Cavs fall to Knicks in Game 2; New York takes 2-0 series lead
Goforitradio Staff
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For the second straight series, the Cleveland Cavaliers are down 2-0 after falling to the Knicks 109-93 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference finals series at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.
With the victory, New York has won its franchise-best nine games.
Game 3 is Saturday in Cleveland.
The Knicks, who led by as many as 19 points, led 53-49 at halftime, and pulled away in the third quarter after going on an 18-0 run. The Cavs would cut New York’s lead to seven in the fourth, but the Knicks would go on a 20-8 run to put the game away.
It was about the “Nova Knicks” on Thursday night. Josh Hart, who the Cavs dared to beat them, led New York with a playoff career-high 26 points, including five threes, four rebounds, and seven assists. Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges had 19 points apiece. Brunson also added a playoff career-high 14 assists. Karl Anthony Towns had 18 points and 13 rebounds.
All five Knicks’ starters scored in double figures.
Donovan Mitchell led the Cavs with 26 points, and Jarrett Allen had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Bottom Line:
Cleveland is in trouble, and after they lost Game 1, you knew that could be the case. The Cavs should be going back to Cleveland tied 1-1, but as we know, they blew a 22-point fourth-quarter lead in Game 1.
New York had their bad game in Game 1, and they probably won’t play that bad again.
Plus, role players tend to be their best at home, and after going 1-5 from deep in Game 1, Hart shot 5-11 from three-point range in Game 2.
This is a make-or-miss league, and Cleveland shot 39% from the field, while New York shot 52% in Game 2. It’s hard to win in the NBA when you don’t make shots.
Fortunately, for the Cavs, home court has been great for them. Cleveland is 6-1 at Rocket Arena in this postseason, but the Knicks look like a buzzsaw right now.
Cleveland’s response in Game 2 wasn’t what they’d hoped, and Game 3 is a must-win for the Cavs because no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in NBA history.
Maybe they have to get Evan Mobley and Allen more involved. Mobley had 14 points in the first half and did not take another shot the rest of the way, while Allen had nine first-half points, but took only four more shots in the second half.
The Cavs did come back from 2-0 against the Pistons to win that series in 7, so if they did it before, they can do it again.
As we said after Game 1, we’ll see how Cleveland will respond in Game 3.
