The Cleveland Cavaliers got punched in the mouth by the New York Knicks in Game 1 of their first-round NBA playoff series. The Knicks went into Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and brought it to the Cavaliers, who were seemingly caught off guard by just how physical the game would be.
New York came away with a 101-97 victory despite Julius Randle returning to the court for the first time since March 29th and Jalen Brunson playing nine minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. Heading into Game 2 on Tuesday night, Cleveland knew what had to be done.
The Cavaliers had to punch back against the physicality of the Knicks and that is exactly what they did. Their intensity on the defensive end seemed to bother New York at times, who struggled to get into their offense and turned the ball over 17 times.
It resulted in Cleveland evening up the series at 1-1, as they won the game in convincing fashion, 107-90. A driving force behind the victory was point guard Darius Garland, who was aggressive from the start and set the tone for his teammates.
“Everybody in the building told me to go be aggressive, go shoot the ball,” Garland said. “I watched the film from the first game and seeing some opportunities where I can go get mine and go be aggressive and that’s what I just tried to do today.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers & New York Knicks Updates
Garland scored a game-high 32 points, taking the lead offensively after Donovan Mitchell carried the load in Game 1. It was an efficient night for Garland, who shot 8-of-17 from the field, going 6-of-10 on 3-point attempts and 10-of-11 at the foul line. He added seven assists and three rebounds for a solid all-around performance.
“That’s the All-Star we know, and it was good to see,” said Mitchell, one of many who urged Garland to be more assertive. “He came out with a purpose. There was just a different look in his eye.”
His excellent performance on offense certainly carried over to the defensive end of the court. In Game 2, Garland looked like a totally different player than he was in Game 1. He was outplayed by a wide margin by Brunson in Game 1, who scored 27 points in 30 minutes. In Game 2, Brunson was held to 20 points in 36 minutes, shooting 5-of-17 from the field.
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers & New York Knicks Updates
While he isn’t regarded as a strong defensive player, Garland looked more engaged and locked in on that end of the court. He was a big part of why the Knicks struggled to get going, as he did about as good of a job as you could on Brunson, RJ Barrett and Quentin Grimes depending on what his assignment was.
If Garland can sustain that level of success, the Cavaliers will have a great chance of advancing to the second round. He and his teammates need to be prepared as most of them have never experienced anything close to what is on tap in the coming days.
There may not be another basketball arena in the world compared to Madison Square Garden for playoff basketball. The place will be raucous and the fans will be fired up to see their Knicks in the playoffs for the first time without COVID-19 restrictions since 2013.
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