The Cleveland Cavaliers were on the wrong side of first-time occurrences in their 99-79 loss to the New York Knicks, conceding a 2-1 series advantage in their first-round NBA playoff series. The Cavs were the only team not to have lost by 20+ points in a game and became the only team to score under 80 points in a game. It just so happened to be the game that mattered the most to this point.
“We shot like crap,” Donovan Mitchell said. “Like we didn’t make a shot, open ones, contested ones, whatever it is. So trusting each other, continue to trust in it, and we will be better.”
It was a genuinely atrocious display of offense from the Cavs, especially early on. Cleveland was held to just 32 points in the first half, failing to reach the 20-point threshold in a quarter until after halftime. Facing a 45-32 deficit at the break, it was a truly deflating performance.
“It became ‘I have to make the play, I have to make the play,’” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “Where we have to learn to just continue to trust each other and trust ourselves that we’ll make the right play. And if we make the right play, we’ll get the results we want.”
“And once that happens, it starts to leak into our defense, the same thing,” Bickerstaff added. “We’re not in our spots; we’re not doing the things that we need to do in order to get the stops that we’re capable of getting.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks & Cleveland Cavaliers Updates
The Knicks made light work of the Cavs, leading by as many as 27 points in the fourth quarter. For a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff series since 2013, the atmosphere at Madison Square Garden was as electrifying as possible. It was a helpful motivation tool for the Knicks as they played out Game 3.
“It was what I expected for sure,” Knicks forward Julius Randle said. “A lot of, lot of energy, and we were able to feed off it, so I love it.”
It was a genuinely perplexing performance from the Cavs outside of Donovan Mitchell, who still managed to record 22 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in 38 minutes. From Cleveland’s players without Mitchell on the back of their jersey, they were limited to 57 points while shooting 22-61 (36.1 percent) from the floor, 5-26 (19.2 percent) from deep, and 8-14 (57.1 percent) on free throws.
“I think we kind of shot ourselves in the foot on that one,” Mitchell said. “I think we came out a little too hype. I think it was one of those things we were just playing fast, trying to do so much, try to do it all in one play. You’ll take that aggression. At the end of the day, we can calm that down, as opposed to coming out timid; I think that’s the biggest thing. So we’ll fix that.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks & Cleveland Cavaliers Updates
Jalen Brunson set the tone for the Knicks with 21 points and six assists, with RJ Barrett adding a strong 19 points and eight rebounds. Julius Randle, playing through an ankle injury, struggled to score efficiently and finished with just 11 points. Still, numerous key contributors pulled through for the Knicks off the bench, including Josh Hart and Immanuel Quickley.
The Knicks have exposed the Cavs’ lack of firepower around Mitchell. It’s too easy to load up in the paint against them in the half-court, which is a problem against a defense anchored by Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein. Darius Garland shooting just 4-21 (19.0 percent) from the floor and 1-7 (14.3 percent) from deep for 10 points after having an efficient 32 points in Game 2 was concerning.
Want the latest in NBA analysis, breaking news, and insider information? Click Here.
