CLEVELAND — Bustin’ out the brooms!
Homegrown Knicks fans are encroaching on the Cavaliers’ budget-friendly base in Cleveland, Ohio, for the last leg of New York’s near-certified sweep — and some are even coming with their own cleanup crew.
The Knicks have crushed the Cavaliers in every game of the Eastern Conference finals series thus far. If they dominate again in Game 4 at the Rocket Arena on Monday night, they’ll clinch the conference title and advance to the NBA Finals.
With the finals in view, members of Knicks Nation are descending upon Cleveland, including swaths of tristate fans who couldn’t swing a pricey ticket to attend the Madison Square Garden matchups.
Kevin Grisales, a 37-year-old sanitation worker from Woodside, Queens, booked a long weekend in Cleveland to watch what could well be the last two games in the conference. He was supposed to head back home after Game 3, but wanted to watch his team “complete the sweep.”
“We are already going to end up in the Finals. That’s inevitable,” Grisales told The Post. “We are going to go all the way with whatever team comes out of the West. Knicks in six, unfortunately, because the West is no joke. I’m a realist.”
Grisales’ ticket to Game 3, where the Knicks beat the Cavs 121-108, cost just $220 — whereas nosebleeds at MSG sold for more than $700 apiece. He estimates his ticket for Monday’s game at Rocket Arena will still be around $200.
Jose Agosta, who traveled with his son, Julian, from their home in Harlem to Ohio, said the Cleveland tickets are “probably three times or four times more affordable” than the Garden.
Agosta balked at the Cavs fans’ defeatist attitude, despite having the home court advantage.
“We have to win. Their fans gave up since the beginning,” he told The Post.
Other Knicks fans, though, are seizing on the Cavs’ apparent surrender.
Jorge Jimenez, Rich, Matt, and Javon — a quad from New Jersey — parked at the General Moses Cleaveland Statue, each armed with a broom as they swept the pavement.
“I’m showing you right now how it’s going to go down. Let me just get Harden’s ankles out of the way!” Rich joked.
“Knicks in four!” Javon boasted beside him.
Jimenez predicted that Monday’s game would be yet another easy victory for the blue and orange.
“The morale is gone. I think Cleveland already knows. It’s Game 4. The Knicks are playing a dominating game right now. It’s 10 games that we have won. We are just steamrolling right now,” he said.
The Knicks haven’t lost since Game 3 of their First Round series with the Atlanta Hawks on April 23.
Last year, the Knicks fell to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals. The Oklahoma City Thunder — last year’s season champion — are currently battling against the San Antonio Spurs in the West Conference finals series.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
