Kenny Atkinson’s words have come back to haunt him after the Knicks outscored the Cavaliers by a combined +77 points in Game 4 of their best-of-seven series, the second-largest point differential in a four-game sweep in the Conference Finals. Following New York’s Game 3 loss, he had claimed his team was “analytically” better than the Knicks. However, the Cavs struggled on the floor even tonight, allowing the Knicks to go on a 20-0 run in the first half. This poor performance prompted former basketball head coach Dick Vitale to voice his frustration on X.

“What about the nonsense of @cavs Coach Atkinson talking about that they have the edge on @knicks analytically -it was SWEEP CITY as Cavs showed ZERO PRIDE at home tonight getting embarrassed by Knicks in giving up 130 points,” he tweeted.

Vitale’s frustration stems not just from Atkinson’s comments; his team never backed his claims in Game 4, when the series was on the line.

“I think analytically, I think we’ve won the — I said three out of three [games in the series], we’re two out of three in the expected wins,” Atkinson told reporters Sunday. “I don’t know if you guys follow that — the expected score. We’ve won two out of three.”

After Game 3, the Knicks had outscored the Cavs by a combined +40 points. In Game 4 again, Cleveland had no answers. At one point, it trailed by 45 points and eventually lost the game 130-93. That 20-point run in the first half helped the Knicks establish a 68-49 halftime lead.

The Cavs have allowed 20+ points off turnovers in 10 games this postseason. Now that’s something the head coach should have solved a long ago. Tonight, they allowed 22 turnovers, and the Knicks capitalized with 34 points. Cleveland could manage just nine fast-break points and shot a miserable 11 for 40 from the 3-point range. Even Mitchell’s game-high 31 points were not enough to help his teammates. In fact, there was a moment where the broadcasters caught the Cavaliers not responding to their leader.

In the first half, Spida, frustrated, stood in front of his teammates and kept furiously gesturing, looking around at everybody. But in the huddle, there seemed to be no positive reaction from the rest of the team. In fact, Atkinson was not even part of it. This again led everyone to believe that the Cavs have ‘quit’.

Stephen A. Smith and Charles Barkley question the Cavs and Atkinson

The Knicks have won each game by double figures, including an 11-point overtime victory in Game 1 after rallying from a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit. Even in that game, the head coach was under scrutiny for not calling a timeout, which led to the fourth-quarter choke. He failed to make adjustments to control the Knicks’ attack. Then, the claims that his team is “analytically” leading the East Finals didn’t sit right with many.

Stephen A. Smith called him out on First Take: “That moment right there is why Kenny Atkinson deserves to be an assistant coach. But for any coach to have that come out of their mouth, it’s egregious.” Even Barkley criticized him on Inside the NBA: “You’re damn skippy we don’t want to hear it. Not the general public, Ernie, Shaq, and Chuck and Kenny don’t want to hear it, either.”

On Monday, former Suns star turned analyst Eddie A. Johnson said on SiriusXM NBA Radio, “If I was the GM, I would think about that decision (of firing Atkinson). It’s not working for me….I hope they don’t (fire him).” Last year, despite being the #1 seed, they crashed out in the conference semifinals. Tonight will feel like another sting as the team failed to win a single game in the series despite being “analytically” better.