Christmas … baby, please come back.

The New York Knicks fulfilled that request and some in their latest holiday haunt, as a festive fourth quarter yielded a 126-124 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday afternoon at Madison Square Garden. It’s the Knicks’ 26th Yuletide triumph, at least temporarily breaking a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for most on the NBA ledgers.

The most famous Knick of all lived up to his reputation in style, as Jalen Brunson scored 34 points, most of them earned on a 6-of-12 outing from three-point range. But Christmas, appropriately, was a family affair for the Knicks, who enjoyed more bench breakout work from Jordan Clarkson and Tyler Kolek as they improved to 15-2 at home.

New York (21-9) trailed from the onset of Thursday’s game, as former target Donovan Mitchell’s early output created a lasting lead that stood at 15 after the first dozen. De’Andre Hunter’s buzzer-beating triple at the end of the frame seemed to be a harbinger of further doom but the ex-Cav Clarkson broke loose for 11 points and two steals in the second, allowing the Knicks to take a fleeting lead into the halftime break.

The Cavs, perhaps starting to get desperate after the first third of the season had them flirting with the top-seed of the Play-In Tournament rather than the main attraction, came back with a vengeance in the third, turning a 71-all tie by the penultimate minute. Sophomore Jaylon Tyson put forth an unexpected 11-point breakout to fuel the defending regular season champions.

Mitchell free throws and a Dean Wade triple created Cleveland’s largest lead of the afternoon at 17. To make matters, the Knicks lost their undeniable spark plug in Josh Hart, who was forced to go the locker room after turning his ankle on a drive that produced free throws (he left the game after hitting successful singles).

But, fueled by newfound depth, the Knicks would go on to outscore Cleveland 40-21 over the final 10-plus minutes of played, fueled by a healthy diet of starter and sub alike.

Despite the effective desperation of Mitchell (scorer of 15 of Cleveland’s last 28 points), the backcourt trio of Brunson, Clarkson, and Kolek provided the MSG crowd all the gifts it could possibly ask for in the form of endless clutch shots.

The trio united for 31 points on a 61 percent output (with Kolek hitting a trio of triples in as many attempts) while Mitchell Robinson provided ample opportunities to shoot with an evenly split eight rebounds over the final frame. The Garden reached its high points in hysterics when Kolek narrowed the gap to one with his last triple at 2:27 before Brunson’s equivalent gave the Knicks a permanent lead with 65 ticks on the clock.

Despite losing Hart, the Knicks put up a plus-4 advantage in rebounds over the final period, with Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns (who hit the sealing free throws as the Cavs desperately fouled) uniting for 27 total on the day. Clarkson scored 25 while Kolek added 16 with nine assists.

Cleveland (17-15), entering the day seventh on the Eastern leaderboard, fell to the Knicks for the second time this season, previously dropping their get-together on opening night in October. Mitchell had 34 points in defeat while Darius Garland had a 20-point, 10-assist double-double. Evan Mobley came off the bench to tally 14 points and nine boards in his first game back from a two-departure for a calf ailment. Cleveland gets on more chance at the Knicks in the new year, hosting them in late February.

Thursday marked the Knicks’ final home game of the calendar year, as a three-game road trip begins on Saturday in Atlanta (8 p.m. ET, MSG/NBA TV).