The Knicks (37*-22) won two difficult games before they entered Rocket Arena to face the Cavaliers (37-22). In both wins—against the Rockets and the Bulls—there were the customary lulls we’ve come to expect from New York. Tonight, they topped that by going full lull, playing listless hoops from start to finish. They shot horribly from deep (10-of-37), scored a season-low 11 points in the third quarter, and took the L, 109-94.
That finish makes the Cavs 20-6 in their last 26 games and ties them with New York for third place. It also concluded the regular season series between these two, which the Knicks won 2-1.
Cleveland ruled the opening quarter, staying in front for nearly the full 12. Donovan Mitchell (23 PTS) set the tone with buckets, steals, and dishes, while Evan Mobley (12 PTS, 7 RBS) drained an early three and Jarrett Allen (19 PTS, 10 RBS) cleaned the glass. Through the first frame, the Ohio Players shot 54% from the field, buried 5-of-11 threes, and doled out 10 assists on 14 made baskets. They committed just four turnovers while capitalizing on New York’s six giveaways.
In the quarter, the Knicks shot 50% from the field but poorly from deep. Josh Hart (10 PTS) provided some energy, distributing to Mikal Bridges (18 PTS, 6-of-17 FG) and Karl-Anthony Towns (14 PTS, 7 RBS, 5 FGA!) before hitting his own three to cut the deficit to two. Inside they had success with three blocked shots (OG Anunoby, Towns, Bridges) and buckets around the rim, but they were a step slow against Cleveland’s length and quick transitions. Mitchell’s steal-and-layup plus dimes to his teammates—including late threes from Dean Wade (11 PTS)—helped the Cavs close the frame up 35-26.
Wade hit a triple early in the second quarter to go ahead by a dozen, and the Cavs benefited from even more Knicks turnovers. In fact, their 12 turnovers were the most New York committed in a first-half this season. Quite an achievement!
Mitchell Robinson (11 PTS, 15 RPBS, 2 BLK, 19 MIN) came in and pulled boards out of Allen’s grasp. Mitch singlehandedly kept New York within reach with rebounds, a putback, and an alley-oop from Jose Alvarado, while Towns added a putback and later a three. For Cleveland, Mitchell and Allen continued to chip in buckets and Dennis Schröder was a nuisance on defense.
When Jalen Brunson (20 PTS, 6-of-19 FG) returned after a breather, he steadied the offense with a drive and a late pull-up three. The Knicks went on a 10-2 run late in the deep end of the quarter to cut the deficit to one. From there, Cleveland outscored them by five. Bridges hit a floater in the final seconds, but the home team still carried a 60–54 lead into halftime.
Through the half, Cavs outshot New York from deep (35% to 27%), grabbed seven offensive rebounds to the Knicks’ three, and turned 12 New York turnovers into 11 points. New York shot 51% overall, owned the paint 32-26, and blocked six shots to Cleveland’s three, but their blunders kept them on the outside looking in. Mitchell led all first-half scorers with 15, while Brunson had 13 for the good guys.
After intermission, this game got sloppier than my kid’s bedroom. James Harden (20 PTS) opened the third quarter with a step-back jumper, Mitchell forced a Towns turnover, and Allen converted a putback. The Knicks failed to do anything well—Bridges missed twice, Towns committed another turnover, etc.—before Brunson set up OG Anunoby for a three. When Harden swished from deep, the deficit was 11 again and Coach Brown needed a timeout.
New York continued to throw rocks from deep, making 5-of-21 after two and half quarters. They continued to turn the ball over, too, which explains why they couldn’t get the differential to low-single digits. With four minutes left, and down by 14, Brown tried a lineup of Brunson, Alvarado, Landry Shamet, Mohamed Diawara, and Robinson. Same results. To close the period, Brown dusted off Jordan Clarkson. Nada,otra vez. New York scored their fewest points in a quarter (11), and went into the fourth trailing 83-65.
Weirdly, OG Anunoby logged 34 minutes, took nine shots, and finished with five pints. He must have worn his invisibility cloak, because I barely saw him on the court.
In Q4, the misery continued, and the hole reached 19 points until Alvarado (5 PTS, 1 STL, 1 BLK) hit from the corner. In need of energy, Jose seemed most likely to bring some pep. On another possession, GTA snaked into the paint and kicked out to Josh Hart, who hit another (finally) three-pointer. Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t gain ground because they couldn’t stop Mitchell at the other end.
Bridges missed another layup, Mobley put back a Mitchell miss, and a befuddled Brown called for time. The clock still had seven-and-a-half minutes on it, but the Knicks had done nothing yet to convince us that a rally was possible. A few minutes later, when Brunson missed off the glass on a drive, it became abundantly clear that Cleveland had secretly put a transparent lid on the visitors’ rim—there was no other logical explanation for how badly New York had shot. Unless they were drugged . . . or had lyme disease . . . or ate pizza in Utah.
The deficit reached 20, the reserves came on, and this turkey was finally, mercifully cooked.
Up Next
New York travels to Milwaukee to face the Bucks on Friday. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.
* Should be one more. Let’s gather to protest outside the NBA’s offices.