotional core of not just this episode, but Robin’s entire character arc across the series. Behind her, the crew is in tears; Luffy, perfectly in character, simply smiles.

In a deeply touching detail, Robin cuts her hair before the reunion, styling it to resemble how she looked when they first met. She isn't walking into the Owl Library as the hardened woman the world forced her to become; she is showing Saul the little girl he saved.

The Verdict

While a couple of transitions early in the episode feel slightly stretched particularly the arrival at Warrior Springs, which lingers a beat too long it barely registers in the grand scheme of things. In an episode this emotionally precise, everything that truly matters lands exactly where it needs to.

One Piece Episode 1163 thrives on its simplicity and emotional honesty. It is a powerful reminder of why Robin’s story has resonated with fans for decades. Toei knew exactly what this moment needed to be, delivering a reunion that hits with the full, accumulated force of the last two decades. This is Elbaph at its absolute best.

Final Score

• Episode: 1163  "I Want You To Praise Me – The Reunion Of Robin And Saul"

• Rating: 9.5/10

TL;DR: Episode 1163 is a masterclass in emotional storytelling, delivering a beautiful, tear-jerking reunion that reminds us why Nico Robin’s journey remains one of the most compelling arcs in One Piece.