ESPN's 'Inside the NBA' crew roasts Cavaliers with Taylor Swift banner

The New York Knicks jumped on the Cleveland Cavaliers early in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals and the "Inside the NBA" crew piled on at halftime.

The Cavaliers, down 3-0 and facing a sweep on their home court at the hands of the Knicks, came out flat and found themselves trailing 68-49 at halftime. During the "Inside the NBA" halftime show on ESPN, the studio crew of Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith made it clear what they thought of Cleveland's effort.

"Kids at home, you oughta see what the word 'quit' means," Barkley riffed. "To give up. The verb of that is 'Ca-va-liers.'"

Chuck teaches the kids at home what the word 'quit' means 🤣 pic.twitter.com/dLcblwyKxY— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 26, 2026

That was followed by a graphic of a banner for the Cavs' season shown on screen. Rather than celebrating a championship, it simply reads "NBA Playoffs/Taylor Swift came to one of our games."

Inside the NBA at halftime: pic.twitter.com/IWDFGBrPKk— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 26, 2026

The Cavaliers pulled out Game 7 wins against the Toronto Raptors in the first round and the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference semifinals, but since their epic collapse in Game 1, they have been no match for the Knicks so far in this series.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cavs mocked for quitting, given Taylor Swift banner by Inside the NBA