Kendrick Perkins Doesn't Hold Back After Cavaliers Get Swept

The Cleveland Cavaliers‘ 2026 NBA playoff run came to a crashing halt on Monday night with a blowout Game 4 defeat at the hands of the visiting New York Knicks.

The Knicks took down the home-team Cavaliers with a 130-93 final score, completing the Eastern Conference Finals series sweep.

In Game 1 of the conference finals, the Cavaliers blew a 22-point fourth-quarter lead over the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. After that, Cleveland suffered three consecutive double-digit losses.

ESPN NBA analyst/former Cavaliers player Kendrick Perkins absolutely shredded the team for its performance in these Eastern Conference Finals.

"This was one of if not the most embarrassing moments in NBA history. It’s not what happened, it’s how it happened,” Perkins said on Tuesday morning. “The Cavs had no heart, no mental toughness. They got punked and they got embarrassed. It was an embarrassment for the league to witness that. The lack of competition to compete in between the lines on this stage.”

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Perkins also criticized postgame comments made by head coach Kenny Atkinson and veteran point guard James Harden, both of whom discussed the fatigue that came with playing two seven-game series leading up to the conference finals.

“[James Harden] was talking about how they just got done battling two hard seven-game series. Man, what are your talking about?” Perkins added. “Where’s your heart at? Where your mental toughness at? That’s what you’re talking about? Your fatigue?”

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The Knicks now advance to face off against the winner of the Western Conference Finals series between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.

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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 12:13 PM.