After the Cavaliers’ swarming defense took center stage in their Game 2 win, it was the Knicks’ turn on Friday night. New York hounded Cleveland all game long, forcing 21 turnovers and holding the Cavaliers to 38.8% from the field en route to a 99-79 win to take a 2-1 series lead.
The 79 points scored by the Cavaliers was actually the fewest points scored by a team all season. Previously, Portland had scored 80 points on March 29th against Sacramento.
“Everybody was locked in,” said RJ Barrett after the game. “We had great activity all around. We hustled. It was great.”
The defensive pressure was evident from the start with both teams speeding up the opposing offenses and forcing some really sloppy basketball. The two teams combined for 19 turnovers in the first half alone and it seemed like nobody wanted to hit a shot in the early going with the teams shooting a combined 14-of-48 in the first quarter.
However, the Knicks found their groove first, outscoring Cleveland 28-15 in the second quarter in large part due to an aggressive defense that forced 12 turnovers in the first half that led to 18 New York points.
It was a tremendous turnaround for a Knicks team that looked listless and defeated during Game 2, so it was entirely fitting that their performance was led by their most oft-maligned player, RJ Barrett.
The polarizing 22-year-old brought the energy right from tip-off, leading the fastbreak for New York and scoring 10 points on 4-of-6 from the field and 2-of-3 from three with five rebounds in the first frame. He finished the game with 19 points, eight rebounds, and three assists and looked as comfortable and confident on offense as he has all season.
“It felt good to be able to contribute in a positive way and, like I said, go win,” said Barrett after the game. The lefty attributed his good game to the work he put in during the week.
“Wednesday,” he answered when asked at what point tonight he knew he shot was feeling good. “No, seriously, Wednesday. Just working at it, so I came in really confident.”
That confidence fueled the Knicks early as Barrett played downhill right from the tip.
“RJ’s really hard to stop when he’s playing downhill,” said Thibodeau after the game. “We got to get him in the open floor. When we do that, and he’s going downhill and making shots you start to go.”
In addition to their lockdown defense, the most obvious adjustment for the Knicks right from the start of the game was to avoid Cleveland’s blitzing traps by prioritizing transition offense. When New York got the ball off of turnovers or long rebounds, they were constantly looking to push the pace or hit the outlet to get down the court ahead of the traps.
It was exactly what Thibodeau stressed in his pre-game press conference when asked what the Knicks needed to do differently in Game 3.
“If there’s two on the ball, make the right play. Don’t fight the double team. Share the ball, make the second pass, get it to the open man. Get some easy ones in transition; usually, that’s how you get going.”
As it turned out, that’s exactly what got the Knicks going. They scored 10 fastbreak points in the first half and 15 for the game. They showcased noticeably better ball movement, making crisp passes to the open man and swinging the ball quickly with skip passes. It led to 21 assists in the game after averaging 17 in the first two games.
In the early going, the Knicks even seemed to be too focused on making the extra pass. They were hesitant to drive the paint against the Cavaliers’ big men. When the Knicks did drive or post a player up, the Cavaliers would collapse the paint, causing the Knicks to kick it out for a three. The looks were good, but they weren’t falling early.
But the Knicks kept shooting, and the shots started falling later in the game, particularly for Immanuel Quickley and Josh Hart, who scored 11 and 13 points respectively while shooting a combined 8-of-11 from the field and 4-of-5 from three. They paced a Knicks bench that outscored the Cavaliers’ bench 39-14, reminiscent of the bench’s dominance in Game 1.
It was an advantage the Knicks needed as Quickley and Hart played extra minutes after Quentin Grimes suffered an injury in the first half. Hart started the second half for him, but Thibodeau confirmed after the game that it was just a contusion for Grimes, who is expected to play in Game 4.
But the Knicks will cross that bridge in another day or two. For now, they can revel in a dominating Game 3 win and a 2-1 series lead. The two teams will face off again on Sunday at Madison Square Garden, which was as loud on Friday as it’s been in years. The fans will no doubt be as energized on Sunday with the Knicks in position to take a commanding 3-1 series lead with a win on their home court.
“It’s the Garden, man,” said Barrett. “It was loud. Fun to play in, man. It was electric in there, and I’m happy we get to come back Sunday.”
In a season that has defied the odds, the Knicks have put themselves one step closer to doing it again.
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