After a first half that looked like a repeat of their blown 18-point lead loss to the Mavericks yesterday, the Knicks buckled down in the second to secure their best win of the season, beating the Cavaliers 92-81.
Here are the takeaways...
- The Cavaliers were without Dylan Windler, Dean Wade, Ricky Rubio and Jarrett Allen. The Knicks were short Ryan Arcidiacono.
- It was slow going out of the gates, with both teams combining to shoot 3 for 16 from the field. RJ Barrett had two early unforced turnovers, missed a couple threes, and got smoked by Darius Garland in his opening stint.
- Tom Thibodeau shook up the rotation, subbing in Miles McBride instead of Derrick Rose in the first quarter and beyond. Cam Reddish also did not play.
- Donovan Mitchell started 1 for 6, getting hounded by Quentin Grimes on the perimeter and Mitchell Robinson on the inside.
- A 9-0 run late in the first quarter gave the Knicks a double-digit advantage. Cleveland started 1 for 10 from deep and New York led 23-16 at the end of one.
- The Knicks opened up the second with an 11-0 run to extend their lead to 18. An Obi Toppin slam, Immanuel Quickley score, and Jalen Brunson finish capitalized on poor Cavaliers shooting.
Quickley compiled 10 quick points on 5-for-6 shooting before he was taken out with seven minutes to go.
A 24-9 Cleveland run dominated the remainder of the quarter. Barrett’s struggles continued, with five turnovers in 16 minutes and just 1-of-8 shooting from the field. The Knicks just held onto their lead 46-43 behind Brunson’s 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
- Barrett found his touch to start the third quarter, knocking down a corner three and finishing inside for nine points in the first five minutes. The Knicks locked in defensively and went on a 13-4 run to start the quarter to extend their lead back to 12.
Julius Randle and Garland began trading blows, as a Randle layup as the quarter ended gave the Knicks a 71-63 edge entering the fourth.
- The Knicks defense held true in the final period. They led by 13 midway through, as the bench matched each rare Cavaliers bucket.
Cleveland managed to cut their deficit to five with under two minutes to go. Mitchell began slicing and dicing the Knicks defense despite a poor shooting night.
A Brunson bucket over Mitchell on the baseline gave the Knicks a seven point edge, and after a Garland turnover and Randle finish they were able to coast to the finish.
Brunson led the Knicks with 23 points on 7-of-16 shooting. Randle added 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists while Barrett scored 15 on 13 shots. The team continued it’s 3-point struggles with 5-of-29 shooting.
Robinson collected 13 rebounds and Isaiah Hartenstein was one shy of a double-double in a dominant game from the big men.
The Cavaliers shot less than 35% from the field, with Mitchell finishing with 23 points on 8-of-22 shooting. Garland added 17.