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Evan & Tiki

Hour 1: The Knicks’ Killer Instinct Has Turned a Dream Run Into Reality

Evan & Tiki

Audacy

Sports

4.2988 Ratings

🗓️ 26 May 2026

⏱️ 43 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The New York Knicks are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time in 27 years, and Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber break down why this run feels both surreal and undeniable. After years of frustration for Knicks fans, this team has turned into a postseason force with relentless energy, dominant closeout performances, and a level of belief that keeps growing with every win. Evan and Tiki dive into the Knicks’ destruction of Cleveland, the rise of unexpected contributors like Landry Shamet, the steady leadership of Jalen Brunson, and the defensive intensity that has overwhelmed opponents. They also discuss Mike Breen’s emotional final call, the massive traveling Knicks fan presence, why criticism of the team’s path misses the point, and why New York has a real chance to finish the job.

Transcript

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0:00.0

For those of you that sat here for two and a half decades watching garbage, embarrassing, crappy basketball, I humbly say to you, congratulations.

0:12.5

Because I think as you were watching Michael Sweetney two decades ago or Cleantey early a decade ago, you probably had a really difficult time imagining

0:22.8

what you witnessed not just last night, but over the last few weeks.

0:27.0

The New York Knicks have steamrolled their way to the NBA finals.

0:31.5

And while I can take my personal feelings and place it aside briefly for the diehard fans

0:36.6

and for all the nick fans i do congratulate

0:38.4

you because last night tiki was surreal oh it was dominance and the nicks have been that way

0:44.3

every single close-out game of these this playoffs they dominate you when they should be the less

0:50.3

desperate team which is telling about this team how do they do that by the way? They're supposed to be calm and like, oh, we got this. They have been the desperate team, bro, in every closeout game and really in every situation in which they didn't necessarily need to be desperate. Yeah, absolutely right. Because they're, I mean, not to steal a Robert Salhism, but they're all breaks.

1:11.2

I mean, all gas, no breaks.

1:12.3

Except they actually do it.

1:13.4

Right, they actually do it.

1:14.6

All gas, no breaks all the time, especially against teams that they feel inferior and that

1:19.0

will quit when you hit them in the mouth.

1:20.8

And we saw that against the 76ers, where they swept them.

1:24.1

You saw it clearly in this Cleveland Cavaliers series where it felt like

1:28.7

midway through games, they were done. They were tapping out. They tapped out the

1:33.8

Cavaliers. And hell, I mean, what was it? Nine minutes ago in the fourth quarter, they just

1:38.0

benched everybody. It was like, all right, whatever. This thing is over. So you got to give

1:42.3

the Knicks credit because nobody saw this coming. And three months ago, two and a half months ago.

1:48.3

Nobody saw this coming.

1:49.8

Yet the Knicks, for whatever reason, coalesced at the right time, you know, that proverbial switch you hit.

...

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