“New York sucks” chants rained from the Cleveland faithful as the fourth quarter of their 107-90 drubbing of the Knicks ticked away.
The Cavaliers hit them with a monster counterpunch of physicality, defense, rebounding and Darius Garland, taking a first half lead and never looking back.
Here are some takeaways…
– After a terrific performance on the boards in game one, the Knicks were dominated 43-36 Tuesday night. The Cavs were quicker to the ball, more desperate, and constantly challenging their opponents’ grip.
– The normally steady-handed Knicks coughed up a whopping 17 turnovers, many unforced, others downright confounding. That was just a piece of their offensive woes.
Nobody put up a strong outing, with the team shooting 36.7 percent from the field and 24.1 percent from three. Julius Randle’s 22 points and eight rebounds on 8-20 shooting led the way, but were accompanied by six turnovers.
Jalen Brunson put up 20 on 5-17 shooting from the floor, facing stronger hedges, shading and doubles on his possessions.
– On the other end, Darius Garland had a field day with 32 points and seven assists, hitting six threes. Donovan Mitchell was the playmaker with 17 points and 13 assists, while Caris LeVert picked up the scoring slack with 24 points on 9-16 shooting.
Cleveland turned up the physicality, drawing blood on a couple Knicks and whacking Brunson in the face repeatedly. They put the pressure on defensively in tandem, scheming to send more help to the strong side on New York’s stars and blitzing their actions.
– The Knicks key complementary players – RJ Barrett, Quentin Grimes and Immanuel Quickley – failed to make them pay, not finding a rhythm until the game was out of reach.
Apr 15, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; New York Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) shoots against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fourth quarter of game one of the 2023 NBA playoffs at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
The game was ugly out of the gates, much like the rock fight that was Saturday night.
– The Cavaliers looked unsure with four quick turnovers, and the Knicks’ stars went to work early. A Randle…
..
