Charles Barkley Calls Cavaliers ‘Dummies’ For ‘Choke Job’ Against Knicks

The Cleveland Cavaliers played so poorly that they evoked vitriol Charles Barkley usually reserves for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Cavaliers held a 22-point lead over the New York Knicks with just under eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter of Game 1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Knicks hadn’t played since sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers nine days prior, so it was easy to chalk it up to a little bit of rust.

The Cavaliers banked on that. Instead, the Knicks just needed three quarters to get warmed up. All-Star guard Jalen Brunson hunted James Harden on defense and scored whenever he wanted — including 13 points of the Knicks’ 18-1 run — to lead the Knicks all the way back.

He tied the game at 101 with 19. 3 seconds left, forcing overtime. New York manhandled Cleveland in overtime to win 115-104, the largest playoff comeback in Knicks franchise history before a rapturous crowd at Madison Square Garden.

It was poetry, but Barkley was his own kind of poet on ESPN’s “Inside the NBA” postgame. INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – APRIL 06: TNT college basketball analyst Charles Barkley on air before the National Championship of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament between the Michigan Wolverines and the Connecticut Huskies at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 06, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) “You get something stuck in your throat, you get choky,” Barkley said of the Cavaliers.